Drysuit Question

[dive2617]

I'm finally going to make the plunge do the certification and buy a drysuit. My question is can you buy a drysuit before the course after doing your homework and save the money on a rental or should you take the course and see what you like in a drysuit?

Thanks in advance!

 

[tomfcrist]

I think there is a lot to be said about both routes. What type of drysuit do you want? What is easier to dive? If You are going for a standard bag suit, what type of zipper do you prefer?

A lot of these questions can be answered by just trying one on in the shop.

What kind of quality can you afford? Hog? DUI? Santi?

My suggestion would be to talk to a bunch of drysuit divers local to you. Pick their brains about what they like/dislike about their suits. How long have they had their suits?

Some shops will teach your drysuit course for free if you buy your suit from them.

Lots of variables to consider.

 

[dive2617]

I'm looking at some pretty cold water diving, great lakes, quarries etc. And inherent in those dives are wrecks, I've read a lot of different opinions on which type of suit is more "rugged" and found that neoprene is a bit tougher but its also tougher to patch than trilam. I've also read about the squeeze problems with neoprene that affect buoyancy. My price range is probably below $2000 so that leaves some room but pretty much eliminates DUI all together. I like scubapro's drysuit they're about to come out with, adapted from subgear, the exodry. However, the suit that has really caught my eye is the Waterproof D1 as you can take out the liner so it has a larger range of temperatures at which it is useful, and I hear its tough as nails. Obviously I've read about the downsides, ie the abrasiveness of the liner. This suit is clearly a bit outside my price range at $3100, however I found a lightly used one for $1200 and that's kind of the reason I'm asking the question now to see what people think.

 

[KevinNM]

My experience is that getting really comfortable with a drysuit takes a lot more dives than the course. This was with a trilam, maybe it's different in different types of suits. In my case the class was post purchase, and was included with the suit.

if you have the opportunity to dive a variety of suits of different sizes that would be good, I ended up with a suit that was just a little too small and had the exhaust valve stupidly located.

I have a trilam and don't like to craw through things under water. But I've seen suggestions that compressed neoprene suits are good for people who like to crawl through wrecks, the drawback is that leaks can be hard to locale. Where the water comes out on you might be long way from where it is getting into the suit. But they are supposed to be very tough and do not have the buoyancy swings of normal neoprene.

 

[tomfcrist]

I use a fusion with the bullet skin. Crawl through anything, no problem.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba.]

You have a lot of options within that $2,000 budget--does that budget include the undergarments? Waterproof is an excellent product, but it may put your budget in danger if you are getting a new one.

I don't think you have to worry too much about the ruggedness of the suit--none of them are all that fragile. I have had several different suits in fairly tough conditions without a worry, but 95% of my diving involves no real threat whatsoever. I suspect your encounters will be similar.

For me, the most important thing is the ability to make the most common repairs (wrist and neck seals) yourself on site. A couple of years ago, I was at a dive site far from home when one of the students tore a neck seal on our first dive. He would have to mail it to a distant repair center for replacement. He would have been screwed for the entire weekend if by some miracle I had not thrown my old dry suit into the van at the last minute as a backup and if by some miracle he had not been my size. In comparison, I once tore a wrist seal pulling on the suit in preparation for jumping off the boat. The only consequence after I replaced it was that my buddy and I were the last group to get in the water rather than the first. The most common way to accomplish this is with a ring system, and if you add that to a suit that does not have one, prepare to pay for that as well.

Search results for: 'dry suit' - Dive Right in Scuba

 

[BRT]

I'd grab the $1200 suit if it was what I thought I wanted. If it doesn't suit you down the road find another used one that matches your preferences and dump the first one or keep it for a spare. There is a lot of difference between $1200 and $3000. You can experiment a bit. I dive a $750 DUI CF200 (price included underwear). My wife dives a $750 Fusion front zip that included underwear, all 3 skins, dry gloves and a ring system. Her last suit cost $500 plus about $350 for rings and didn't suit her. We have used it for a loaner but the total is still cheaper than a new Fusion with the options.