Once you go dry, any reason to go back to wet even in warm water?

[tc]

I spend about half the year wet and the colder half of it dry.

 

[deco_martini]

Adding a drysuit to a really warm dive adds a piece of complexity that isn't required to complete the dive. It is all personal preference though.

Me? I usually ditch the wetsuit a few times when I'm in the tropics and just dive in umbros. That helped me live my dream of mooning the Atlantis submarine in Cozumel.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Once you go dry, any reason to go back to wet

Thanks

Simple answer is NO!

For me the only situation I have found so far where I would consider going wet is for taking a sidemount class in Mexico where I would probably risk tearing the drysuit and ending up wet anyway. Of course if I planned to do tight sidemount dives every day after the class I would also go wet but even now I have done some tight squeezes in fake metal caves (wrecks) and the fusion has taken the abuse. The biggest issue then isn't the leaking but the inflator sticking out to far to get through the restriction

 

[Belmont]

Nonsense!

Get a "tropical" drysuit...

A dry suit for WARM water? You gotta be kidding me!!!

Nope - I kid you not. The DUI 30/30 is the greatest, most under-rated, under-talked about piece of dive gear in the entire scuba industry. I've worn mine in Truk Lagoon, Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Curacao, Hawaii, Florida, everywhere.

You may be the only person diving dry in those locations (I know I was) but you will also be the only person doing a 90min night dive at the Town Pier in Bonaire when everyone else gets out after 1/2hr. You will also be the only person who does 5 dives a day, every day, on the Truk Odyssey without even blinking about it. You will probably be the only person who climbs aboard the Cayman Aggressor after a 60min night dive and grabs a class of cold beer instead of a mug of hot cocoa. On the surface, even in the noon sun at the Hilma Hooker (pictured above) it's actually more comfortable and cooler than a wetsuit. And it's not wet and clammy when you put it back on!

Once you dive one of these you'll never dive wet again.

How tough is the material, how much does it breathe? Is it like GoreTex? I wonder if DUI would make one to measure, can't fit off the rack :depressed:

 

[rongoodman]

It's supposed to breath very well, but it's not GoreTex as far as I know. It looks very tempting for tropical trips with lots of dives.

 

[RJP]

It's supposed to breath very well, but it's not GoreTex as far as I know. It looks very tempting for tropical trips with lots of dives.

When I go on a dive trip - liveaboard or land-based, it's "dive, dive, dive" the whole time. Did 32 dives in a week in Bonaire, 57 dives in 17 days in Truk, etc. Unless you're diving in a hot spring somewhere, dry is the way to go if you're doing many repetitive dives.

As I mentioned, it is far cooler on the surface than a wetsuit. Have never felt that uncomfortable "God I need to get in the water NOW or I'm gonna faint" feeling.

They do make both "Special Production" and "Signature Series" 30/30 suits, so made-to-measure is an option. Though, unless you're some way-off-the-charts size I suggest trying the stock sizes first. Because they are not made to wear with thick undergarments they are cut/fit a bit differently. For instance I wear a stock LARGE in my TLS-350, but an XL in my 30/30 - both of which fit like they were custom made.

 

[DevonDiver]

I sweat to much in boardies and a rash vest to ever consider a 'tropical drysuit'.

Given that the water temperature here in SE Asia never strays far from 30C, it seems like an expensive solution to a simple problem......

 

[dannobee]

After about 500 dives in a drysuit, I'll take it anywhere the water temp is lower than 75 deg F. Warmer than that and I'll dive a 3/4 full wetsuit. If the water temp is above about 82 degrees, I'll often dive in just a t-shirt and wakeboard shorts, but if it's multiple dives on multiple days, I'll still bring a drysuit, for the reasons RJP outlined.

 

[Cave Bum]

Just curious. I've got a dry suit {and} am wondering if there is any reason to use a wetsuit anymore. I would prefer to do the same thing everytime.

Certainly, it's personal preference.

Here in North Central Florida, the springs are a constant 72 deg F year round and a 7 mil wet suit is very comfortable. There is less drag in a wet suit so you go farther and use less gas. If you're trying to extend your dive time and get farther then you would otherwise, a wet suit is a practical alternative. Some dives are appropriate for a dry suit and some for a wet suit.

A poster above mentioned pee valves. Quite a few folks down here have added a cheap adaptation of a pee valve to their wet suits (the original idea & design came from Hogath, BTW). They use a plastic 90 deg barbed 1/4" elbow, 2 SS washers, some round neoprene circles, a short piece of 1/4" rubber tube and a couple of feet of 1/4" plastic tube (I'll see if I can find time to make a set of instructions for this and post it on my web site).

Be safe and have fun in the water! Bruce

 

[F106A]

Here's my take on the subject (again!), FWIW: I dive dry in NJ during the cooler (water) months of late spring and early summer. Comes the warmer water, generally July through, oh, October or so, I'll go wet. (Admittedly, too short a season for some.) I find it a little simpler, for many of the reasons mentioned by other responders to this thread, and more desirable for me. For warmer/tropical waters, especially if I'm flying with our increasingly restrictive carriers, I tend to go with a shorty wetsuit in the 2-3MM range (plus a 5MM hood for use during the last four or five dives of the day). In 82-87 degree waters I've done two to four boat dives to 100'+ followed by up to three shore/night dives (totaling seven per day, 5+ hours underwater). Adding the hood after the second, third or fourth dive of the day keeps me toasty. And there's less to pack and carry, not to mention the greatly reduced cost. After all those dives I'm COMPLETELY comfortable. And, being a poor member of the proletariat, I’m bucks ahead. One thing to keep in mind is that you and I and any other respondees here are not necessarily the same. Anyone who says, "This is how you should do it," or "My way is the best way," is to be avoided. They're too egotistical to put much faith in. Better you go to a bar during the second half of Happy Hour to hear that kind of postering gibberish. You've had many diverse opinions on the subject on this thread; YOU decide what works for you. And, as always, YMMV.