How warm is a Dry Suit ?

[Joebar]

If you have a lot time to read

Seaskin Nova on Scubaboard

 

[RobPNW]

I think the best way to look at it is not whether the drysuit is warm but the fact that it's warmer than a wetsuit. With that said, it's up to you and your body type to decide if you get cold in a wetsuit.

 

[spoolin01]

I'll give my take on the issue based on dozens of dives in an uncompressed 7mm drysuit but only a couple in any other style - a White's bag suit. Here in northern California the water temps are typically 7-12C on the surface I'd say, but I haven't paid attention to sub-surface temps.

Once I got the 12mm hood and 7mm neoprene gloves, I *do* stay toasty warm even on very slow-paced dives. I've had many where I honestly barely give a thought to the cold temps aside from awareness around my lips.

Where my take may differ from others is the practicability of drysuit use during the pre-dive surface period on warm sunny days. I hate over-heating, but find that with some care about timing and sun exposure I have a decent "donning and waiting" interval with the uncompressed neoprene suit before I start to overheat. The thick stiff shell perhaps provides some temporary barrier to radiant solar heating, and stands off my skin and thin undergarments enough to provide some circulation before I zip it up, at least round the torso. The undergarments themselves are not particularly insulating on their own.

With the heavy undergarments needed with the White's suit, I found that things became intolerable well before I even had the suit fully on. To the point of real distress, but I know over-heating is just a particular problem for me. Perhaps with time I would have learned to manage the White's process better, but I decided the neoprene suit was already working for me, and sold the White's.

 

[Roy_W]

I'll give my take on the issue based on dozens of dives in an uncompressed 7mm drysuit but only a couple in any other style - a White's bag suit. Here in northern California the water temps are typically 7-12C on the surface I'd say, but I haven't paid attention to sub-surface temps.

Once I got the 12mm hood and 7mm neoprene gloves, I *do* stay toasty warm even on very slow-paced dives. I've had many where I honestly barely give a thought to the cold temps aside from awareness around my lips.

Where my take may differ from others is the practicability of drysuit use during the pre-dive surface period on warm sunny days. I hate over-heating, but find that with some care about timing and sun exposure I have a decent "donning and waiting" interval with the uncompressed neoprene suit before I start to overheat. The thick stiff shell perhaps provides some temporary barrier to radiant solar heating, and stands off my skin and thin undergarments enough to provide some circulation before I zip it up, at least round the torso. The undergarments themselves are not particularly insulating on their own.

With the heavy undergarments needed with the White's suit, I found that things became intolerable well before I even had the suit fully on. To the point of real distress, but I know over-heating is just a particular problem for me. Perhaps with time I would have learned to manage the White's process better, but I decided the neoprene suit was already working for me, and sold the White's.

I have seen some of the guys in our club doing exactly that even with trilaminates, they went unti the very last moment before donning the top half.. I sweat when hanging around in a wetsuit so I presume that I will probbly suffer the same0

If you have a lot time to read

Seaskin Nova on Scubaboard

Wooah there are 150+ plages... I will take the time and go through them anyway, since they start in 2018, it will be interestingto see if Seaskin have evolved. I also did a quick proce check with all of the options that i would have taken... It came out at 993 GBP.... which is simply incredible... It's far less than a Waterproof D7x which is not even custom made... So Seaskin definately be discussed with the Wife, as we are buying 2 sutis and not just one, the price difference really does make a huge difference..

 

[lexvil]

I have seen some of the guys in our club doing exactly that even with trilaminates, they went unti the very last moment before donning the top half.. I sweat when hanging around in a wetsuit so I presume that I will probbly suffer the same0




Wooah there are 150+ plages... I will take the time and go through them anyway, since they start in 2018, it will be interestingto see if Seaskin have evolved. I also did a quick proce check with all of the options that i would have taken... It came out at 993 GBP.... which is simply incredible... It's far less than a Waterproof D7x which is not even custom made... So Seaskin definately be discussed with the Wife, as we are buying 2 sutis and not just one, the price difference really does make a huge difference..

For those in the US, we can knock off the 20% vat and as of right now the exchange rate is $1.16 to one GBP!

 

[Wibble]

For those in the US, we can knock off the 20% vat and as of right now the exchange rate is $1.16 to one GBP!

And the Euro's less than a dollar!

 

[Joebar]

Wooah there are 150+ plages... I will take the time and go through them anyway,

The last pages are more or less about delivery time, which is about 3 months, and taxes

 

[RobPNW]

Real world example... I am a fairly warm person. Did a dive in 45F water in a 7mm wetsuit and was fine on the first tank but by the end of the second tank, I was ready to get out and be done for the day. I wasn't shivering but was cold enough to know a third tank that day was no longer going to be fun. Same site, time of day and depth, same water and surface temperatures a week later, I wore an old school neoprene drysuit with some $20 Walmart long Johns on underneath. Was warm on the first tank. The whole second tank, I was not warm but was not cold either. Could have done a third tank that day I think. Limiting factors were feet and hands. There's a perfect apples to apples comparison.

 

[broncobowsher]

And that is why you order a set of Kubi rings on the seaskin drysuit. Add in those dry gloves and the cold hands are no longer the limiting factor.

Pretty soon you will be looking at a rebreather in order to utilize all that time you can stay comfortable in cold water.

 

[RobPNW]

And that is why you order a set of Kubi rings on the seaskin drysuit. Add in those dry gloves and the cold hands are no longer the limiting factor.

Pretty soon you will be looking at a rebreather in order to utilize all that time you can stay comfortable in cold water.

Hahaha, I'd like to try a rebreather sometime for sure.