Drysuit Material for SCUBA

[Rescue 312]

Hi,

I just starting to get into SCUBA diving and am looking into using a dry suit.

I have a background in swiftwater rescue, so already have a drysuit from that. From what I have read, the only difference between my drysuit and those used in SCUBA is an inlet valve and an exhaust valve.

As part of this, I was looking into adding valves etc to my existing suit.

I contacted the manufacturer of the suit, and they said the material used in my suit was not suitable for diving?

Any ideas what they mean?

Dave

 

[RJP]

Any ideas what they mean?

Dave

Seems pretty obvious... they mean the material/construction of your suit will not hold up for diving.



Would be helpful to tell us about the material of your existing suit before we can tell you why it's no good, but I would bet that it's simply insufficient to hold up to teh pessure that yuou'll experience in diving which is far greater than those experienced "standing" in water. Seams probably not sealed as well, etc.

 

[Rescue 312]

Hey bud,

The suit is made from 200 denier nylon and urethane with 500 denier cordura on the knees, shins and the seat for added protection, rear entry with all latex seals.

Cheers Dave

 

[MRadke]

It's pretty simply really. Liability insurance. Even if the material is tough enough or sealed well enough, no company is going to stick their neck out to tell you how to modify it for a purpose it wasn't designed for.

On our department we have some old Stearns neoprene and some newer Mustang multilayer ice rescue suits. Both will keep the user dry but I believe that both are considered semi dry suits. Neither are intended for scuba.

I think that you are going to have to bite the bullet and buy or rent a dedicated suit for scuba.

 

[RJP]

Just shopping for a new drysuit today and gave the question some more thought. When talking to the shop about fitting they had me lay on the floor with the various suits on. One that I though fit well became clear pretty quickly as being too small once I tried to simulate horizontal trim, frog kicking, reaching back for valves, etc. Heck, I couldn't even bend the legs sufficiently to don fins while standing. The whole experience reminded me that scuba drysuits are designed and cut properly for the range of positions and movements that scuba requires. I would have to imagine that your rescue suit is not.

Plus, you'll probably want things like knee pads, pockets, warm-neck, etc that will also probably be lacking on a rescue suit.



Ray

 

[Bopper]

Hey bud,

The suit is made from 200 denier nylon and urethane with 500 denier cordura on the knees, shins and the seat for added protection, rear entry with all latex seals.

Cheers Dave

I'm actually in the process of converting an O'neill Boost surface drysuit into a diving drysuit. I don't know why I'm doing it. Just a project, really.

But to answer your question it's my understanding that the thickness of the 'waterproof' material in a surface drysuit is not sufficient to keep you dry for extended periods of time. In other words, moisture will find it's way across the membrane (I wouldn't call it a 'leak' though). Indeed, the material on my Boost drysuit is shockingly thin compared to that of my other laminate suits. I imagine thickness varies greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer (those Kokatat drysuits look like they would be very rugged. I've always wondered if they would be better choices to convert into diving drysuits). Its too bad I haven't finished my project otherwise I might be able to provide better info.

Besides the wetness problem, the zipper on my Oneill is nowhere near as durable as my other drysuits. And I don't have kneepads on it either, which considering how thin it is would make it a huge liability if I ever touched my knees on the ground (I'm going to fix this by gluing rubber patches on it though).

The up side to converting such a drysuit into a diving suit? It's a hella (did I just say that?) flexible and it rolls up into a very nice little package. I'd say more than half the size of the volume of a normal drysuit (I also have ankle seals - not socks or boots - on it so you gotta factor that in too though).

 

[Rescue 312]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies, It is looking like a case of having separate suits for separate jobs, was hoping too combine the two, but oh well.

Dave

 

[elmer fudd]

I've dove Hydroglove latex drysuits before and they are super thin and super flexible. At .025" thick, they are probably thinner than a diveskin. They also were very wet compared to a modern suit, but not because the material was too thin. They don't have any valves so whenever you vent air you tend to add water at the same time. That said, I was able to dive them to 60' and beyond in 45 degree water and they kept me warmer than a wetsuit.

I can't really recommend them as a serious diving suit. They're more of an oddity for vintage divers who want to experience what it was like in the old days. However they do give some idea of just how minimal a drysuit can be and still work.

 

[swimmer_spe]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies, It is looking like a case of having separate suits for separate jobs, was hoping too combine the two, but oh well.

Dave

I own 4 wetsuits.

A 5mm for swimming, a 5mm for surfing with attached hood, a 2 piece farmer john 7mm for diving, and a 3mm for warm water diving.

I own 1 drysuit that is for diving. I will be getting a drysuit for kayaking.

Each are different. They are designed for different jobs.

 

[fjpatrum]

I'll be the contentious one (as is often the case) and say that converting a dry surface suit is certainly possible by adding valves. I suspect they still won't be quite as dry but far better than a wetsuit as far as warmth. My big concern would be durability, more than wetness, though. As has been said, surface suits are often much thinner material. I'd bet it's a bi-lam material, which will work just fine, but isn't as durable as a tri-lam or a neoprene suit. Not a major issue, just something to think about.

Adding things like pockets and knee/elbow pads is trivially easy but how much would that interfere with your intended surface use? If you're just talking kayaking, no big deal, I suspect adding pads. Pockets and valves might be more of an issue with concerns of snagging on boat re-entries and things like that. Inflator valves in the center of the chest I'd suspect would be quite uncomfortable under most properly fitted PFDs too.

Personally, if I had an old(er) suit, I'd try it just for the project value, but I like DIY a lot. If you're not already DIY inclined skip it and buy a separate suit.