Stupid question here...

[fast5frog]

Sorry, but I am new and haven't even been certified yet. (Working on it as soon as humanly possible!!!!) Ok, what is the difference between wetsuits and drysuits? I am under the impression that drysuits keep you completely dry, no water against the skin. Whereas wetsuits get you wet but keep your bodyheat trapped,insulated, to keep you warm right? Then does it matter which one you use for cold water dives? either 7m wetsuit (or more if they are made) or a dry suit with layers of clothes underneath? Thanks -Ron

 

[do it easy]

Drysuits will be warmer with the appropriate undergarments. For cold water, I recommend a drysuit.

The drysuit takes a little more practice to dive proficiently, so there is a steeper learning curve. Essentially, you have a second airspace to manage.

Wetsuits are cheaper and lower maintenance and you never have to worry about "flooding" your wetsuit.

 

[spectrum]

do it easy summed it up well.

I'd add that the cost difference can be significant depending on the choices you make. There are many options and in genral a novice will be overwhelmed given all of the gear info you are already trying to assimilate. Getting certified dry is entirely possible and somewhat common in places like Canada.

I hope the diving becomes a total obsession for you and that it gives you a lifetime of joy. The unfortuante fact is that for assorted reasons the sport has a huge drop-out rate. A big ticket drysuit is not something you want to be stuck with. If you are sized such that you can start in rental gear that is an option but be careful that the fees do not get out of control.

In certification dives the biggest cold shock will probably be when you break your mask seal and a drysuit won't make one bit of difference then.

Another huge advantage to diving try is that you do not have to peel down in a parking lot while wet. I can enjoy a pair of 50F dives in my wetsuit. However at the end of it on a cold November day with overcast and a good cool breeze stripping down and getting dressed can be a challenging (some would say stessful or misserable) experieince. Late April under sunny skies with the same water temperature is a lot easier to deal with!

There is also no question that making a cold water dive wet is energy depeleting and you will be in better shape after making such a dive dry.

Pete

 

[cayman diver]

the real diffrance is you can pee in a wetsuit but don't even think about that in a drysuit!!

 

[truck1]

I agree with both of the above posts.The other thing to look at is where are you going to be doing the majority of your diving and also,how often.If you plan on diving the carribean and Hawaii type areas mostly,then you probably wont want a drysuit.Especially of you are only going to dive once or twice a year.Now if you plan on diving cold springs or northern deep waters,all of your spare time,then you might want to invest in a dry suit after a year or so of trying different suits to see what is out there.

 

[Carribeandiver]

the perfect solution: only dive in the carribean or other similar waters. I own some "big" wetsuits, a 4/3 and two 3's for instance but the suits I use 99.9% of the time is either the .5 mil or 1.0 mil.
spectrum does have a valid point about that striping down in a parking lot thing. My solution to that is stay out of parking lots.
thank God I live where it is warm, I truly feel badly for you people that dive freezing quarries and lakes and strip in parking lots.

 

[do it easy]

the real diffrance is you can pee in a wetsuit but don't even think about that in a drysuit!!

That's not true- the guys can get a p-valve.

 

[christianweber]

the real diffrance is you can pee in a wetsuit but don't even think about that in a drysuit!!

what about a p-valve ?? could not imagine to have no p-valve on my suit 2-3 h diving in coold water 35-36 degrees, while doing the hang you have to drink as well .
no chance to survive this time , even in a very good semdry suit.max time you will do in this water will be about 45-55 min than it is over with the fun and more difficult to imagine is the second dive wich won't be longer than 20-30 min

i would deffently recomment a drysuit but the undergarment has to be a good one as well , if you dive trilam or quadlam .
a other drysuit is neopren 2mm or 3mm crashneopren .
and don't dry to safe mony on the suit get a good one , inform yourself so much as possible ,and try so much as possible .
to stay as flexible as possible it need's a good fit , by a cheap one ,i can garantie you will regret it soon .
customfit would be best .
the currently one i have is from whites they had 16 stock sizes fond the right one ,but my next one will be a customfit 2mm crashneopren from dui ,good for ice diving.
so depends on you what your diving future will be ,do you want to dive cold , do you travel as well or not than there will be the waight to be considert ,trilam is not as heavy as crushneopren . if you dive just warm water than you are better of with a regular wetneopren suit or samidry wich is wet as well but you don't have as much waterexchange because of the wrist ,neck, ankel and zipper seal wich you don't have on the wet wet suit at all, semidry and cold than you have to get 7mm +7mm or 5mm icewest .
there is a lot fine information you can find on the internet , the only thing you have to do is devot your time to research.
DUI
BARE
WHITES
just to name some of the drysuit manufac.
handerson is a very nice fitting one with hyperstrech the second skinfit very importand .

i hope i could help you , good luck with you research and your decitions you make

 

[fast5frog]

Thanks for all the info guys. It's been a big help. Bottom line though, is I cant wait to get certified and start diving. I dont care how cold the water is. I have wanted to do this for so long and now I am able to! Hope to meet you guys in the water -Ron