Help me select a drysuit

[midwest diver]

Ive tried posting in exposure suits, but not much help. Could someone help me figure out a good drysuit, that is not neoprene(or convince me that neoprene will keep me warm enough) for under a grand.

Ive looked at bare, viking and dui. Ive seen others as well, but I am havign trouble determining which ones have attatched dry gloves, boots, and an attatched hood. These are all necessary for diving around here in the winter right??

Anyone have any thoughts, im stumped.

 

[gtxl1200]

I bought the Bare nex gen It seems to work Ok for me It is the shell type Not neoprene. It has neoprene boots so you have to buy boots to wear over them My suit came with those boots when I bought it. Most drysuits dont come with Dry gloves At least I dont think (help me out here Brian) There is a person that sells the ring type dry glove system that will fit most dry suits (ask Frankenmuth_tom) he knows the guy. I still wear wet gloves with my dry suit. hands do seem to get a bit chilly, coldest dive to date was 41deg. The next gen does not come with a atatched hood. I wear a hood that came with my drysuit and it is extremly warm Im bald and my head never gets cold. My suit is a great starter suit another guy from this board tried mine and went right out and got one that same week. Remember though your starting something that will get ugly on this board Everyone is different on what they like and dont like. My opinion on this suit may not be the same as someone else. You might want to look up on the quarries web site alot of them have drysuit demo days where the manufactures show up with their goods and let you try them out. Or try renting some different ones from dive shops. Try those routes to make up your mind. This is my first year diving Dry and every one i have dove with with dry suit was wearing a different namebrand. so you might get lots of pro's and cons to also help you choose.

 

[midwest diver]

awesome, thanks or the quick response. Ive been looking at the nexgen. I see them on ebay all the time... Im going to do a little more research, as of right now im still in a 2 piece 7 mil wetsuit.

 

[theskull]

Problems, my man:
1. Under a grand is not a good place to look for a quality dry suit, unless you are willing to go used or factory returns, such as on DUI's website.
2. The warmth comes from quality undergarments, but given equal undergarments a neoprene suit would keep you even warmer.
3. You can attach dry gloves to any dry suit, but only need to for the coldest water (under 45 F).
4. All have attached boots. The question is whether you want attached rubber boots or attached neoprene booties and rock boots to wear over them.
5. Attached hood is only necessary in the most severe conditions. A 5 mm neoprene hood that fits around the neck seal will keep you most toasty.

Go out diving in some rental dry suits, or go to a DUI DOG Days where you can try out a few suits for about $10 a day (see the DUI website for locations and dates). Then you will have a better idea what questions to ask.

theskull

p.s. I am not necessarily promoting DUI over other brands, just find that their marketing and trial programs are better than the others, and it is easier to find DUIs in rental programs.

 

[gtxl1200]

awesome, thanks or the quick response. Ive been looking at the nexgen. I see them on ebay all the time... Im going to do a little more research, as of right now im still in a 2 piece 7 mil wetsuit.

Ebay is where I got mine got the suit the hood the boots gloves and fins and some fleece underwear for 680.00 it was brand new some dive shop selling them. Like I said it works great for me I'm not a tech diver or cave diver so it is all that I need.

 

[Fishy8411]

I'd suggest looking at divetank.com. I got a slightly used (one hour, looks new) Bare ATR-HD from them. It came with dry gloves, tech hood, and trek boots (plus other miscellaneous items), for $775.00.


Tom

 

[diver_paula]

Another suit to check out is Diving Concepts. www.divingconcepts.com I love mine and haven't gotten wet once. The model I have is made of a stretchy tri-laminate. Very cool!

Paula

 

[SDAnderson]

You need to see some of these things up close and dive them before you make a decision. I dive nearly year-round in the Great Lakes and have been happy as a clam with my DUI trilam. Beware the built-in hoods and gloves - they aren't necessary and they limit your options. Boots come in a variety of flavors, including the hard shells, the soft shells with hard boots and my preference, the hybrid hard sole on a soft shell. Wet gloves are always preferrable if the temps will permit, when it gets too cold the drygloves are worth their weight in gold. I dive a wet hood year round, including some long duration stuff.

Find the DOG DAYS schedule and go dive their suits. If nothing else, it will help you to understand some of the various technologies. DUI makes great stuff, probably the best, but there are lots of other choices out there that can save you some money and will work just fine for an occasional diver.

 

[diver_paula]

Find the DOG DAYS schedule and go dive their suits. If nothing else, it will help you to understand some of the various technologies. DUI makes great stuff, probably the best, but there are lots of other choices out there that can save you some money and will work just fine for an occasional diver.

Midwest diver,

It would help if we knew exactly where you are. I know that Gilboa is hosting the DUI DOG days the first weekend of June. Details for that and other DOG day weekends are on DUI's website.

Paula

 

[Bob3]

I would advise going with an attached hood & then trim the face opening to fit your face/mask, something that is very often neglected. If having an attached hood is still too annoying during the surface intervals you can always chop it off.
Keep in mind that repeatedly exposing the ears to cold & wet can cause significant ear problems down the road.
Rock/Treck boots are great for shore diving; when boat diving some folks find them a buttpain, just one more thing that needs to be messed with before jumping in the water.
Permanently attached cuff rings are often found to be annoying as well. There are a few different dryglove/ring kits out there that can be employed quickly & easily when needed, even allowing in the field cuff replacements at less than $20 a pop.
Watch out for manufacturers that cut corners on the "little things", like using valves that have a history of problems, or cuffs that deteriorate in a short period of time.