Regulator Vs. Drysuit

[Divermark2003]

Here is the question. Picture it! typical American male, married, w/ limited funds. Has money for either a reg/octo/gauge setup or a drysuit. Your opinions are welcome and hoped for. :10:

 

[simbrooks]

Regs, you can get by with a wetsuit for a while, but having good reliable regs IMO is a better bet. Do you have a BC yet? Some DS manufacturers offer payment plans if you want to go that route one day...

 

[Divermark2003]

Regs, you can get by with a wetsuit for a while, but having good reliable regs IMO is a better bet. Do you have a BC yet? Some DS manufacturers offer payment plans if you want to go that route one day...

Yes already have BC. Just thought I'd have a longer dive season with a drysuit and rent the regs? Just a thought.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I would get the drysuit. It's great to have your own regs and computer, but you can't really rent a good-fitting drysuit. And you're right, you will be able to dive all year round with the drysuit. Just make sure you will be able to obtain rental regs with a suit hose, or be allowed to put your own hose on it.

 

[StingRob]

I would go for a reg first as most important piece of gear... don't get me wrong they all are, is just a saying )
In case you get a reg and planning to go south you save some money in renting gear.. not the same thing if you buy now a drysuit. One more aspect to think of… there are still a lot of divers fighting the cold water with a wetsuit so I guess is your call at the end.

Robert

 

[eponym]

Here is the question. Picture it! typical American male, married, w/ limited funds. Has money for either a reg/octo/gauge setup or a drysuit. Your opinions are welcome and hoped for.

I'd have to make some assumptions about your diving (there's not a lot of detail in your profile yet). Assuming: New diver, local waters 60-40 F much of the year, you've gotten seriously chilly in a 7-mil wetsuit.

Actually, that describes me a few months after my OW checkouts. I wasn't diving much. Getting my drysuit made all the difference, made diving fun. Some of that was not getting chilled, and still having energy at the end of a dive day. And part of it was not having the restrictions of serious neoprene, and not having to wear a lot of extra weight to counter the suit's buoyancy. However, I already had my reg and computer, so for me it wasn't an either-or choice.

If you're diving close to home, and if you have access to rental regs that are easy-breathing and well-maintained, and if you're holding off diving because of the cold, owning a drysuit before owning a reg could make sense.

But if you plan to do any dive travel (to warmer climes, for example) you should definitely have your own reg by then.

IMO.

-Bryan

 

[matt_unique]

Here is the question. Picture it! typical American male, married, w/ limited funds. Has money for either a reg/octo/gauge setup or a drysuit. Your opinions are welcome and hoped for. :10:

I would spring for the drysuit. I am assuming your are relatively new and diving relatively shallow water. Just about any reg will be more than enough for shallow depths. The drysuit will offer soooo much comfort compared to a wetsuit.

--Matt

 

[gcbryan]

Here is the question. Picture it! typical American male, married, w/ limited funds. Has money for either a reg/octo/gauge setup or a drysuit. Your opinions are welcome and hoped for. :10:

Since you need both just find out which is more expensive to rent and buy that.

 

[Dive-aholic]

You don't indicate which reg/gauge or drysuit you are considering. Drysuits typically cost much more than a reg/gauge setup. What kind of funding are you dealing with? You may be able to get both. The minimum you'll pay for a brand new ds is $600-800 and it may not last you very long. Better quality suits will run closer to $2000. I bought my ds off of ebay for $400. It took a few months of watching different auctions, but I finally found one that looked like it met my needs. It fits great and works great. The seals were even in good shape. It may not be the ideal way, but with limited funding, it was the best way. Just make sure you buy from someone with good feedback record and read all the details of the item description. Another option is talking to your LDSs. Sometimes they'll sell older rental suits for big discounts. It might run you a little more, but typically it will still be less than 1/2 the cost of a new suit of the same brand/model. Good luck!

 

[skeet]

I bet you can find both for the money your talking about if you do some shopping around.