need input

[jogngymrat]

i am considering purchasing a dry suit. i understand they can be pretty expensive, but i was thinking about this for the springs (around 70 degrees year round) and diving with a wet suit/skin suit for the ocean.
of course, most shops would love to have the sell because of the price, but one shop told me to save my money and buy a 'semi dry suit' for less money (around $400).
i would appreciate any info you can share; whether it be your personal experience or opinion. also any brands you would recommend.

 

[doctormike]

I love my dry suit, it one of my favorite pieces of gear. Very comfortable (Diving Concepts ultra flex pro trilam), and it let's me extend my diving to include local (northeast) diving and New Years eve diving in a spring at 41 degrees! Also, some redundant buoyancy, helpful with heavy steel tanks, etc...

That having been said, if the coldest water you dive is in the 70's, you can save a lot of money, I think... Everyone has different tolerance for cold, but when I dive in the high 60s to low 70's I am very comfortable in my 5 mm wetsuit (I may have more bioprene than you!). I dive the new version of the Henderson hyperflex - pricey for a wetsuit (about $400?), but much less than a drysuit, even without the under layer...

Cost isn't the only consideration - dry suits require more training and practice. People have died because of problems with dry suits... It isnt hard to learn, but you do need to invest some time in this project...

 

[MrAC1980]

Here in NJ I've dove my semi-dry down to 43 degrees! I personally like it and you don't need to worry about seals, undergarments, an extra hose, etc... I am just switching to a drysuit because I'd like to extend my season a bit longer. For FL, I think a drysuit would be a little overkill, but that is my opinion. See if they do a demo day in your area sometime and try one out and see if you like it and take it from there. Also, you can find a used semidry on ebay for cheap, pinnacle and mares are the two most popular ones i've seen. I dive the Mares, but I recently saw the pinnacle (without the hood attached) and i liked it much better. Check them out...

 

[ajduplessis]

The Semi dry is a good option and well worth the money. However, I would rather just add gloves and a thick hoodie to your wetsuit for the springs, 70 is not very cold and you will save a bunch of cash.

 

[Shftrdog]

Dry suits are amazing, but if you are only diving in 70 degree water I wouldnt spend the money on a dry suit. I only use my dry suit when it gets down in the 50s. I would recomend the BARE 7/6 Semi dry or a 5/4 with the Oceanic LavaCore underneeth it. YOu will be plenty warm and still have some money left over. If you can afford it then by all means you will not be displeased with a dry suit.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Don't forget to take surface temps into the equation 70 degree water on a 70 degree windy day can be pretty uncomfy in a wetsuit when you are topside. Cold, wet, windy.....to me, makes me go dry. Nothing beats getting out of the water and being perfectly dry, warm, and comfortable. Now throw in there long dive times as we hope you don't suck a tank dry in 30 minutes and 3-4 dives a day.....now add a weekend of diving or more and you get cold quicker each dive.

Yes, you can save some cash getting a Semi Dry or even a really good wetsuit, and probably be just fine for 50-75% of your dives. The other 25% (or more) you will be itching for a drysuit....and still probably get one. If you get a drysuit, just wear a light undergarment. Drysuit diving is hard to beat in my opinion. Which leads to the next point....you will have to figure out your opinion, as you have seen many here

Another question....what is your height and weight? If you were in a room with all of us that commented here, would you be warmer, colder, or about the same comfort level in a typical room temp setting? Being 250lbs can make a difference of what works for you over someone 160lbs or even 190lbs.

 

[CuNanoTube]

From experience: You can only stay warm in a wetsuit for so long. Now, you dive much warmer water than I (70 is like 20C right?). Usually my bottom temp is 4-7C , but I can tell you at 40m in a 7mm farmer john, 3 finger gloves, and a thick hood I can only last 25 minutes of dive time. If you ever consider diving water below 10C deep, you basically need a drysuit (unless you are a student who cannot afford one).

 

[gcarter]

My coldest so far was 9C (48F), most of my quarry dives this summer have bottomed at 12C (54F) at 60 ffw.

7mm john + 7mm shorty + 5mm hood, gloves, boots

I have been fine to do two tanks at these temps.

I have thought about trying a 7mm full to see if that works for me.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

7mm john + 7mm shorty + 5mm hood, gloves, boots

Quivering at the past thoughts of all the lead needed to sink that and how much mobility I used to lose. Drysuit +10 :cool2:

 

[ROMO DIVER]

Semi-dry all the way. So much less hassle than a dry suit. My Scubapro semi-dry keeps me basically completely dry if sealed correctly and have done hour long cave dives and actually been sweating in it. It will handle anything the springs can dish out with ease at a fraction of the cost. I have even had to flood mine a few times to cool off. Not advisable with a dry suit!!

P.S. I dove JB once with the back zipper completely open and stayed cool but comfortable for the whole dive and deco!!