How dry is a dry suit?

[tc_rain]

water entering through the exhaust valve may be your fault. If there is no air in the suit and you press the valve, water is coming in.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If I have a suit that leaks, I fix it. They should be pretty dry. The exceptions were noted above already

1. Perspiration (it has no where to go in the suit)
2. Condensation (warm moist air and cold water can produce a lot of it in what is a fairly large volume of air in the suit)
3. Some wrists do not work well with cone shaped latex seals. But that is where neoprene seals, longer latex seals and dry gloves can come into play to eliminate the problem - just get the right seal that works for you.

Where the leak is is a good indicator. if it is near a seal or valve it is a strong indication that is where the water is coming from. Wet spots on the front of your chest down to the crotch may indicate a leak in the neck seal as that is where the water runs and pools.

Sometimes it is due to technique or operational problems.

1. Carrying too little air in the suit/trying to dump too much gas from the suit will cause the exhaust valve to leak.
2. A loose neck seal combined with being vertical in the water with too much gas in the suit can cause leaks.

 

[batmanusa]

I agree with previous post, a dry suit should be dry. However one of the best ways to know what you want is to try before you buy. Though you are not likely to rent a custom fitted dry suit, you can tell many things by renting. It sounds like you are doing the right things to eliminate an expensive purchase mistake in the future. I would only add that you also question and compare manufactures and their support, return and repair policies before you buy. So, go deeper than the published warranty info.
Bat.

 

[Diver0001]

3. Some wrists do not work well with cone shaped latex seals. But that is where neoprene seals, longer latex seals and dry gloves can come into play to eliminate the problem - just get the right seal that works for you.

Yeah, for the last 5-6 years or so I've been using drygloves and of course that keeps them dry. I got new seals put on it this year and I haven't put the cuffs back on because it hasn't been bitterly cold yet (although we're definitely getting there) and I've been thinking about taking my drysuit to Egypt next week, wimp that I am....

But you're right, of course.

R..

 

[Bob]

My TLS 350 is dry. Except for a little condensation and sweat my suit is dry. The one time I got water in my suit was because I didn't get the zipper closed completely and my undergarment got wet. I haven't made that mistake again... almtree: Bob

 

[spt29970]

My drysuit is dry in the sense that no seawater enters through the seals. Of course perspiration condenses on the suit, so I occasionally feel a little damp overall, especially if it is hot topside before the dive. If the "dampness" is concentrated in a specific location, you have a leak. Like your regulator, a small leak will still allow you to dive, but is a strong indicator that something is wrong and that you should do some preventative maintenance.

 

[Flightlead]

Like others noted here, my forearm is occasionally damp to wet depending on how much work I do that causes my wrist tendons to create channels for the water to flow into the suit. I also tend to get a hairy neck when I don't get my hair cut often enough, that causes a bit of dampness too. One big source of moisture in my suit around here is that it is often close to 100 degrees and 90% humidity in the summer, but the bottom of the quarry is in the low 40's. So, that means 15 minutes or more of donning my heavy undergarments and suit in wet, warm air, then sweating as I stagger to the dock, add deco bottles, brief the dive. when I get into that nice cool water (ahhhhhhhhh!) all that dampness condenses on the inside of my suit. my undergarments trap it between the suit and the outer layer of the garments.

the only other problem I have is that I'm constantly blowing off my cath. Yes, it is the correct size (that's what she said ha ha), and I use the Wide Band. I must just have super strength pee power or something

 

[divestoclimb]

I agree with previous post, a dry suit should be dry. However one of the best ways to know what you want is to try before you buy. Though you are not likely to rent a custom fitted dry suit, you can tell many things by renting. It sounds like you are doing the right things to eliminate an expensive purchase mistake in the future. I would only add that you also question and compare manufactures and their support, return and repair policies before you buy. So, go deeper than the published warranty info.
Bat.

If you want to try out a nice drysuit I highly recommend going to a DUI DOG days event where you can test dive their drysuits for a small fee (about $20 for the whole day). The suits are in good condition and they all have the ZipSeals (and most have RockBoots) so you can get the right size seals and boots. DUI is one of many good drysuit manufacturers out there, but I think they have the best demo setup and it's worth taking advantage of it.

 

[Ed L.]

DUI customer service is top notch as well.

 

[TSandM]

I've been pretty lucky. The vast majority of my dry suit dives, I have come out absolutely dry except for a small amount of condensation. However, I do use dry gloves at home; this prevents the entry of water at the wrists. When I dove last week in Mexico without the dry gloves, I was sopping wet to the elbows on both arms from the water that came in while I was handling the reel.

Dry suits do eventually leak, and you patch them. Finding the leak is often the hard part, because where you are the wettest often doesn't correlate with where the leak is!