DUI vs. Bare Drysuits

[Soggy]

Psh. 400 is too much for the typical diver, especially a newer diver.

If you say so. After a little while in 200g thinsulate, I'm shivering in New England. I wear it even when the water is in the 60s. I wish I had bought my 400g from the beginning...could've saved a lot of money.

I'm not sure what being a newer diver has to do with the price of eggs...

Everyone has different thermal requirements. 400g will work anywhere...you can always just take off hood or gloves if you get too warm in certain temperature ranges. 200g will be cold for most people in really cold water.

 

[spectrum]

Almost every wetsuit suggestion posted mentions everyones different tolerance of cold, why should drysuit underwear be seen any differently.

Pete

 

[darylm74]

Also, getting someone with a lot of experience measuring and getting suits right for the manufacturer in question goes a LONG way towards making sure your suit fits right.

Have three friends take your measurements and you will get three different drysuits, none of which will be ideal. Get your measurements done by someone who not only knows what they're doing, but how to get the right measurements for the manufacturer.

Seriously? How much more does someone working in a dive shop know, compared to someone who sews about, fitting? They have charts to go off of and that is what they use. It doesn't take many brain cells to follow the chart. The dive shop manger did the measuring but my wife corrected him on a couple things. It is a good thing she was there. My suit fits perfectly in the places it needed to be and I'm a very hard to fit guy. Just because you go to a dive shop doesn't mean you're going to get someone "experienced" in doing drysuits. Better to trust someone who you "know" can do the right measurements rather than a college kid that is working at the LDS for the summer. If you know your LDS very well, you know who can do what but if you're bouncing from LDS to LDS (as it seems this guy is)......you are taking your chances.

 

[Atticus]

Those prices seem pretty high on both the Bare and the DUI. I would shop around. Heck, even Amazon.com is selling drysuits now.

 

[darylm74]

If you say so. After a little while in 200g thinsulate, I'm shivering in New England. I wear it even when the water is in the 60s. I wish I had bought my 400g from the beginning...could've saved a lot of money.

I'm not sure what being a newer diver has to do with the price of eggs...

Everyone has different thermal requirements. 400g will work anywhere...you can always just take off hood or gloves if you get too warm in certain temperature ranges. 200g will be cold for most people in really cold water.

I believe that everyone has their own thermal properties. That is why I have a different weight undergarments that my wife made, however I often wear polar fleece that I bought from EMS or Campmor. I am comfortable, flexible and I often don't need the weight that everyone else was wearing. I was diving 100 wt with a polyprop undershirt while lots of others were diving in their heavy stuff. On the other hand I hate to have my hands cold. Best to have a versatile setup unless you can buy several different weight sets of actual diving underwear. It just isn't my cup of tea.

 

[jonnythan]

Seriously? How much more does someone working in a dive shop know, compared to someone who sews about, fitting? They have charts to go off of and that is what they use. It doesn't take many brain cells to follow the chart. The dive shop manger did the measuring but my wife corrected him on a couple things. It is a good thing she was there. My suit fits perfectly in the places it needed to be and I'm a very hard to fit guy. Just because you go to a dive shop doesn't mean you're going to get someone "experienced" in doing drysuits. Better to trust someone who you "know" can do the right measurements rather than a college kid that is working at the LDS for the summer. If you know your LDS very well, you know who can do what but if you're bouncing from LDS to LDS (as it seems this guy is)......you are taking your chances.

You clearly did not read my post at all. I said nothing about college kids working at the local shop for the summer.

I specifically said to go to someone who has a lot of experience getting the maesurements just right. Getting the exact measurements as a tailor experienced in making suits would does not equate getting the correct suit made for you. A dealer who has a lot of experience in getting the measurements correct and knowing where to give a little room or where to be a little restrictive for a certain drysuit or manufacturer is infinitely useful.

You are absolutely right in that going to an LDS does not automatically get you someone who knows what they're doing.

That's why you find someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[RiverRat]

I made out good with Richard from Divetank.com. I got a Bare HD Tech Trilam, Polarwear T-100, Trek boots and nice hood for around $1200. I even got a few inches cut on the legs. I've only got 4 dives on it but the suit fits well. I was cold on one dive at 46 degrees but I realized I just wasn't putting enough air in the suit to loft it up a bit. The HD Tech looks to be made of a tough fabric. I've never dove a TLS but I'm guessing that the Bare may be a little heavier and have more drag than the TLS. But for the price I'm more than happy with the deal.

 

[darylm74]

You clearly did not read my post at all. I said nothing about college kids working at the local shop for the summer.

I specifically said to go to someone who has a lot of experience getting the maesurements just right. Getting the exact measurements as a tailor experienced in making suits would does not equate getting the correct suit made for you. A dealer who has a lot of experience in getting the measurements correct and knowing where to give a little room or where to be a little restrictive for a certain drysuit or manufacturer is infinitely useful.

You are absolutely right in that going to an LDS does not automatically get you someone who knows what they're doing.

That's why you find someone who knows what they're doing.

I totally understood what you were saying and I did read the reply. The problem is that unless know an LDS (as I stated earlier) and you're just bouncing from place to place, you don't always know that you're getting an experienced measurer. If you don't have an LDS that you're familiar with (especially if you are starting out) or if only so many are available in your area, then you have to go by word of mouth and obviously everyone is going to vary their opinion and so forth on who's the best in the area. The big difference of opinion here is who you trust. The LDS's general manager that measured mine happens to be my best friend and dive buddy. I still brought my wife along and for good reason. Chalk it up to our on individual experiences.....we're just offering two different view points.....no need to get into a spitting contest over it.

 

[The Horn]

DUI make probably the best drysuit on the market today. Fine. They also maket the most expensive. I personally do not see the advantage of paying twice the price for a drysuit that will last as long as a BARE.

2mm crushed neoprene: actually 7mm crushed to 2 mm.

2mm hyper compressed: 7mm compressed to 4mm and then a shave taken down to 2mm.

Bare says the suit will become "stiffer" with time and depth. Other than that not a whole deal difference.
I do not see the justification for the higher cost of the DUI. They are both top of the line suits. Admittedly the DUI would be the better choice if $$$ were not an option. Having written that, that may very well be due to the flogging all other suits get from the DIR public.

My BARE xcd2 pro dry is great, under garments make the warmth whether bare or dui or anything else....personally dive with dry suit, long johns, fleece top and wool socks: 40 degrees no problem.

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

I have gone the less expensive to start route before, and then I ended out later paying for what I should have gotten in the first place. Don't make that same mistake. Wait until you can afford the best, and then buy the best.

I have posted, in detail, about my recent purchase of my second DUI TLS350 Signature Series, including options, where I got it from and cost. Run a search, and you will find out everything you need to know. All I can say is, there is a reason why I bought another one rather than getting something different the second time around.

Even if it costs $3,000 or more for a good suit, if you use it for ten years, that's $300 per year. If you get the wrong suit, that will be ten years of "I should have just gotten the other one." More likely, it will be a number of dives, and then you will get the other one, spending even more in total than if you just dug in and did what you needed to do from the beginning.

Don't say I didn't warn you!