Help with Mares Isotherm Semi-Dry

[jgarysmith]

I just purchased a Mares Isotherm Millinuim Semi-Dry after hearing some great things about it. Anybody out there know what the limits are in cold water for diving with it. I wanted to put off buying a dry suit for awhile and the semi dry seemed like a good choice.

Anybody know what temp you can use the suit in. Thinking about taking it to Lake Rawlings this weekend. Temps in the low 50's and 40's down deep. Anyone have any thing to offer.

 

[Boogie711]

I dove a Mares Isotherm for the past year before going dry. It's a great suit, and for the first dive of the day, you shouldn't be too bad, especially if you have a shorty underneath. You can't wear a hooded vest unless you wear the vest OVER the suit, because it screws up the neck seal.

Going back in the water isn't fun though.

 

[jgarysmith]

Does water get in the suit, or does it stay pretty dry. How cold was the water you used it in.

Thanks

 

[Boogie711]

Water will absolutely get in. The point is that it STAYS in, and doesn't flush. I've been in water as cold as 33 degrees with the thing for short dives. It's not pleasant, but it works.

 

[BrianM]

Does water get in the suit, or does it stay pretty dry. How cold was the water you used it in.

Thanks

My S/O dives an Isotherm and the problem she has is the squeeze she gets. She has no way to balance it except to let cold water in the neck seal at depth, which is quite a shock to the system and really drops your core temperature when it's 48 degrees. If she could let a tiny bit of air in at depth it would work great...but then it would just be a very cheap drysuit..lol

I tried to tell her to eat a few bean burritos before the dive but she claims only guys can do it that way... :confused4:

 

[mattengstrom]

Some people 'round here use them in lake superior and for ice diving in the winter. I've only had mine in "normal" lakes in the summer. I'll be trying superior this summer, hopefully, and I'll post my experiences.

Dryness varies, depending on how vigorous I've been in the water. One thing that helps a lot with water transfer is to roll the wrist and ankle cuffs back under thenselves so that the smoothskin side is INSIDE against your own skin. Put on glove or boot, and then zip the outer cuff down outside of that. Make sense? PM me if it doesn't...

 

[jgarysmith]

Brian, when you say squeeze, what verlord: do you mean. The suit compresses too much etc.

 

[BrianM]

Brian, when you say squeeze, what verlord: do you mean. The suit compresses too much etc.

Yes that is what I meant. She says it feels like she is getting squeezed, kind of like the suit is shrinking. It's really the same feeling you get in a drysuit before you add air to equalize it. The only way she can stop it is to let water in the neck seal and she gets very cold when she does that, so it kind of defeats the purpose of having a semi-dry suit

 

[mattengstrom]

Yes that is what I meant. She says it feels like she is getting squeezed, kind of like the suit is shrinking. It's really the same feeling you get in a drysuit before you add air to equalize it. The only way she can stop it is to let water in the neck seal and she gets very cold when she does that, so it kind of defeats the purpose of having a semi-dry suit

How deep is this going on? I've had mine down to about 70 ft and haven't had any squeeze problems. The suit will compress - nature of neoprene, no way around it - but I haven't had any uncomfortable squeezes or pinches.

It may help to "burp" the suit before you go down. Best way I've found to do this is in the water - submerge as much of yourself as possible and then break the neck seal or a wrist seal or whatever to let the air out from inside the suit. Then, when you're descending but still at shallow depth, stretch out and move around to get the suit all rearranged.

Try a quick search on the forum for "burp". It's probably come up before in the drysuit discussions.

 

[jgarysmith]

I dove my Mares Isotherm tdayin 45 degree water and it was great. I never got cold. A little water came in, but my shorts were dry. It is a great suit. I did burp it at the neck before going under and that seemed to fix the squeeze problem.

It really was a good alternative to a dry suit. It wasn't as warm as a dry suit, but it wasn't half as expensive. I will get a dry suit also,but for now, this is a much cheaper way. I would definatly recomend it to anyone.