Help me select a drysuit

[diverbrian]

I have a tri-lam drysuit that I love. It is bare bones as in Attached boots and NO attached gloves or hood. To my knowledge, most drysuits will not have attached hood and gloves unless you special order them that way. I have a Henderson Gold Core drysuit hood that works great and I stay toasty.

Unlike a lot of "veterans", I dive wet gloves as well. If I need the coordination, (I am a photographer as well) I can take off the right glove under water, do what I need to do and put the glove back on. My hands do get somewhat cold, but the only time that it really matter is if I am diving a quarry in the winter (which rumor has it our local quarries will all be closed for the winter this season. :frown11: Gilboa used to stay open, but business has been too slow the last two years when it froze up. That kills my winter diving as ice diving means hard overheads and that isn't my cup of tea.)

I am using an Andy's DS-1. I looked at the DUI during DOG Days at Dutch Springs a couple of weeks ago. They just weren't that much better than what I am currently diving to justify the price difference. I did like the concept of their Zip Seals though. I would definitely look into doing a DOG Days event to pick out what type of suit and undies (as important as the suit as this is what is actually keeping you warm) you might be interested in looking at.

I have heard a great deal of good about all of the drysuits mentioned in this thread. Make sure that the seals will hold up. (Most of the reputable brands won't have a problem with that.) Have fun picking a suit.

I will add... That like the DUI divers, my set-up is quite a bit over a grand. But unlike theirs, I am am talking a over a grand including the undies. The CF200 (which was the only drysuit that I noticed significant difference over mine) was nearly twice what I paid for my whole drysuit set-up and that was just for the drysuit. The TLS (DUI Tri-Laminate) suits are better pricewise and great to dive. I did try one of theirs to compare to my current drysuit. If you added the options that they had on that drysuit (self-donning being one of them), their TLS wasn't that much more pricewise than the brand that I dive. I sometimes forget that I saved some money by buying a back zip and I still get in and out of it on my own for the most part.

 

[ninjamuzo]

If you are planning to do wreck diving or cave diving then spend a little extra and get a DUI or a Dive-rite. May of the lower priced suits do not do well in comfort and the seals tend to go on them fairly quickly.

Perosnally I hate the integrated hood and use a separate one but it cones down to persona preference. I like the integrated boots myself bit U have dived in some that you add the shoe afterwards. The integrated shoe is one less place the water can come in.

 

[midwest diver]

thanks for all of your ideas... keep them coming. Im new to freshwater diving, so I still dont know much. RIght now im off the the lds to talk to a couple masters in person about them.

The reason i say under a grand is b/c im in high school and i make 6.00/ hour. lol. Ill be lucky to make a grand all summer.

 

[AGUnderwater]

When it comes to drysuits, you get what you pay for. I have owned multiple drysuits from 7mm neoprene to bag suits and have found that the best one for me, and the one that I currently dive with, is my DUI. There is alot to be said for custom suits!~!

 

[nitroxnut]

MY money is on DUI pure and simple. I dove DUI under extreme conditions while in service and I also assisted DUI at the DOG Rally here in Tx in April as an active drysuit instructor and wont dive or recommend anything else. DUI never failed me when my life depended on it (more ways than just being in the water). Also, DUI is (as far as I know and someone can correct me) the only drysuit made that you can get replacement seals with the suit that you can repalce in about 30 seconds so you dont have to deal with glued seals. I recommend hoodless and gloveless unless you have a propensity to get really cold on the extremities like hands and ears. I'd think a wet hood and gloves would suffice for the typical recreational dive time in water. NO I dont get paid by DUI for this endorsement ,but 29 years of diving I go with what I know. Good luck with opening this can of worms and all the mind blowing responses you are going to get. BUt dont expect quality in a dry suit for under a grand. May want to look at getting a 2nd 6.00 an hour job or better yet, start progressing thru the ranks and instruct and take that money and get good. Let confusion not reign.

 

[captndale]

I have been diving dry since 1978 and have tried just about every type of suit out there. DUI is the manufacturer that everything else is compared to. There are several other suits that are also quite good.

Rubber suits such as those made by Viking are easy to cut and abrade and seem to have a shorter overall lifespan than suits made with other materials. They also only come in standard sizes because they are made on full-sized molds.

I dive in cold water so I will only use dry gloves. I have found the old-style Viking glove system to be the best for me. This is the system with hard rings installed on the suit cuffs and rubber gloves that just pull over the rings. I almost never have a failure that leaves me with wet, cold hands. I have never been able to keep my hands dry wearing gloves that have wrist seals attached to them that are supposed to seal around the wrists with no cuff rings attached to the suit.

As for attached hoods - They are warm and comfortable but make it very difficult to replace the neck seal. In order to replace the neck seal you usually have to remove the hood first. It just about tripples the work involved and it can be a little tricky getting everything back in place properly when you are finished. I just replaced the neck seal on my DUI suit (no attached hood) last monday evening. I did it on the kitchen table while I watched the evening news. If I had a suit with an attached hood it probably would have taken me two or three full evenings and the wife would have been complaining about my taking up the whole kitchen with my project.

 

[Diver Lori]

My first drysuit was a O'Neill neoprene disposable. I say disposable, because you don't put any money into it and once it's dead, it's dead. I got it new for around $600.

I dived the heck out of that puppy while I was literally saving all my change and dollar bills for a DUI CLX450. I didn't have much money at the time and really needed a drysuit, so I went with the cheapie O'Neill.

Toward the end of O'Neill's life (about 3 years), I was patching him every night. I'd blow him dry with a hair dryer and then slather on the Aquaseal and Cotol. I remember doing my cave training in Florida and having to keep the windows open in our motel room at the High Springs Country Inn so I wouldn't get high while my Aquaseal set up.

I've had my DUI now for 8 years.....my baby doesn't owe me a cent. I just had a small leak fixed in the thigh and crotch (yes, if you are diving a backplate with crotch strap, definitely spring for the new crotch pad reinforcement) and a new zipper. I plan to dive my baby for 2, maybe 3 more years while I again, save my change and dollar bills for a new CLX450.

It is simply amazing, how much money you can save in a short period of time by never spending your change or your singles....it adds up fast, and you really don't miss it.

Yes, I am debt-free and plan to stay that way. So, Midwest diver, the way I did it may be an option for you.

 

[Oldpirate]

DUI Signature Series with dry gloves, dry hood and rock boots. Ten years. Love it.

 

[skykid]

Custom DUI is your best choice. Will cost a bit, but is always well worth it.

 

[Busdiver]

Ummm, isn't this thread four years old? OP, what dry suit do you dive now?

I personally love my DUI 50/50 custom. Dove it this weekend at Portage.