Drysuit for Tec diving

[beester]

True... I mix and match all the time (and a lot of divers do)... if I'm cave-diving in Mx I'll take my flx anytime... but North Sea wrecks... might get some cf200 (crushed neoprene) time

I know Oh Three for only making back entry suits... have they changed that? The only reason I would not go for such a suit is not a front entry setup -> telescopic torso... I have dived back entry drysuits and without the additional reach of the telescopic material the length of the suit limits shoulder motion (talking reaching valves). Do you order the suit a bit taller so you have this added range of motion?

 

[AJ]

I'am not stating a neoprene suit is not suitable for tech diving. Some tech agencies advise against them. It all depends on what the OP is pkanning for the future.

 

[beester]

What agencies AJ... because GUE is not one of them.

 

[AJ]

Ha, you got me there True, GUE won't advise anything other than a suitable protection. My rec instructors (non GUE), who are technical divers also, advised me to go for tri-lam.

 

[Remy B.]

Look at artic I've seen some GUE cavedivers diving it and they were quite happy (with about 100 dives done on the suit). It's basically a made to measure DUI TLS350 clone, and looked nice. Is in your ballpark budget (1000 - 1200 € ).

The brand is Spanish and their website is in Spanish only but they have a facebook page and a couple of dutch dealers so you should be able to find it.

Looks like for what I'm looking for, thanks

 

[Doppler]

Ha, you got me there True, GUE won't advise anything other than a suitable protection. My rec instructors (non GUE), who are technical divers also, advised me to go for tri-lam.

Not trying to be a bitch here but when you advise against neoprene is that based on personal experience or something you've been told by "rec instructors (non-GUE), who are technical divers?"

BEESTER: I have a front-entry OThree... Sean (owner founder) much prefers to sell back entry but the company does make a self-donning suit. With regards range of motion, the back entry OThree suit I own has stretch panels under arms... no binding at all. The downside of a telescopic of course is the additional material. As someone who dives both you probably appreciate that no suit is perfect... they are all a compromise... just like rebreathers. For example, I own a SANTI but it is relegated to sub-tropical work... and while there are things I like about trilam (weight for example) the extra drag it generates is perceptible when cave diving against harsh flow.

 

[Remy B.]

Not trying to be a bitch here but when you advise against neoprene is that based on personal experience or something you've been told by "rec instructors (non-GUE), who are technical divers?"

BEESTER: I have a front-entry OThree... Sean (owner founder) much prefers to sell back entry but the company does make a self-donning suit. With regards range of motion, the back entry OThree suit I own has stretch panels under arms... no binding at all. The downside of a telescopic of course is the additional material. As someone who dives both you probably appreciate that no suit is perfect... they are all a compromise... just like rebreathers. For example, I own a SANTI but it is relegated to sub-tropical work... and while there are things I like about trilam (weight for example) the extra drag it generates is perceptible when cave diving against harsh flow.

That is one thing I don't like the weight and cucumbersome for packing a Neoprene suit for travel, doning seems to me harder with a neoprene that with a Trilam.

 

[Doppler]

If you travel a lot then a trilam might be a better option... but you will be packing more undies... not sure about donning... but then I haven't seen the neoprene you're using. In any event, good luck.

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

Sometimes it's better to spend a little more the first time around then to settle and have to sell, then re-buy later. I'm a big fan of the Trilam suits especially since i dive dry everywhere and travel a lot. Front zip gives you better range of motion. I have found that the ScubaPro as well as some other manufacturers drysuits do not work as well for divers as the exhaust valve has poor placement. Take a close look at this if you can. Valve wants to be on side of bicep and not the top. Wrong placement effects control in the water. Some manufacturers like DUI & SANTI (there are a couple of others as well, now that companies are learning) do have the proper placement. I understand they cost more, if on a budget, fit in standard size, along with proper boot size that comes on the suit, then the new OMS suit is at a great price-point. Make sure you have full range of motion when you decide on the suit, if you don't, that will have an effect on performance as well.

 

[Patoux01]

Not trying to be a bitch here but when you advise against neoprene is that based on personal experience or something you've been told by "rec instructors (non-GUE), who are technical divers?"

Having taken a 7mm neoprene drysuit to about 30m, I can tell you I will advise against those neoprene drysuits anyday. They're heavy, stiff, take ages to dry, compress with depth... Basically they're ****. And yes they're still being sold.

If you're talking about a 1 or 2mm drysuit (cf200, sf-tech, ...), then yeah, fair enough, they don't have that main issue of compression (edit: Probably don't have the other issues I mentionned as well). On a 4mm suit, I'm not sure so I wouldn't say they can't be used.