New diver's trilam vs neoprene drysuit experiences, looking for insight/advice!

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Karpie

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Hello all! I just got back from a pool test dive with my Apollo Bio drysuit. It was my first time trying a neoprene drysuit, and I had quite a time grappling with thermal layers. Seeking advice and insight.

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For additional context:

- Setup inclues a hydros pro bcd and mare quattro fins.

- Previous experience: I got my drysuit and open water cert in the dive shop's DUI trilaminate with a 300/400 thermal undergarment. I don't remember how much weight was on the belt, unfortunately. I never felt cold in the 55ish degree water. I also enjoyed the quick donning/doffing, which made it easy to shed the top half of the suit/thermal during surface intervals. The latex seals leaked a little bit, and neck seal caused some neck irritation. (Unsure if it's my skin's sensitivy, or if a puff of talcum powder would fix it.)

- Temperature tolerances: if I'm moving at all no matter the conditions, I'm generating a ton of heat... and sweat. However, once I stop moving, all heat production stops. I'l walk my 0.5‐1 mile to work in 35 degree weather with just a long sleeve quick dry shirt, but once I get to the office (amd have evaporated the sweat a bit), on goes my heated vest.

- I ended up buying the apollo for the neoprene neck seals, ankle dumps/integrated booties, and to take advantage of an dive shop annual sale (which was a week after my open water cert) to get kitted out. I hit the pool a following weekend to get a good test run and weed out anything that wasn't working.

While I did lots of research and got advice from other local divers, a larger gap between my cert and the sale probably would have worked out better for me; more time to test out different suits via rental. But I also knew I wanted my own gear for an upcoming trip, and didnt want to wait a full year for the next annual sale.

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Pool Testing experience:

When I wore a 300 fourth element arctic, i was extremely buoyant. I needed 30 lbs (im 165 lbs) and zero air in the bcd or suit to get to the bottom of the 12 ft pool, and then had issues with the lower half of my body floating up, which was a new and unsettling exlerience. I also struggled with bending my torso for turns.

Once the thermal layer was off (the pool is 80 degrees and i was, unsurprisingly, overheating), everything felt much better. I had great range of motion, and I could maintain my swimming depth easily. It felt much more like the no-suit pool dives and trilam open water dives I've done. The neoprene seals held up comfortably and securely (Though I'd thought there was a leak at first from the amount of sweat, lol.)

Also, I would get a little frustrated while doffing the suit; it would take a lot of effort to extract my arms from the suit after pulling my head from the neck seal.

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Tentative conclusions:

I think I should be fine without a thermal layer in the warmer weather and 55F+ water, and one of the guys at the dive shop recommended trying a dui duotherm 150, as its much thinner- they just didnt have it in stock at the time.

I'm unsure if I just need a little more practice/trials to dial in the neoprene suit experience, or if it might all be adding up to "just get a trilaminate instead".

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My actual questions:

- If i want to be diving the puget sound year round (and the atlantic in the northeastern US this fall), should I be concerned that thicker thermal layers dont seem to play nice with my suit? (The answer to this is probably "you'll only know once you get in the water at those temps")

- Should I try the thick fourth element thermal layer out in cold open water and additional weight, or not bother based on the difficulties of the pool test? I could try with no/minimal thermal layers and gauge my comfort level from there, as well.

- Does doffing a neoprene dry suit get easier with practice? Are there tips/tricks for easier arm extraction?

- The sweat factor: how does sweat contacting the drysuit interior factor into people's drysuit maintenance? I can see thicker layers under a trilam keeping sweat from soaking the interior surfaces - and those surfaces being easy to hose out and dry if just wearing base layers. For neoprene, should I just factor in a full interior rinse/shampoo/dry after each dive trip?

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Thanks for sticking it out through this long post. If nothing else, I hope this log of experiences might be useful reference for other new divers!
 
I have never used an Apollo dry suit, but I have used O'Three 5mm neoprene and a 4.5mm Seasoft Ti3000 neoprene drysuits which are similar. I can compare them to my DUI 30/30 "Shell" suit.

I have comfortable dived both neoprene suits in 50 degree water with the DUI DuoTherm 150 and the O'Three PPB Plus Baselayer. I would not dive the 30/30 suit in those temperatures with that little insulation.

In the Florida Springs and caves (68 to 72 degrees), I wear only a base layer with the neoprene suits for dives around an hour. I add a DuoTherm vest for longer dives. With the 30/30 I do need the 150 jumpsuit and in the sub 70 degree water I add the vest.

There are folks here that dive the Puget Sound and North Atlantic that can give specific advices, but I would try a wicking baselayer and something like the DUI DuoTherm 150 jumpsuit and see how well it keeps you warm. Adding a vest to might also help.

I use a drysuit hanger with an integrated fan to dry the suit after each day of diving. I don't wash the interior of the suit after each trip, but every few months it might get an interior flush.
 
I have never used an Apollo dry suit, but I have used O'Three 5mm neoprene and a 4.5mm Seasoft Ti3000 neoprene drysuits which are similar. I can compare them to my DUI 30/30 "Shell" suit.

I have comfortable dived both neoprene suits in 50 degree water with the DUI DuoTherm 150 and the O'Three PPB Plus Baselayer. I would not dive the 30/30 suit in those temperatures with that little insulation.

In the Florida Springs and caves (68 to 72 degrees), I wear only a base layer with the neoprene suits for dives around an hour. I add a DuoTherm vest for longer dives. With the 30/30 I do need the 150 jumpsuit and in the sub 70 degree water I add the vest.

There are folks here that dive the Puget Sound and North Atlantic that can give specific advices, but I would try a wicking baselayer and something like the DUI DuoTherm 150 jumpsuit and see how well it keeps you warm. Adding a vest to might also help.

I use a drysuit hanger with an integrated fan to dry the suit after each day of diving. I don't wash the interior of the suit after each trip, but every few months it might get an interior flush.
Thanks so much, I really appreciate the detailed info and comparisons! It's great to know the 150 is so versatile between temps and drysuit systems. I hadn't considered a vest yet, but it sounds like a great way to add warmth over your core without adding too much bulk (or adding buoyancy to the legs!).

I actually just ordered a hanger with integrated fan the other day! I'm glad to hear that the interior doesnt necessarily need a wash after every dive.
 
It is trial and error for undergarment especially when you start getting into the cold water ones.

I dove a neoprene drysuit once...... I hated it for the weight, and just the way it dove.

You can get away with thinner undergarment in the neoprene compared to shell.

So see if you can arrange to tryout different ones and see how it goes.

Other than that let me know when your in the northern Atlantic area.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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