Sea Elite Scout Drysuit vs. USIA Aquasport Drysuit

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Mndiv

Contributor
Messages
101
Reaction score
2
Location
Twin Cities, Minnesota
# of dives
50 - 99
Hey everyone,

Diving largely in the midwest and MN, I am easily prone to become cold, and a drysuit has gradually worked its way to the top of my list. Now that its black friday weekend, I have searched online and two have aught my attention.

The two that I am looking at are:

Sea Elite Scout from Divers Direct: Sea Elite Scout Drysuit @ Divers-Supply.com

*I have a coupon and could get this suit for 525.00 over black friday weekend.

USIA Aquasport Drysuit from DRIS: USIA AquaSport Drysuit | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL

I have found positive reviews on both, and any additional comparisons would help.

I am just looking for an entry level suit, one which I can use for diving both local and the Great Lakes, because being cold has been my biggest concern when diving.

I know there have been threads about both of these here on scubaboard but most are from 2009 or so, so if anyone has any advice, reviews, etc. over the next few days to help me out, feel free!

Thanks so much!:)

PS: A Hollis, DUI, etc. are simply not in my price range so please don't recommend them:wink:
 
You are looking at the same suit!

Sea Elite is made by USIA and the only thing different is the label. I have the same suit. I ordered it from Dive Right in Scuba and it came with a USIA label. You will see this suit being sold under a different labels but it is the same suit made by the same company. As for the quality of the suit, it is a Bi-lam. This means that the suit is a lot lighter and theoretically less durable than a trilam suit. In other technical terms they basically spray the water proof substance over a single sheet of laminate material and do not sandwich the water proof chemical by a third layer fabric. The suit will weigh almost half of a trilam and will be very easy to transport. Since it the chemical is exposed towards the inside of the suit you will need to wear proper DS undergarments instead of jeans, zippers and buckles. They will rub against the interior and reduce the shelf life of the suit.

I have used mine for about 10 dives now and I am very pleased with it. Even if it lasts half the life of a tri-lam suit it costs 525!!! You can buy 4 of these lighter, easy to handle, easy to sink with, easy to dry suits for the cost of one trilam. If you are a seasonal drysuit diver or need a suit only for travel then this is what I would strongly recommend.
 
While both of those suits are bi-laminate, they do not spray the urethane layer on. In the case of those suits a urethane layer is bonded to the outer layer. There are other manufacturers that do spray the sealing layer on, its cheaper and less quality to do so, but in this case the bi-laminate should hold up fairly well as long as you do not wear undergarments with sharp edges or rough surfaces. (I.E. Jeans). For the price either are great suits.
 
You are looking at the same suit!

Are they really the same suit?? It makes sense that they would both be by USIA but the Sea Elite Scout seems to look slightly different and has a crotch strap.On the other hand they both have the same size chart. Would something along the lines of a sweatpants or so be ok in regards to not having rough surfaces?

One more thing, in the DRIS video the suit looks a little "baggy" is that just a sizing issue or does it come big in general?

Thanks for the input guys!
 
Are they really the same suit?? It makes sense that they would both be by USIA but the Sea Elite Scout seems to look slightly different and has a crotch strap.On the other hand they both have the same size chart. Would something along the lines of a sweatpants or so be ok in regards to not having rough surfaces?

One more thing, in the DRIS video the suit looks a little "baggy" is that just a sizing issue or does it come big in general?

Thanks for the input guys!

It is the same suit, the only real difference is that if you buy from Sea Elite, it will come with a soft boot (as shown in that picture). DRIS comes with a hard boot. You will need very thick sock for the hard boot because their boots are meant to accommodate serious thermal insulation. I went with DRIS because I wanted a hard boot and they gave me a better deal.
 
Polar fleece or similar fleece material will work for undergarments. For lake Superior you will need fairly heavy garments, 300 + gram material. Cotton is a no no it does not wick the moisture away from your body which defeats the purpose of a dry suit and makes you cold, it also does not dry quickly which means it is still wet or vey damp for a second or third dive. Dry Suit is a misnomer they are damp suits, every body sweats (some more than others) and you are in a sealed bag with no way for the sweat to evaporate away so it collects in your under garments and on the inside of the suit as condensation.

There is a seller on eBay that specializes in dry suit undergarments, this is his eBay name rondel101bjrr. His prices are very good and have heard good things about the quality, appear to be name brand goods.
 
Dry Suit is a misnomer they are damp suits, every body sweats (some more than others) and you are in a sealed bag with no way for the sweat to evaporate away so it collects in your under garments and on the inside of the suit as condensation.

:D Yap! So true.
 
One more thing, in the DRIS video the suit looks a little "baggy" is that just a sizing issue or does it come big in general?

Thanks for the input guys!

He doesn't have an undergarment on in the video :wink:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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