Semi-dry diving?

[wolframheart]

Quick question for you all!

I was shopping on Amazon and saw a 7mm one-piece "wetsuit" pop up for $47 (new and what I thought might be the correct size). I obviously had to pick it up for that price. I burn really hot (as in, I have to flush a 7mm wetsuit in 50 degrees because I'm burning up kind of hot and don't wear/need a hood). It got here today, and it looks like I may have purchased a semi-dry? It has neoprene seals on the wrist, neck, and ankles. It fits like a glove (I was pretty surprised because I have a large butt and a not-so-large everything else).

My question is, does that sound like a semi-dry? Here is a link to the suit I received, though this is a different listing (Amazon.com : Seac Women's Warmflex 7-mm Diving Suit (Black/Blue, XX-Large) : Drysuits : Sports & Outdoors). The tag says wetsuit, as does the manual that is included, but Amazon is listing it under "drysuits". I can't seem to find many details on this particular suit online because it seems like an "older" style.

Other questions, if it is a semi-dry, do you dive differently in it? Do you need more or less weight than diving a 7mm one-piece wetsuit? And this may be a stupid question, but do you still get water inside of it so you don't get squeeze? I'm just not familiar with this suit style. Can I still flood water in if I get too hot?

Side note--Amazon also contacted me to let me know the price was listed incorrectly, but they had to honor the price because I already paid it (!! thank you dive gods). So either way, I have a 7mm suit that is now listed at $359 that I paid $47 for.

Thank you for your help

 

[BenjaminF]

You shouldn't need to change weighting or how you dive because of the "semi-dry" part. You may, however, need to change weighting if you were not diving a 7mm suit before, and also because it is a new wet-suit. And it does look like that suit is semi-dry

All that the "semi-dry" means is that it'll take longer for the water to penetrate into the suit. So instead of that initial cold wave at the start of the dive, you can look forwards to a slower, cold trickle until the suit is full of water.

Congrats on the buy. It looks like a nice wet-suit.

 

[ScubaSteve85]

Nice find! Like @BenjaminF said above, Semi-Dry is sort of a loose term that describes any wetsuit designed to limit water movement in and out of the suit. This will typically include rubber wrist and ankle seal at minimum, as well as taped seams. My Hollis Neotek Semi-Dry also has an internal neoprene barrier in the chest area to further flushing.

I love mine and short of weighting appropriately for a 7mm, I don't find that any other changes need to be made. If you get real hot while diving, you may not be able to flush the suit as easily as a normal wetsuit, but it can still be done. Just be aware that you may need to do more than stretch a cuff since the seals may be a couple inches in. Since you're up in Oregon, I don't see that needing to happen that often, but like you said, you seem to run a little warm .

 

[Doby45]

It is NOT a semi-dry as I have the same suit in a 5mm and it is a really good suit. Water still gets in the suit, yes you can flush it and should after you pee.

EDIT: This is my suit but in XL..

https://www.amazon.com/Warmflex-Div...=UTF8&qid=1500570317&sr=1-5&keywords=Warmflex

 

[iamrushman]

sometime the dive gods give good deals...congratulations.