Should I buy a drysuit or is a 8/7 a good choice as well?

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Best thing about a drysuit = dry gloves. Can't have the latter without the former.

 

[carolynaznv]

Wow, thanks for the feedback everyone! Scubaboard rocks!
Living in Las Vegas is great, only 4 hrs to some of the best, most beautiful diving in the world. I do not have a ton of dives, but its fun to learn something new and see new things on each dive. Last year in January, my dad went to visit my aunt in El Segundo and my boyfriend and I met up with them out there. Palos Verdes looked like a great place to dive, so we did. Kinda. Both in 5mm wetsuits, 3mm boots, I had on rented gloves with holes in them, he was not wearing a hood or gloves. Yeah. We both were freezing. We returned the tanks to Dive n Surf almost full. So that is the background on the question. When I go to dive, I want to dive.
Since then, I got new 6.5 mm boots and brand new 5mm gloves. No hood yet but that's next on the list.
So, yes, I would like to get on some dive boats! So far, just shore diving and the dive park on Catalina. I don't mind shore diving, it's just stressful when you're getting out and trying to not get knocked over and eating sand. That's happened to me a couple of times and it really sucks.
So anyway, definitely going to take a drysuit class at some point, however I am encouraged to hear that the aqualung and the like are good wetsuits. Plus, if it has an integrated hood, I wouldn't need to get a hood.
I do like the custom wetsuit idea as well though. Will have to explore that option.
Did not know that drysuits were expensive to maintain. $300 a year? Definitely something to consider.
Thank you for all the comments!
Carolyn

 

[gcarter]

Wow, thanks for the feedback everyone! Scubaboard rocks!
Living in Las Vegas is great, only 4 hrs to some of the best, most beautiful diving in the world. I do not have a ton of dives, but its fun to learn something new and see new things on each dive. Last year in January, my dad went to visit my aunt in El Segundo and my boyfriend and I met up with them out there. Palos Verdes looked like a great place to dive, so we did. Kinda. Both in 5mm wetsuits, 3mm boots, I had on rented gloves with holes in them, he was not wearing a hood or gloves. Yeah. We both were freezing. We returned the tanks to Dive n Surf almost full. So that is the background on the question. When I go to dive, I want to dive.
Since then, I got new 6.5 mm boots and brand new 5mm gloves. No hood yet but that's next on the list.
So, yes, I would like to get on some dive boats! So far, just shore diving and the dive park on Catalina. I don't mind shore diving, it's just stressful when you're getting out and trying to not get knocked over and eating sand. That's happened to me a couple of times and it really sucks.
So anyway, definitely going to take a drysuit class at some point, however I am encouraged to hear that the aqualung and the like are good wetsuits. Plus, if it has an integrated hood, I wouldn't need to get a hood.
I do like the custom wetsuit idea as well though. Will have to explore that option.
Did not know that drysuits were expensive to maintain. $300 a year? Definitely something to consider.
Thank you for all the comments!
Carolyn

Not a lot of experience with dry suits, but with proper care you should not have to replace seals that often.

 

[eelnoraa]

Did not know that drysuits were expensive to maintain. $300 a year? Definitely something to consider.

Definitely not that expansive unless you are very very rough with your suit. Seal and zipper longevity depends on how much you dive, but generally, it is not as fragile as people say here. I would say that if you dive so much that your need $300 a year to maintain your drysuit, then you definitely want to dive dry. With wetsuit, you will already wear out the neoprene to a point it doesn't keep you warm anymore.

 

[Spg01]

I changed the seals on my dry suit after 2 years. They could have gone longer, but I wanted to install rings so I could change them myself when something did happen.

 

[carolynaznv]

Hmm realistically I would probably not use a drysuit more than maybe 3 or 4 times a year. As far as my previous post, actually having the right gear would have made it much better. But hey live and learn right?

 

[scubadada]

I dive cold water infrequently, mostly on visits to San Diego. I dive a full 7mm with a 5/3mm hooded vest. I'm reasonably comfortable down to the low 50s, even with 2 trips/4 dives per day. I do have a very nice truWest boat coat to keep me warm(er) on the surface. Below about 52 degrees, I get cold before the end of the dive. I dived in Cape Ann, MA where the 1st 2 dives were 47 and 49 degrees, I got cold, just short of shivering, on both. The 2nd 2 dives were 52 degrees and seemed significantly warmer.

For my infrequent cold water dives, I'm content diving wet. If I lived in SoCal and dived frequently, I would certainly be a drysuit owner.

 

[fnfalman]

It's all depending on how cold aversed the diver is.

I prefer the maneuverability, ease of don & doff, and ease of maintenance of a wetsuit. I've dived my 7mm 1-piece front zipper wetsuit down to 48-degree F. It was chilly but do-able. The only times I've done a dry suit dive was when I did the ice diving and spring snow water pond/lake dives in Idaho a couple of years back.

My dives are averaging 50-minutes or so. Sure, I feel cool by the 3rd dive, but nothing a couple cups of hot tea and soup can't help.

When I can't handle the cold any more, then I'll go drysuit.

 

[al248005]

Did not know that drysuits were expensive to maintain. $300 a year? Definitely something to consider.
Thank you for all the comments!
Carolyn

IMO $300/yr for drysuit maintenance is kinda on the high side. There's not much to maintain about it if you clean and store it properly. Zippers should last many years before needing replaced and seals I would say 2 maybe 3 years. I've had a drysuit for 3 years and haven't replaced had to replace them yet. Also the user replaceable seals for the seal systems minus DUI zipseals are pretty inexpensive (approx 50 bucks from DRIS for the silicone Si-Tech ones).

 

[geoff w]

I dive both wet and dry in So Cal. Your choice depends in part on the type of diving you're planning. One or two beach dives through waves, possibly getting rolled in the sand, and long surface swim? Wetsuit is my preferred exposure suit - more streamlined, don't have to worry about sand ruining the zipper (probably one of the most expensive parts of a drysuit), and no worries about a wave pushing water through a neck or wrist seal. Most (not all) people I've seen with drysuits for surf entries end up pretty wet inside, and after a while drysuits used for surf entries seem to leak. If you're diving off a dive boat, or calm shore like Casino Point, dry suit diving is so warm and cozy. Chances are you will need more weight with a drysuit. Like others have said, you'll be a lot more toasty during the surface interval in a drysuit. Unlike a wetsuit, you'll need to patch any pinholes in a drysuit to keep dry inside (although you will still get a bit wet from sweat). If you're diving off a small dinghy, a wetsuit will probably give you more flexibility to get back in

If you don't have a hood, diving wet or dry, you'll get cold! Also, I always get cold diving the Yukon in San Diego, even though I dive dry. Eventually, really cold water sucks the warmth out of you. It also seems every year the water gets colder for the same temperature - getting older really sucks for diving