Are Skooba Totes dry suits still available? I remember seeing them at some point during Eisenhower's second term. They were $29.95, came in 5 sizes, and were made of stretchy gum rubber for a perfect fit. I think the directions were to wear one pair of long underwear in cold water, two pair in very cold water. I realize the 1959 price may no longer be valid, but these seem like a good bet as dry suits enjoy a renewed popularity after all these years.
First, apologies for posting a response more than four months after the original message. I only discovered this thread today, by accident, while conducting a Google search.
The short answer is that Skooba-"totes" suits are no longer manufactured. They were first marketed as "Skooba-skin" suits in May 1958 by the So-Lo Marx Rubber Company of Loveland, Ohio, which also sold rainwear and fishing waders and later became the Totes Isotoner Corporation. The Skooba-"totes" line was discontinued towards the end of the 1960s. In its time, Skooba-"totes" suits were billed as the "World's finest dry suit", available in two versions: the more expensive original brown (later also green) thicker "professional suit" and the cheaper thinner yellow "recreational suit", dubbed the "Golden Tiger" (see below):
The basic (hooded tunic with footed pants) waist-entry suits came with a range of optional accessories, including boots, gloves, trunks and waist rings.
Skooba-"totes" suits, both the brown and the yellow versions, still come up now and again on eBay as "new in box" items. They will be fifty years old or more, but won't have been pre-used. I imagine many of these articles were birthday or Christmas presents for mid-twentieth-century people who planned to go snorkelling or scuba diving but never quite got round to it. Whatever their provenance, several new-in-box "Gold Tiger" suits came up for sale on a vintage diving site around a decade ago, and I succeeded in purchasing one sized "large". The suit's condition was amazingly good, considering its age, and I expect the lack of "clay fillers" in the "pure gum rubber" contributed to its good-as-new appearance. It cost me several hundred US dollars, but I've never regretted the expense and I've even tried the suit out a few times in the North Sea during my early-morning snorkelling forays. It fits, seals and vents perfectly!
Finally, I must mention the latest reincarnation of the Skooba-"totes" suit, namely the US-made Hydroglove suit. If you are looking for a modern replica of the So-Lo Marx suit, made from similar material and designed to the same specifications, you can't do better than follow the link to the Hydroglove site at
Hydroglove all rubber dry suits and accessories
I do most of my snorkelling in a Hydroglove, which keeps me warm and dry in the cold waters off the coast of North East England.
