The best and worst of your dry suit

[mathauck0814]

1. What dry suit do you own? How long have you had it, and how many dives have you put on it?

DeepOutdoors Cordura Suit w/ attached hard boots. Had it since June (when I replaced my Whites Fusion Bullet, which was just a terrible, terrible suit for my needs) about 110 dives since then.

2. What's your favorite thing about the suit?

It was custom made and fits like a glove, it also dries quickly (a matter of a couple of hours) and packs light for easy travel despite being almost wholly externally cordura, which is as durable as I need for slamming around inside of rusty wrecks.

3. What's your least favorite thing about the suit?

The dump valve is a little far forward which puts the valve near my armpit and requires me to rotate more than I'm accustomed to in order to vent.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

I have a Bare Nex-Gen and a whites Fusion w/tech skin. The main reasons for purchasing the Fusion are, the zipper failed a second time and I did not want to be with out a suit and I needed something self donning.

Nex-gen pros

very light weight
inexpensive
actually dives very nice
very easy to don and doff
The new Tizip is incredibly flexible and is less maintenance

Nex-gen cons

back zip so it is not self donning

Fusion pros

self donning
very flexible
easy to dive

Fusion cons

-dries a lot slower than I'm used to
-with the Bullet skin it is just a dreadful beast to handle out of the water and to dry, the Tech skin is so much better
-seams colder than the Nex-Gen with the same undergarments


I find myself going back to the Nex-Gen more often because of the ease of rinsing, my Fusion has the neck system so I don't have enough neck seal to squeeze together and get a tight seal when dunking the suit. and the Nex-gen stops dripping in about 10 min where the Fusion will drip for hours. I also find the Fusion colder with the same undergarments, maybe because the skin squeezes and does not allow as much of an air bubble?

 

[Teller]

TLS350, 100 dives. I like the zip seals. I hate putting it on in the Texas heat.

 

[Urchinator]

The Abyss 'Pro', made in Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada.

It's a simple no frills, commercial neoprene drysuit that all the urchin and aquaculture divers use around here. I would say they are the toughest, warmest and most dry neoprene drysuit made. I have worn Sea-Tux, Whites, Viking, Gates and Atlan, and these truly are the best.

Abyss suits are also available in 4mm, 2mm crushed neoprene as well as a Kevlar coated suit which is most likely the toughest suit in existence. All models of the suit are handmade by a former navy and commercial diver who knows what ingredients a working suit needs.

See for yourself at Abyss Diving Suits Ltd

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I have a USIA bilam suit that I got from DRIS. I have had it for almost a year and have 12 dives on it.

The good:

Its bilam so its very very light
Its very cheap
Its very well made with a sturdy boot and well made zipper

The bad:

It has no warmth so a lot of undergarment is needed.
The stock size does not fit my body as well as it would any other.

 

[stevensamler]

I thought this might make interesting reading for people considering purchases. Rules:

1. What dry suit do you own? How long have you had it, and how many dives have you put on it?

2. What's your favorite thing about the suit?

3. What's your least favorite thing about the suit?

Short, and sweet.

For me, the dry suit is a White's Fusion. I have two, one with the Sport skin and one with the Tech skin. I've owned a Fusion for five years. The first one had 4+ years and about 450 dives on it, when I traded up to a new one.

My favorite thing about the suit is that it's almost indestructible. In five years, I've had so few leaks that I can say the Fusion almost never fails. When I've had leaks, they've almost always been related to seals or zippers, things that are not suit-dependent. A suit without leaks is a very nice thing.

My least favorite thing about the suit is that it's harder to get on than other suits. I'm the last one ready on almost every dive.

I have been diving Scubapro Evertec Trilaminate with diag front zip self donning with 50 dives on it and absolutely love it.

 

[alpegmusic]

Atlan NDS-07 (aka Atlan HDC 7mm drysuit). My first drysuit with about 10 dives so far. Made in Canada!

Pros:Comfortable. Warm enough for Cape Ann Masssachusetts from April through November with just base layer long underwear (not needed in the summer). (I have a fleece jumpsuit for winter, but haven't tried it yet.) High density neoprene suit with neoprene seals. After training, I actually use 2-4 pounds less weight than I needed with a 7mm 2-piece farmer john/jacket suit. The suit buoyancy doesn't change with depth as much as my wetsuits and, of course can be quickly compensated for by adding a little air. Attached hard sole boots.

Cons: Shoulder zipper means I usually need an assist to get in and out of the suit . Boots have a high instep, so you need to choose fins with enough vertical space in the foot pocket. I've had good luck with Force Fins and Sherwood Fusion fins.

Stay wet!

 

[buddhasummer]

Great thread, I'm looking to buy my first drysuit as I'm not happy about being unable to dive locally for almost 8 months when the water temp gets too low for my two piece 7mm.

Ive been reading people say that back zip suits are not self donning, where I dive most divers dive solo and I've been noticing the locals have all moved to dry suits over the past couple of weeks and noticed most have back zip suits so was wondering how they get in and out of them.

Went diving last weekend, last wetsuit dive of the season boo hoo, and was watching these guys, well what they do is attach a bungee with a hook to the boot hinge of their cars, attach the hook to the zipper and rotate their bodies, looked easy enough and they appeared to have no problems. Not sure what additional stress this may put on the zipper long term but certainly looked like a solution.

 

[Jerry_]

@buddhasummer

Sounds like a workaround, to attach the zipperlock with a bungee and then hook it up ... But will defintely put stress on the zipper, which is one of the more critical - and expensive to replace - part of a drysuit.

If I was a solo diver (i will not start a discussion on security here) and was to buy a drysuit, I would go for a frontzip.

 

[drbill]

I have a Northern Diver dry suit. The worst thing is that it leaks like a sieve, the best thing is that it is hanging up in my dive locker since I'm too lazy to pressure test it and patch all the holes!

Speaking of which, I just attended my first DUI DAWG Day event at Casino Point as a lookey-looer. Definitely interesting to watch as so many of my friends tried on a range of dry suits. I couldn't because I'm still recovering from surgery. I did tell Susan Long that when I finally head towards Antarctica I will look her up.