And after spending a few hundred for one trimix fill a CCR.
Question Semi Dry wetsuit recommendation needed
- Thread starter TravelGas
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And after spending a few hundred for one trimix fill a CCR.
Robert H. Diver
Contributor
Just priced a fully kitted out custom cut trilam from Seaskin and it was about $1150 shipped to my door. Can’t beat it.
First, the Hollis Neotek 8/7/6 is a good semi-dry. I hate most things Hollis-related but as others mentioned I am sure they are not the OEM for this suit and just slap their logo on it. While everyone has different cold tolerances they are great for Mexico cave diving and even dives in the mid-60 degree range. There are many factors, namely duration of exposure and depth. Wetsuits and semi-drysuits are not good for deep Northeast technical diving. A semi-drysuit is little just a fancy marketing term for a wetsuit that has better seals on the wrists / legs to help prevent water circulation / ingress inside the suit. The name is a bit of misnomer since it's still very much a wetsuit.
To be blunt, a semi-dry is not appropropriate for technical dives with planned decompression in Northeast/New England waters. Full stop. Please don't consider this.
Can it be done? Yes.
Should it be done? No, absolutely not.
Now I'm sure someone is going to argue with me because this is the Internet and people love to argue but honestly you will see very few people diving wetsuits in Northeast / New England waters doing real technical diving. By that I mean dives with significant decompression obligations. Those that do are considered quite the outliers.
I will conceit that there are many people diving wetsuits for recreational diving in these waters but their runtimes are usually more limited. Yes I run into people all the time that brag about diving a wetsuit year-round in New England. These are the type of people that do maybe ~15-20 dives a year (mostly in June-July-August) and rarely going below 60ft so wetsuit compression is not a huge factor. They might do a couple winter dives and come out of the water blue and shivering while claiming it's all part of the "experience."
I would really implore you to buy a drysuit. Yes they require more maintenance but they will last longer and you will be far more comfortable. Take care of a drysuit and they can last many years. Seals and zipper replacements are considered consumable items but it's not uncommon for people to get 5-10 years out of a drysuit.
Wetsuits are not appropriate for multitude of factors..
TL;DR - Buy a drysuit for doing any planned decompression diving in Northeast waters. Lastly - I am sorry if this came off as harsh. I dont like to see people do unsafe things. A good instructor will not let you wear a wetsuit for the above classes anyway. If they do, RUN.
To be blunt, a semi-dry is not appropropriate for technical dives with planned decompression in Northeast/New England waters. Full stop. Please don't consider this.
Can it be done? Yes.
Should it be done? No, absolutely not.
Now I'm sure someone is going to argue with me because this is the Internet and people love to argue but honestly you will see very few people diving wetsuits in Northeast / New England waters doing real technical diving. By that I mean dives with significant decompression obligations. Those that do are considered quite the outliers.
I will conceit that there are many people diving wetsuits for recreational diving in these waters but their runtimes are usually more limited. Yes I run into people all the time that brag about diving a wetsuit year-round in New England. These are the type of people that do maybe ~15-20 dives a year (mostly in June-July-August) and rarely going below 60ft so wetsuit compression is not a huge factor. They might do a couple winter dives and come out of the water blue and shivering while claiming it's all part of the "experience."
I would really implore you to buy a drysuit. Yes they require more maintenance but they will last longer and you will be far more comfortable. Take care of a drysuit and they can last many years. Seals and zipper replacements are considered consumable items but it's not uncommon for people to get 5-10 years out of a drysuit.
Wetsuits are not appropriate for multitude of factors..
- Wetsuit compression at depth is a very real thing. Based on your upcoming class list you plan on doing dives in the 130-200ft range. A 7mm or even 9mm wetsuit compressions significantly at these depths, losing vital warmth and buoyancy. At 200ft your 7-9mm is probably a 3mm wetsuit.
- Redundant buoyancy. Drysuits serve as redundant buoyancy. You'll likely be diving steel doubles with stages/deco bottles. This is a very stupid idea in a wetsuit. Yes you can use a redundant bladder BCD but they come with their own host of added complexity and issues that I wont get into here. There are many, many threads on here that speak of the dangers of using heavy steel cylinders with wetsuits.
- Significant heat loss / thermal comfort. At depth you're still looking at low 40s on the bottom even in late summer. Sure NY/NJ deco temperatures will be warmer but you have to consider that a good portion of your dive is going to be sitting on a line while decompressing. You will not be moving and generating as much body heat. You have planned decompression obligations with a virtual ceiling. Unlike recreational diving you can't just decide you're "a little cold" and end the dive. You're looking at 90-120+ minute runtimes at these depths unless you're doing very modest / bounce-type profiles.
- Larger risk of DCS. When you're cold your body decreases circulation to extremities to help keep your core temperate warm. This is very BAD from a decompression standpoint. Your body does not off-gas efficiently when you're cold. I've oversimplied this explanation immensely but you can find lots of scientific research on the topic online.
TL;DR - Buy a drysuit for doing any planned decompression diving in Northeast waters. Lastly - I am sorry if this came off as harsh. I dont like to see people do unsafe things. A good instructor will not let you wear a wetsuit for the above classes anyway. If they do, RUN.
sorry if this repeating what others have already said.
we have a number of divers in my area that use semi dry suits.
i live on lake superior so our summer temps in the big lake are in the range you are asking about.
i think they are a great alternative for someone who either just does not want to dive dry, cannot afford to dive dry, or just does not want the added maintenance that goes along with a dry suit.
we have divers using the Bare version and the Hollis version. i am not current on the newest stats but the bare was 1mm thicker i believe than the hollis. never had one complaint about the bares. hollis did have some zipper issues but i think that has been resolved.
scubapro also make semi's. i did like the idea of the one model that had no attached hood as another way to go. only negative i have seen with scubapro suits is the sizing. i think bare has great sizing for most people but scubapro seems to be a bit off in a lot of cases.
we have a number of divers in my area that use semi dry suits.
i live on lake superior so our summer temps in the big lake are in the range you are asking about.
i think they are a great alternative for someone who either just does not want to dive dry, cannot afford to dive dry, or just does not want the added maintenance that goes along with a dry suit.
we have divers using the Bare version and the Hollis version. i am not current on the newest stats but the bare was 1mm thicker i believe than the hollis. never had one complaint about the bares. hollis did have some zipper issues but i think that has been resolved.
scubapro also make semi's. i did like the idea of the one model that had no attached hood as another way to go. only negative i have seen with scubapro suits is the sizing. i think bare has great sizing for most people but scubapro seems to be a bit off in a lot of cases.
My advice take it or leave it, up to you.
To do your tech classes you will need a drysuit. Save your money and just get it now.
Take the course, in fact decide who you want to do your tech classes with and do the drysuit course with them.
Dive the crap out of that drysuit pratice all your skills including the drysuit ones, you will have to do some of them for your tech classes.
Do at least 100 drysuit dives prior to doing any tech classes.
Ask around and make sure you can actually get OC trimix fills, realize if you can they are very expensive. You might want to consider CCR prior to tech for the above 2 reasons.
To do your tech classes you will need a drysuit. Save your money and just get it now.
Take the course, in fact decide who you want to do your tech classes with and do the drysuit course with them.
Dive the crap out of that drysuit pratice all your skills including the drysuit ones, you will have to do some of them for your tech classes.
Do at least 100 drysuit dives prior to doing any tech classes.
Ask around and make sure you can actually get OC trimix fills, realize if you can they are very expensive. You might want to consider CCR prior to tech for the above 2 reasons.
OP
TravelGas
Contributor
True. That's why I am taking it in Florida. I prefer not to buy a drysuit that I expect to see little use for. If I can avoid it?
Yes, going full Tech, OC in a big way.
Robert H. Diver
Contributor
So you’ll just be doing tech dives in super warm water always?
And you’re ok with spending hundreds of dollars on helium IF you can get them but not $700-$1100 on a Drysuit??? Seems like you have your priories mixed up.
OP
TravelGas
Contributor
Sage advice no doubt. My plan for redundant buoyancy is the 6' 6" safety sausage I bought. As well as the 45 lb. lift dual bladder in my Dive Rite Rec XT BC.
It's bad enough I have a rapidly growing inventory of tanks, I would like to avoid buying a dry suit that will see minimal use. That being said, if I can't avoid it, then likely this is the one I would buy. Unless someone has a better idea ?
Dry Suit Diving | Fusion Bullet Drysuit - Aqualung
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OP
TravelGas
Contributor
I don't want to get the CCR for the same reason I would like to avoid buying a dry suit. At my age, I don't know if I would live long enough to get my moneys worth out of a CCR system. I have resigned myself to just paying large Helium bills. I am not looking to expand my dive season, it is hard enough to find any time to dive when the water is warm, never mind extending my season. Although I understand why you are pointing that out. Thanks.
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