Is dry suit worth it?

[SeaHound]

Hello -

I was looking into buying a dry suit primarily so that my diving doesnt halt during the winters. Then the thought of owning a dry suit gave me fantasies of ice diving

Realistically speaking dry suits are heavy investment and since I would have to travel to use them I was hoping if some dry suit users could tell me whether they would be worth it? This is what is going on in my head since last night:-

1. Forget the damn dry suit! 7mm is good enough for diving the great lakes during summer. It is also good enough to dive the channel islands and the kelp forests during winters. Other than pure ice diving pretty much all else can be done in 7mm semi dry.

2. Dry suits would be impossible to fly with. They weigh a lot and are bulky so flying with them would eventually prove to be not a goood idea.

3. The only thing that would not be possible without dry suits is ice diving and extremely cold water diving. That requires so much more than a dry suit such as new regulators and other stuff and by the end of the day it is not as much fun as diving the tropics.

4. Get certified in dry suit use but dont buy it. Find a place where they can be rented for those remote dives that can not be done wet.

SAVE YOUR $$$

Then part of me says the following:_

1. You gotta be kidding me! Owning a dry suit would open up a new world of diving very few divers get to see. Besides ice diving it would make places like ICELAND diveable.

2. While winter dives in Southern California and Summer dives in great lakes can be done wet, dry suit would make it easy and more pleasurable experience. It would be worth it.

3. The only people who are afraid to fly with dry suits are the ones who dont own them. DS owners have no problems packing them in check in luggage and flying to wherever they want. They dont mind the extra baggage fee either because they are DS owners.

4. ICE DIVING! It will change your perspective on what is considered good diving.

SPEND YOUR $$$$ AND GET A DS! YOU KNOW YOU WILL GET IT SOONER OR LATER.

Please help me guide these voices in my head ....these conflicting thoughts ....in the right direction

thanks ...

 

[helimvee]

Listen to the voice speaking without the chattering teeth and buy the drysuit.

 

[ben_wilson3301]

Agreed, Ill never dive cold water wet again. Try it, you'll never look back.

 

[Crush]

1. Forget the damn dry suit! 7mm is good enough for diving the great lakes during summer. It is also good enough to dive the channel islands and the kelp forests during winters. Other than pure ice diving pretty much all else can be done in 7mm semi dry.

2. Dry suits would be impossible to fly with. They weigh a lot and are bulky so flying with them would eventually prove to be not a goood idea.

3. The only thing that would not be possible without dry suits is ice diving and extremely cold water diving. That requires so much more than a dry suit such as new regulators and other stuff and by the end of the day it is not as much fun as diving the tropics.

4. Get certified in dry suit use but dont buy it. Find a place where they can be rented for those remote dives that can not be done wet.

For me my drysuit was the best investment in dive gear I ever made. Please note - my water temperatures range from cold (50 F) to very cold (33 F), so I get regular use out of it. For the first year I dove in that water with a 7 mm two piece wetsuit. One autumn day we did some day diving, followed by a night dive. The suit didn't have time to dry. Everyone else was climbing into a dry drysuit. It was cold outside and I was climbing into a cold, wet wetsuit. Soon after I ordered the drysuit. I spent $2000 on it and I don't regret it.

I fly with my drysuit regularly - it is a trilaminate, so it packs well - it occupies the same space as my wetsuit. It is however lighter than my wetsuit.

Trilams also have zero inherent insulation - last week I was in the local swimming pool with the trilam and some light undergarments getting my weights and trim set for an upcoming warm water trip. I was not too hot.

Finally, if the water is warm enough I usually opt to dive wet rather than dry since buoyancy is a bit harder to control with a drysuit.

If you are going to dive water colder than 50 F you should consider getting a cold-water reg. If you are going to dive water colder than 40 F you pretty much need a cold-water reg.

I see no point in getting certified in dry suit but not buying one. Your OW checkouts will be short, so you can suffer through them in a wetsuit. You can learn to dive a drysuit when you are ready to buy one.

 

[SoCalSwami]

While winter dives in Southern California ... can be done wet...

Um... NO!!!


Winter diving in So Cal for me means...

a) 48-50 degree water!!!!
b) better viz (when it's not storm'in) due to upwell of cold water
b) 48 F'ing degree water!!!

How long do plan on staying down in an 7mm wetsuit in 48 degree water?!?

NOT LONG ENOUGH I tell you!!!

You will get 45 minutes AT MOST from a wetsuit in that kind of water, unless your one of those lucky people that can put aside that fact that all your extremities are numb.


If you want 80-100 minutes of bottom time, you are going to end up buying a drysuit. There is no doubt about it.


SO, you will either bite the bullet sooner (and bask in the glory of DS ownership), or wait and rack up a log book full of miserable wet dives before taking the plunge.

GO BIG!!! Treat yourself to the best investment in diving you will ever make.

 

[a22shady]

Absolutly yes to a Drysuit. I dive with mine All year long. Have not been away on a tropical Island as of yet, But when i go my drysuit will come also. If you get a tri-lam They are not heavy I would say around or close to same weight as a 7m neoprene. If you get a Neo or crushed neo Drysuit they will then be heavier. The drysuit you simply layer appropriatly for the conditions any then can be dove comfortably in any waters. Once your good hook a P-Valve no need to pee in wetsuit or hold it.

I use the Bare Tri-lam HD Tech Dry. Its an awesome suit. If your worried about spending big dollars on a suit you could always buy something cheap and used to see if its for you and worth it. If you like it keep the used or sell it and get yourself a nice new one. I have to say and most people I have talked to agree. If you go ahead and purchase one your diving will become a completly different experince. Not to mention diving the Cold waters is only 1/2 the Problem its getting out of that cold water and into cold/colder Air that will hurt you.

Pushing Ice Diving Aside a Drysuit diving period is better then wetsuit. You are simply more comfortable. Even if the water is 50F you will still get cold after a Period of time. being in a drysuit will extend that period. Again back to the P-Valve issue is a trully great thing. I wouldnt dive wet in waters 50F, 75F I would consider it but I have to say honestly and I am sure you will get a lot of responses drysuit diving regardless of water temp will give you a different experince. Also getting in and out is so much easier

 

[ligersandtions]

Agreed, Ill never dive cold water wet again. Try it, you'll never look back.

I'll take that even one step further....I'll never dive wet again (unless my drysuit is out for repair and I'm completely desperate)! I love my drysuit and I find it hard to believe that you could ever overheat in one....changing undergarments or not even wearing undergarments is always possible and pretty much negates the overheating issue. Besides, I'm a big wuss and froze my butt of in 80F water in Hawaii in a 7mm....never again (unless I'm in water that's damn close to my body temperature!).


To the OP, where do you normally dive? What temperatures do you normally see?


FWIW, diving the Channel Islands is definitely worth it....and a drysuit makes it that much more enjoyable. Traveling with a drysuit (that is not a crushed neoprene one) is really not that bad -- I usually carry mine on as my "personal item".

The investment can be a big one, but totally worth it, imo. If you can't justify the investment, I'd probably go with the "get certified but don't buy one right away" option. That said, your skills will only get better with practice, so having one available for you all the time is definitely nice.

 

[Teamcasa]

The simple answer is yes. Once you dive dry, you will never go back to diving wet unless the water and surface are both very warm.

 

[spectrum]

If you live where ice diving is an option then a drysuit is a good investment.

I love diving wet in the milder months and continue to do so in spite of having a drysuit. When things get cooler the tables really do turn. Also in prime season when I may be diving daily a day here or there in my drysuit does let me recover some thermal energy.

Ice diving is almost always a novelty dive. Unless you happen to be someplace with an active community doing it I would no invest a nickle in gear solely do that adventure.

When the water is getting below 50 or you want multiple dives in the 50's the drysuit begins to shine. Even more than that is when the topside conditions are no summer like. Not needing to deal with getting out of a wetsuit in a chilly wind is a huge treat and worth the investment in it;s own right.

It will probably enhance your diving for the whole year but especially the colder 9 months.

In terms of travel a laminate suit with garments should be no worse than a 7/7 wet set with boots.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

I've gone totally dry. I took my dry suit to the Red Sea. I took it to Maui. It's a Fusion, so it's VERY light and packs down into very little space. I am wonderfully comfortable for two hours of floating in warm water. With heavier undergarments, I'm happy in the Channel Islands. Looking like the Michelin man, I'm good for an hour in Puget Sound winter water (45 degrees).

I think a dry suit is totally worth it.