Give me your dry suit wisdom

[VikingDives]

I haven't taken dry suit training yet, but I'll be knocking that out in the next three weeks.

I'm planning to make to move to more technical diving over the next couple of years. I'm also generally buying what DIR is selling, but I have no training from a DIR agency. All that said, I'm interested in diving deeper wrecks on vacation, and having a dry suit that will be appropriate for New Mexico's abundance of lakes (HA!), so I can keep my skills up over the winters.

I'm going to wait until I'm certified before I pull the trigger on anything (unless I find a compelling reason here not to do so), but I don't want my first dry suit to be like that pair of split fins that I bought, sitting in my closet, wishing they could back-kick. And I don't want my first dry suit to be like my first bcd; upright, jilted and making faces when I spend all my time with my bp/w in the horizontal.

So from a high of 64 (water) at blue hole in Santa Rosa to a low of I don't know, non-frozen, with that dry windy semi-desert winter wind (it's rarely in the single digits on the surface) ... with an eye to longer deco dives in the immediate future, and not wanting to make the mistake of buying the wrong suit, what's your wisdom Scubaboard?

 

[NAM001]

use your suit for warmth and your wing for buoyancy

I like shell suits. you don't grow out of them easily

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[Bubblesong]

Which dry suit neck seal does not strangle the wearer while keeping the water out?

 

[VikingDives]

use your suit for warmth and your wing for buoyancy

I like shell suits. you don't grow out of them easily

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I was leaning toward shell to begin with, but thanks.

 

[NAM001]

Which dry suit neck seal does not strangle the wearer while keeping the water out?

With my tls350 I have zip seals (recommended) and the neck squeeze is adjustable (make looser only) it took a couple of dives to get used to it like wearing a tie for the first time. you feel constrained for a bit but then its gone. It does not have to be tight to hold water out, just tight enough to stop free flow through the neck or wrists. Water pressure does most all the work.

 

[NAM001]

undies..... don't over do it. my 300 g polarstretch takes 40# lead to hold me down and the 100 takes 20#. When you put the sieght on the hips it changes the dynamics of which wing you need to get the lift in the proper places. With the 100g I can use the doughtnut wing but with the 300 G I need a horse shoe with the lift designed at the waist to comp for the extra lead.

 

[Marie13]

The silicone seals on my suit are very comfortable. They fit perfectly right out of the box and didn't need to be trimmed at all

 

[elgoog]

Which dry suit neck seal does not strangle the wearer while keeping the water out?

I found silicone neck seals to be worth it for the comfort compared to latex - they feel softer and a little easier to stretch. However, the strangling/choking is more due to the fit and positioning of the seal. For me, if it lands high up on my neck or anywhere close to my Adam's apple, it makes me gag. The solution for me was to trim it correctly so it's still tight and then pull it as far down my neck as I can when I don the suit.

 

[Bubblesong]

The PADI Dry suit book said silicone seals don't last as long, but I would be willing to replace more often to get best comfort

 

[OMANDIVER]

Find out the lowest water temperature you need to tolerate. Find the Insulation that is required to dive it. Put it on. Go to shop. Try on drysuit. Can you reach your valves? Buy dry suit. There are many options, dry gloves, pee valves, trilam vs neo etc. But what I have written is the right order to do it.