Drysuits - Things to look for

[AZ_ROB]

I agree 10 yrs is a good life for a drysuit but time to put it to rest. I just bought the Typhoon Prosport for my local LDS. it has removable socks instead of boots. it comes complete with Drysuit, boots, thermals, bag and hose. the whole thing set me back $999.00 excellent deal I think all I needed to buy was some talc and soda cans for the wrist seals.

 

[coldwaterdufus]

April 09 I bought my dry suit. Bare Nexgen. These suits were in the local LDS rental system and I had tried them on approx 15 dives. I tried on other, more expensive brands off the shelf and didn't like any of them. LDS said Nexgen was durable and an OK suit, and that's why it was in their rental system. Not anywhere close to top of the line but inexpensive ( relatively ) and durable. I now have over 50 dives, am comfortable and warm. Bare, in April '09, had a sale which included your choice of free underwear. I was less than $1000 CDN. I got the top of the line underwear and have been toasty ever since. No, I don't work for Bare, just like the suit. Whatever you buy, make sure it fits.

 

[TSandM]

The newer "gumboot" style collects air and likes to crack on the top and they're almost impossible to repair

Agree that they crack, especially if you leave finkeepers on them all the time. But I've had reasonable success just slathering the cracks with Aquaseal.

I think you can get quite reasonable deals on used dry suits, as I have seen any number of people sell their older ones (myself included). But I'd say it's the kind of transaction that should be done locally, so you have a chance to look at the suit and possibly even dive it (or at least get in a pool or hot tub) before you purchase. Seals are a pretty easy and inexpensive repair, but zippers are neither. Buying a suit with a bum zipper will cost you money and time, so the suit would need to be extremely cheap to make it worth your while.

Laminate suits can be subject to delamination, which results in multiple small leaks which are difficult to impossible to repair. The risk of this goes up with the age of the material, so a very old suit is a gamble.

 

[dsdiving]

The zipper is an expensive fix. IMO 10 years old is really pushing the life of a suit. It might be a little less of a headache to just save up some more money and buy something new(er). I hear a lot of good things about the pinnacle freedom 2 which I believe can be had for <$1000.

Wow! I guess I should be looking for a new suit.

It really comes down to what kind of Diving you do and how you take care of your gear. I have two suits- an old Brooks Seal suit, so far I've only had to replace the kneepads and one wrist seal- Pretty good suit for 15 yrs.old. The other is a Bare ultralite suit-barely 50 dives on it but in good condition. I still prefer Neoprene suits.
Like anything used you'll probably not be saving any money in the long run but if you don't have the money up front what else can you do. I'm not a fan of going into debt over non essentials but that's just me.

 

[Dantheengineer]

I have wasted more money on used drysuits bought on ebay than I care to admit. Most are short-lived or unusable right from the start. It more hassle than it's worth. As tempting as it is to save $1500, I always buy new now.

I Guess I was pretty lucky. I just got ahold of a second hand but never actually used Poseidon Technica from an Ebay auction for around 350 GBP (just shy of $600).
I had it out saturday and it seemed to function adequately. (for all i know anyway, my first time wearing one and i stayed dry and somehow managed to avoid the feet first ascent :cool2.
It came with the bag, hood, the Lp hose and even a small stick of wax so for, my two penneth, i'd say there's deals around.