Splitting-the-Pot: How to Divvy your Drysuit Budget

[Dragon Eye]

I'd go new- see if you can locate a last year's model that's new from the factory- it will save you money in the long run. Definitely don't skimp on undergarments- you seem to be a polar bear so you'd probably be fine layering under armer and 1 or 2 fleece layers depending on how much room your suit has. No suit will last forever, but I can see how you'd like to buy one that lasts.

Are you thinking dry hood for $100? because otherwise you can just trim the neck line off a wetsuit hood and you have a drysuit hood. If your like me you trim your wetsuit hood a little long and can still use it for wet or dry diving without issue.

I'd also spend money on dry gloves and make sure you have wool socks. They aren't expensive additions depending on what you purchase but will make a large difference in keeping your fingers and toes warm and dry. Having the boots installed on the suit is also a nice touch to keep you from loosing a boot if your laces come untied and your fin goes flying off with it. Also makes for one less thing to put on when your gearing up.

If you find you need some additional air reduction in your legs I'd recommend Gaiters, but they aren't always necessary.

I did take the PADI drysuit class- was it easy, yep- did I take something out of it, yes. To me the class was worth it even being a simple pool and two dive thing and I'd recommend it to anyone new to drysuits. It helps to have someone else there to watch you and give you pointers and also emergency issues and what to do. (I have had a valve stick closed under ice and thank goodness did not have to resort to flooding my suit)

 

[SubMariner]

I wouldn't take the class.... Find a good buddy that knows what he's doing and that should be good enough. The drysuit classes I've seen are comical.
"this is how you inflate"
"this is how you deflate"
"don't under-inflate or you won't be having kids or feeling in your feet anytime soon"
Then discuss how to maintain them, but that's easily found on the interwebs anyway

I have problems paying for classes when I have buddies that are perfectly capable of helping me out.

And teach you all their lovely bad habits. There is a big difference between someone who DIVES in a drysuit and someone who INSTRUCTS on how to dive in a drysuit; especially when dealing with how to get out of a feet-first ascent.

It is imperative that the person buying the drysuit train with it in a controlled environment prior to diving it. That can be a pool, or any confined body of water that has "pool-like" conditions including a shallow & deep end. Just suiting up with Good Ol' Buddy Joe & going for a drysuit dive to 30' while trying to parrot his actions is NOT the way to go!

As in most things, there are good Instructors & bad Instructors. Unfortunately, you've been witness to the latter.

I speak from unfortunate experience when I say I've seen more than my share of people "trying out" drysuits or "learning from buddies" that have ended in problems. Don't perpetuate the macho stereotype of not getting proper Instruction on a piece of equipment that the diver needs to learn to use, not just "dive".

 

[tbone1004]

I agree with you, but in my neck of the woods, unfortunately the buddies that you can get that dive dry have more experience than the dive shops *you're hard pressed to find a shop around here that even has a drysuit in stock. Most of the ones here have the ones they carry, but they're the shop personnel's personal suits not new ones for sale... North Carolina isn't exactly drysuit central, and the buddies that have them are cave divers, so we're lucky in that respect.

 

[Van Isle]

My vote would be to go with the best new drysuit you could afford and worry about the other stuff later.

Manufacturers sometimes offer promos that include undergarments. Check with your awesome LDS to see if/when these are happening. BARE and DUI come to mind. Usually once a year, so I'd wait until these things happen.

Factory seconds and custom-cut but wrongly-cut offsales (DUI calls them "factory outlets) are also great opportunities if they fit, i.e. a men's CF200 for $1400.

All the add-ons can wait or be done on-the-cheap until you're ready to upgrade. Upgrading a drysuit, once you're in one, is a costly endeavour. New gloves, a pee valve, better hood...easy to acquire by cutting out a "night out" every now and then.

I spent the first few months in my drysuit in old fleece hiking pants, long johns, and a wool workshirt. In 50F water.

VI

 

[rakpix]

so it seems the prevailing advice is to sink as much money into a new suit as possible (plus a whole lot of off-topic advice, too.) the whole "new house vs renovating" argument. is that right? this presents a bit of a problem, however, as new suits built to last (without keyperson pricing) rarely dip below the $2000 mark

whites fusion, usia techniflex, diving concepts ultraflex, hollis biodry, and every dui ... all out of my budget. but i can't see myself diving a bare/pinnacle stock suit five years from now

 

[TSandM]

Whites Fusion out of your budget? I believe ScubaToys has a special on them for under $1000 right now.

 

[Jorgy]

For $925 a used Fusion is a great option......

Whites Fusion Drysuit Demo Suit reviews and discounts, Whites

I bought a demo Whites Catalyst 360 from Scubatoys......I have no regrets at all.....

Great service and highly recommended.....

M

 

[Lenaxia]

I was able to get my Pinnacle Evolution 2 along with drygloves, peevalve install, thermals and everything else needed to dive dry for $1600 out the door.

PM me if you want more details on that. The suit itself is comparable to the BARE HD Tech, or the DUI CLX450. Do a search, people (not just me) have been happy with the suit.

 

[BabyDuck]

i got my andy's as new old stock for $800, so as long as you have an idea what size to look for you can find bargains.

 

[stangguy327]

I dive a Bare xcd2 compressed Neo suitand love it. It is tuff, and wont wear out like the regular Neo suits, yet was about 500 cheaper that the trilams.

Back on topic I have bought new and used suits and there are definate advatages of both. I had to do new wrist and neck seals a year after i bought the used one, but did em myself for like 25 bux each so no sweat. On the other hand I haven't had to do a thing to the suit I bought new.