Help with dry-suit purchase

[MrVegas]

I . . . am I correct that it sounds like trilam is really the only way to go if my cold water dives are going to be this cold?

Actually, I'm kind of curious on this also . . . as noted above, I dive a membrane (bilaminate) suit, which is sort of like wearing a thin windbreaker. What keeps you warm is what you have on underneath, and you can pile on as much as you want. For a neoprene drysuit, can I really ditch most of the undergarments and stay warm in 45F water with, say, just long underwear under the suit?

 

[drk5036]

Actually, I'm kind of curious on this also . . . as noted above, I dive a membrane (bilaminate) suit, which is sort of like wearing a thin windbreaker. What keeps you warm is what you have on underneath, and you can pile on as much as you want. For a neoprene drysuit, can I really ditch most of the undergarments and stay warm in 45F water with, say, just long underwear under the suit?

The problem here is the general use of the term "neoprene drysuit". They come in many different forms. If you had an 8 mm regular neoprene suit, you could probably dive in pretty cold water with just long underwear. The seaskin neoprene is just 3 mm compressed neoprene however, and no matter how much air you have in the suit, 3 mm of neoprene isn't going to keep you warm to very low temps. I wear just wool long underwear under my seaskin ultra down to about 20-21 C. So much colder than I'd dive a 3 mm wetsuit, but certainly not "cold" water. From here to about 16C, I layer on a synthetic wool top and bottom. Below 15 degrees, I use the 150 g seaskin thinsulate undersuit. I haven't done cold water much yet (my first season diving dry) but this is my current gameplan.

 

[lexvil]

When I dive the Seaskin ultra, as drk5036 said, 3mm compressed, I wear the same layers as I do in the Nova suit and I’m warmer but using a pinnacle black ice 7mm compressed to 4mm I can dive with just the heavy wool base and be warmer in the same water.

 

[kmarks]

When I dive the Seaskin ultra, as drk5036 said, 3mm compressed, I wear the same layers as I do in the Nova suit and I’m warmer but using a pinnacle black ice 7mm compressed to 4mm I can dive with just the heavy wool base and be warmer in the same water.

The ultra is the 3mm compressed neoprene, right. So you are saying that with the same under layer, you are warmer in that than in the trilam Nova? That seems backwards of what I thought people were saying. I'm not getting any less confused. But I do like the idea of the cheaper, purportedly more comfortable suit being the warmer one.

If not warmth, what advantages does a trilam offer? Easier to clean and dry? Better actual dryness?

 

[stuartv]

I have both Seaskin suits.

I wear the trilam on the really cold dives. Not because the trilam material is warmer. The neoprene suit material is warmer. But, I wear the trilam because the suit is cut baggier, so I can fit thicker undergarments under it. Being a thin material and having the telescoping torso allows it to be roomy enough for thick undergarments and still also fit okay when the water is really warm and I'm wearing nothing underneath but an Under Armour-type base layer. I.e. when I'm only wearing a drysuit to have redundant buoyancy.

The neoprene suit gives more insulation. But, if it were cut to allow thick undergarments, then it would be very baggy and annoying with really thin undergarments. That is because the material is thickner and it does not have a telescoping torso.

So, what @lexvil said is right. If you wear the same undergarments, the neoprene suit will be warmer. But, generally, you will be able to wear thicker undergarments under the trilam, which more than makes up for that.

 

[lexvil]

stuartv covered it, the Nova is more versatile in that even made to the same measurements the stretch of neoprene allows it to fit tighter, the Nova if it were cut the same would leave you unable to move.

 

[crzyfish]

The neoprene is also more durable against abrasion.

 

[stuartv]

The neoprene is also more durable against abrasion.

I know that is the convention wisdom. But, do we KNOW that that is true for the Seaskin trilam vs neo?

The Seaskim trilam feels pretty tough, to me....

 

[Wbflyer]

Is there another option like Seaskin for the money and custom made? Whites?

 

[AustinV]

Is there another option like Seaskin for the money and custom made? Whites?

Custom made I don't think there's another option for the money. I don't own a Seaskin but have seen several in person and am sometimes surprised at how quality they seem for what they cost. They're good suits, but a killer deal at the price they're at for a MTM suit.