Exposure Suit Question

[Soggy]

(Saturated thermals will offer negligible thermal protection).

Thinsulate retains something like 80-90% of it's insulating properties when wet.

 

[Soggy]

If you tear the suit, it becomes a 7mm wetsuit with a hole in it. If you tear a trilam, there is no thermal protection at all.

If you tear a neoprene suit it becomes a very poorly fitting 7mm wetsuit...which we all know isn't particularly warm. In addition, the fact that the 7mm fits closer becomes a disadvantage when you start getting below 100 feet or so, as the suit no longer provides insulation, yet there is little room for a proper undergarment.

And good luck tearing my trilam....I was unable to put a hole in it intentionally with a grommet tool...I had to hack at it with an exacto knife for 10 minutes. With dry gloves, about the only critical failure that could realistically occur is a torn neck seal which would only happen when you don/doff the suit and would become readily apparent the moment you got in the water.

Bottom line is, regardless of type, a wet drysuit is no-good. A proper undegarment improves the situation a bit.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

80-90% is more than a little optimistic. If thinsulate is wet it may be insulating something but it ain't insulating the diver.

I own a dive two tri-lams and I like them. But my spouse dives an Atlan neoprene dry suit and the odds are my next drysuit will be a neoprene suit.

They are very tough and the neoprene seals are very durable. A neoprene suit is also warmer than a tri-lam and, while more bouyant than a trilam, you can reduce the insulation required compared to what you'd need on the same dive in a tri-lam. Neoprene suits are also easy to put one and the material has a great deal of stretch to it so you can get a trimmer and more streamlined fit in the suit without compromising mobility.

The increased durability of the neoprene seals and the natue of the fabric make a neoprene suit an unlikely candidate for a catastophic flood. And if the underwear does get wet during a dive you still have at a minimum the insulating effects of 7mm of neoprene in what amounts to a sloppy fitting semi-dry wet suit - not ideal but warmer than a wet tri-lam.

Neoprene suits are heavier, bulkier to pack, take forever to dry and leaks are a little harder to find to fix but the advantages more than make up for the negatives.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

What suit do you use? I have never gotten wet (knock knock on wood) in my FLX 50/50. Maybe its because only the bottom's are neoprene. Who knows!!

THe FLX- 50/50 is NOT a neoprene suit. It has a CF-200 bottom, which acts more like a shell suit, than a 7mm neoprene suit. When someone says "Neoprene drysuit" they usually are referring to a suit that is made of foam neoprene in varying thicknesses (4mm up to 7mm). Neoprene suits usually have neoprene seals. I have an Atlan 7mm Neoprene drysuit.

 

[LobstaMan]

Thanks for all the responses so far. Keep them coming. I'd like all the educated opinions I can get.

LobstMan

 

[Soggy]

80-90% is more than a little optimistic. If thinsulate is wet it may be insulating something but it ain't insulating the diver.

You can take that argument up with 3M and the WKPP. I know I have spent an hour in 36 degree water with a flooded trilam (it was way too old and falling apart at the seams) and Andy's US100 thinsulate and come out cold, but not ridiculous. I'm not qualified to argue the physics behind Thinsulate's thermal properties.

They are very tough and the neoprene seals are very durable.

You can get neoprene seals on any suit. My trilam has a neoprene neck seal. They leak a bit, depending on your body structure, but they are warmer and more durable than latex seals.

A neoprene suit is also warmer than a tri-lam and, while more bouyant than a trilam, you can reduce the insulation required compared to what you'd need on the same dive in a tri-lam.

At what depth? The warm neoprene suit at 10 ft isn't so warm at 130 and now you don't have room in the suit to wear a warm undergarment.

The increased durability of the neoprene seals and the natue of the fabric make a neoprene suit an unlikely candidate for a catastophic flood.

I'd suggest that this is true of any well-made drysuit and not specific to neoprene. My trilam is a *far* tougher material than my 7mm wetsuit.

Obviously, it is my opinion that trilam suits are a much better choice than neoprene unless you are doing only shallow dives, but the bottom line is that, if you are dry, they both work well. I think a trilam suit will grow with you and your diving better than any neoprene suit.

 

[ericfine50]

I like my DUI CF200, but like others have mentioned it takes forever to dry (a reason I buit Dave Dalton's Drysuit Dryer). If you get pockets - get bellows from Fifth D - very large openings for thick gloved hands.

For exposure protection - I am currently using the Weezle Extreme and Compact suits. Very warm and work great in the cold water.

eric

 

[gerardnealon]

THe FLX- 50/50 is NOT a neoprene suit. It has a CF-200 bottom, which acts more like a shell suit, than a 7mm neoprene suit. When someone says "Neoprene drysuit" they usually are referring to a suit that is made of foam neoprene in varying thicknesses (4mm up to 7mm). Neoprene suits usually have neoprene seals. I have an Atlan 7mm Neoprene drysuit.

I stand corrected. I just knew the CF200 bottoms had crushed neoprene. Thought thats what you guys were talking about.

 

[jonnythan]

I like my DUI CF200, but like others have mentioned it takes forever to dry (a reason I buit Dave Dalton's Drysuit Dryer). If you get pockets - get bellows from Fifth D - very large openings for thick gloved hands.

For exposure protection - I am currently using the Weezle Extreme and Compact suits. Very warm and work great in the cold water.

eric

What kind of temperature rating would you give the Extreme and Compact?

 

[ericfine50]

What kind of temperature rating would you give the Extreme and Compact?

The Extreme is good in cold water, say down to 40 degrees. The compact I would use in 60s, and 50s. This also depends on how cold you normally get.

Eric