drysuit

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jord1990

Contributor
Messages
107
Reaction score
27
Location
Haarlem the netherlands
# of dives
25 - 49
Hey, I was wondering which drysuit I should get.
I want to buy 1 in march or may. I know I'm still a new diver but since I got to temps of 8C, I started drooling at drysuits. I want to use it here in cold water and I'm probably heading for the tech-side of diving within 2 years. So what would be a good suit.
 
If you're planning on going into tech diving -- especially if you mean deep -- then you should buy a trilaminate suit. The neoprene ones thicker than 2mm can suffer too much loss of buoyancy at extreme depths, which is why I don't think they're the best ones for very deep diving.

That kind of narrows the field a bit. In terms of brands, I'm personally partial to Bare but Waterproof, Whites and several others are common in the Netherlands. You could also have one custom made but of course there will be a price to pay. Given that you may still be growing it might be good to look at something like a Bare Trilam Pro dry which aren't their best drysuits but the price is reasonable and they have a fairly roomy fit which you'll probably benefit from given your age.

If I were you I would avoid buying a 2nd hand one from Marktplaats unless you just want to use it for a year and hope it doesn't give you too many problems. People simply don't sell their drysuits on Marktplaats unless they're getting to their end-of-life. The zippers are always a weak spot and really expensive to replace, which would make me think twice about buying a 2nd hand one online.

Hope that helps.

R..
 
There are a dozen threads with a dozen opinions on this one...

The first recommendation many here might make will be to take a drysuit class (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/450470-buy-drysuit-take-class-first.html). You'll get the opportunity to try on a few, as well as learn the differences between the types. Secondly, you'll gain a better respect for features you like, and identify the ones you don't. Play close attention to tri-lam vs neoprene, inflator and exhaust valves, latex vs neoprene seals, and integrated boots vs rock boots, and fit.

Your budget will be a contributing factor to your decision making. Used suits may play a large role in mitigating the expense a little bit.

Size may be another issue for you which is why it will be important to try many suits on, just as when purchasing a wetsuit. Only this time, you'll want to have room inside for undergarments. Speaking of which, I suggest reading a few threads on undergarments (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/exposure-suits/445656-warmest-undergarment-available.html), bouyancy with the suit vs bc, and weighting options and techniques.

I just recently purchased a Mares TechFit LX and a Fourth Element Halo 3D undergarment, and I like them both. Bare, DUI, Santi, ScubaPro, and many others all make good quality suites from what I've read here on the board.

Best of luck to you. I'm sure this thread will explode with advice and opinions in no time. Pay attention to others experiences, but make sure you gain some of your own before dropping 1,000 euro on a full drysuit setup.
 
a good fit is important especialy around the lower leg and boot.
front zips are worth there weight in gold.
 
a good fit is important especialy around the lower leg and boot.
front zips are worth there weight in gold.

I forgot to mention the zippers! Good call.
 
I have a Seaskin suit and I love it. The suits are all made to measure and you can add whatever options you want. I agree a membrane suit is better than a neoprene. Neoprenes are warmer but with a membrane, you select the undersuit to suit the water temperature.

Fit is very important if you want to get into tech diving. If you do not have enough movement in the shoulders, you may struggle to reach your valves on shutdowns. Think about pockets; I have a zipped cargo pocket on each leg. These are on the sides as front mounted pockets can get in the way if you are climbing onto a RHIB. A dry-glove system is also worth considering.

They are in Leeds (UK) but will ship overseas. Their prices are extremely competitive though, even when you factor in shipping. They can also make a made to measure undersuit.
 
Neophrene suits very rarely leak anywhere in the suit itself, but they are a little trickier because their bouyancy changes at greater depths (as noted above). I have a trilaminate suit and my daughter has a crushed neophrene suit. The neophrene is good for her becasue it's warm; she gets chilled easily and would happily wear her drysuit with a thick undersuit while sitting in a hottub
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My trilam suit is great because I can wear it with long underwear & a thick undersuit at -2C (sea water in winter), or with just long johns in 28C water - and have happily spent many hours at both temps. The trilam suit is also great, esp. for tech diving because it has big, tough cargo pockets.

Since you live here in Europe, the brands I would particularly recommend are are Ursuit (quite tough, often cheap for the quality), DiveRite (often the least expensive and also a good suit) and Santi (somewhat expensive, very nice suit, can be made to fit perfectly). Don't buy anything without trying it first. Also think long & hard before buying a used suit => if it doesn't really and truely fit you well and isn't in really, really good shape, DON'T do it. => Life is too short for so many wet drysuit dives and crazy migrating air because your suit doen't really fit.

Also please know that LOTS of us who started as wetsuit dives took 20-50 dives to get our skills back in control after starting to dive dry. You may be much better off switching now at the beginning of your dive career: my kids have still never worn a wetsuit and they didn't seem to think drysuits were hard at all. Hope it goes that way for you. Good luck!
 
If I wannted a really good trilam suit with cargo space, drygloves and a thick undergarment.
Probably made to measure. what would the price be ?
 
If I wannted a really good trilam suit with cargo space, drygloves and a thick undergarment.
Probably made to measure. what would the price be ?

It depends on which make of suit you go for. Santi or DUI will run you somewhere between £2000-£3000 for suit and undersuit. Seaskin, between £600-£700 for the suit. Seaskin only do a 250 gram undersuit. if i had the money, i'd definitely be getting a 400g santi undersuit.

I have a seaskin nova (membrane drysuit). i've done over 100 dives on it so far, and it's still looking good, no leaks, etc. good suit for the price
 

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