Probably saved myself $2K today

[alewar]

I dive wet in cold water, sometimes down to 4°C/39°F, and doing more than one dive per day seriously sucks, especially when the weather outside is also cold or windy. It sucks to the point where I just skip the 2nd or 3rd dive people diving dry do. Another issue with neoprene is that is gets colder the deeper you go and below 33ft/10m I start to freeze. It also sucks for my buddy since I'm always limiting depth and bottom time.

 

[Malpaso]

Was it a nice day?

Pouring rain on the drive up, cool and rainy while suiting up, cool and foggy on the dive, beautiful enough to cut the lawn when I got home

As mentioned above if you are happy being a fair-weather diver and not doing more than a couple of dives a day then I suppose wet is OK but the last line in your post suggests otherwise. Diving dry will get you out diving earlier and later in the year and on days that are somewhat less than optimal for most other outdoor activites.

I have dove wet on New Years Day two of the last two years. I've never refused to dive with my buddies who dive dry because of temperature. When I said it got me out for the first time this year, it was the demo, not necessarily the dry suit. I'd have been out earlier in the year, and dove wet, if I'd had the opportunity. I meant to get the point across in my original post that diving dry would get me out earlier or keep me out later in the year.

the time may come when the OP begins to do the kind of dives that will make the thought process start over on this topic.

That's quite possible. I spoke to my original instructor yesterday after getting back and getting my tanks refilled. He did mention that if I ever wanted to do some New England wreck dives I'll probably change my mind.

 

[Dsix36]

Every response so far is pro drysuit.
Typical scubaboard.

How about this,
Diving wet is a lot sleeker, there's no baggy fabric interfering with a smooth slipstream.
Wetsuits are way less prone to problems such as torn seals, faulty zippers, holes and leaks.
Wetsuits don't have catastrophic failures.
Wetsuits can withstand a lot more abuse and are easily repaired.

Wetsuits are way cheaper both initially and in the long run. Even a nice custom suit is less money than a nice drysuit.
I think drysuits are overpriced and a ripoff.
I have some very nice custom wetsuits that I use in 45 degree water when it gets that cold here.
People who constantly bash wetsuits don't know much past what is available off the rack in a store. There is a whole separate world once you get into the custom world, better neoprene, better fit, better designs.
Urchin divers around here dive 5 to 7 hours a day in freezing cold water in wetsuits. They are used to it.
If someone is comfortable in a wetsuit there's no reason to go into a drysuit unless you want to waste money.

I beg to argue with you. My response was not pro drysuit. My response was that "Both are tools to manage a dive and both have pros and cons."

I do tend to agree with the rest of your post. I wish that I was not such a wimp when it comes to water temperatures. I would love to be able to wear a wetsuit year round.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I have a d/s and prefer to dive wet when water and surface temps are reasonable. For me, its about 70% of my dives. What is reasonable is highly variable by diver and by region. In New England, it is typically June through October, 1-2 shore dives. Push outside of these and the cumbersome, expensive and maintenance intensive dry suite becomes very appealing. With proper under garments, it is toasty warm down to 40F. There is no time limit in this game, I dove 25 years on/off before it became important enough to me to invest in a D/S.

 

[buddhasummer]

I much prefer diving wet but with my low tolerance to cold the reality is if I didn't own a drysuit I'm out of the water for 7 months of the year. This hurts more than it did when I was in my 20s. If I could cope with colder water in a wet suit it's what I'd do but I can't so a drysuit it is. YMMV.

 

[spectrum]

Diving dry, even if you feel comparable cold the heat loss isn't even close to comparable so don't write that off. By this time of the year you could have been downright comfortable in the right garment. The rub is that they tend to encourage garments that require weights comparable to diving wet to not discourage potential converts. The downside is that you don't get impressed with the warmth. No doubt, warmth equals weight.

That being said, the elegant simplicity and predictability of a wetsuit is hard to beat if you are comfortable. There are may ways that a drysuit can fail and/or become a money pit.

Bottom line, you did not feel the love and you don't have a compelling need so you didn't bite. That all sounds logical to me.

Pete

 

[buddhasummer]

Money pit is right. $280 Merino base layer, $140 NF base layer, $130 Under Armor base layer, $1200 heated suit and Valve, $380 fins (had to sell one pair at a loss as they didn't fit), $300 Kubi dry gloves, $40 merino gloves, $60 additional lead, $50 socks. Probably not absolutely necessary but $360 40lb wing, $380 5.1kg plate plus price of suit $2500. Wow, when I list it all I clearly need to see a psychiatrist. The quest for warmth has been the big killer. Admittedly I could have bought cheaper equipment and if I went a little slower probably could have avoided double purchases, but yes, it's been an expensive undertaking. Having said all that diving is my life hobby and costs less than several other addictions I've had. If my wife saw this I imagine there would be words.

 

[Malpaso]

If my wife saw this I imagine there would be words.

As a shooting buddy of mine always says, "If my wife asks, I only have one gun, and ammo is free".

 

[buddhasummer]

As a shooting buddy of mine always says, "If my wife asks, I only have one gun, and ammo is free".

ha ha ah, my wife always asks "how much did that cost?" (Canister light as an example) I say "how much do you think?" She says "$200" I say "wow, so close it was $280" she says "that's so expensive". I don't tell her it actually cost close to $1200. Fortunately she doesn't check as is not interested in diving. Or I sometimes say I swapped for it. If ordering from overseas I try to have the package delivered when my wife is at work, slip it into the house all stealth like. Everyone's happy (ish). Not very honest I know but it keeps the harmony.

 

[Mike126]

For the past few years I have debated on whether to take the $$ plunge into a drysuit. Living in the Mid-Atlantic I can easily get by diving wet in the local quarries but my dive season would only go from late May to mid October. My biggest downside for diving wet is pulling on my 7mm Bare Artic (not very stretchy) wetsuit. I could either buy a better wetsuit and pay around $500 or invest around $2,000+ for a basic drysuit and light undergarments.

Now if I was living further north it would be a no-brainer and probably would invest in a drysuit. It all depends on where you live and how much you want to dive.

Oh and that new Suunto Vyper is really only an electronic depth-gauge/bottom timer so it cost about $200... and you must have a depth gauge/bottom timer or you will die!