Entry level drysuit

[evil_xander]

The best wetsuit in the world can't compare to any decent drysuit for comfort in the cold.

People sometimes overlook the fact of comfort on land, during cold weather, snow, wind, or on a boat waiting for the 2nd dive of the day.

It's not a problem to spend 30-40 mins in somewhat cold water, but exiting tends to be tricky, and repeating a dive in a wet, cold, slimy wetsuit no matter how well it fits is not a tempting thing.

I used to get cold during summer for a 2nd dive of the day in a good fitting two piece 5mm wetsuit, and I dived the entire 12 months once a week, january, february, march, and not freeze.

 

[Bob3]

There's a dandy sale on the Viking Extremes right now, but I wouldn't call it just a "starter" drysuit.
Too cheap to advertise, but you can get a suit, Thinsulate undies, and dryglove set for around a grand.
If you happen to be a size 04 you can get the suit upgraded to front zip model.

Trelleborg Viking

 

[TecDiver1990]

Me personally, I will dive in a Semi-Dry 8mm over a drysuit any day of the week unless I'm going really deep and have alot of Deco time or into really cold waters. Otherwise, I pull on my 8mm Semi-Dry and if it's cold when I get out, then I'm cold until I get out of it and put on some warm, dry clothes. But it really depends on the scenario, I guess. There's a reason I have both...lol

 

[taucherguy]

You are around 3 years late and a dollar too short :cool2:

Me personally, I will dive in a Semi-Dry 8mm over a drysuit any day of the week unless I'm going really deep and have alot of Deco time or into really cold waters. Otherwise, I pull on my 8mm Semi-Dry and if it's cold when I get out, then I'm cold until I get out of it and put on some warm, dry clothes. But it really depends on the scenario, I guess. There's a reason I have both...lol

 

[BobbyT22]

My buddy has the Bare NextGen, and seems to be a good suit at a good price. My first suit was a used DUI one off of Ebay...it ended up having a couple of leaks, and I had to send it out for wrist & neck seals in addition. I wouldn't go the used route, unless you know that the seals are good, or else, budget the money for getting them swapped out.

I concur. I don't own a Nexgen, but I have rented one and it does the job nicely. I own a Bare XCD Tech, which is a cadillac of a suit, but I realized after renting the Nexgen on travel that I probably could have spent less than half of what I did and gone with the chevy (i.e nexgen) and been just fine.