The eternal question... Neoprene or Trilam drysuit?

[Sbiriguda]

It is biased by my passion. I have been in business for 34 years.

Bruce, let me thank you for your contributions to this discussion. Manufacturers have a deep knowledge of the products and their features, it is a pleasure to read your advice

 

[coolwave3]

I had both but finally went to Trilam only. I had a scubapro neoprene and changed the seals to latex because the neoprene seals would leak too much. It was a very comfy suit! For whatever and unknown reason, I would get small holes in it that I did not get in the trilam suit and thus was more dry in the trilam.
What I liked about the neoprene was that it kept me warm and it was very comfy to wear.

 

[W W Meixner]

I can understand your passion and POW,but...part in bold? Some time ago, there was a thread where dude pushed for mono fin (and maybe some tank fairings, can't remember now). His point was how much speed he can get. General consensus was that he was right, but no one would care, scuba is NOT A RACE. How many dives require that ultra low drag coefficient? Best thing I learned here both for my air consumption and for finding stuff of interest-------go slow. Frog kick- load, kick, glide, stop, repeat. BTW, I dived both neo and trilam. I find trilam much more versatile.


All I can take away from your post is that you had a crappy trilam suit and that somehow translates neo suits are better?

Admikar...

Not so...there is no better...only personal experiences with what you have had...both the Pinnacle Evo II and the ScubaPro Everdry Four had merits...as you may or may not have read in my narrative...one being a Trilaminate and the other being a Neoprene suit...however the negative aspects of both suits did not suit me...personally...

I find no negatives with the DUI CF200 and was more than happy to pay the price for all the benefits......I understand however that there are divers who have had less than favorable experiences with DUI products for one reason or another...I'm not one of them...

I have visited your residing area of the world...and logged some of the best dives of my life in the Adriatic...warm...clean...with visibility that goes on forever...even including ancient artifacts...

What make of dry suit do you dive with...how do you like it...and what don't you like about it...

That response would be something worth sharing...

Dive Safe...
Warren...

 

[Sbiriguda]

Does diving in lakes or in the sea influence the choice between trilam and neoprene? In my case I would dive almost only in lakes during winter in northern Italy, perhaps sometimes in lakes on the mountains at a higher altitude (not often anyway)
My preference would be trilam but obviously one of the main differences is price.
I also have to calculate more or less in how many dives I can get back the "investment" of trilam or neoprene, versus renting. In the beginnig I want to rent anyway before buying

 

[EireDiver606]

Does diving in lakes or in the sea influence the choice between trilam and neoprene? In my case I would dive almost only in lakes during winter in northern Italy, perhaps sometimes in lakes on the mountains at a higher altitude (not often anyway)
My preference would be trilam but obviously one of the main differences is price.
I also have to calculate more or less in how many dives I can get back the "investment" of trilam or neoprene, versus renting. In the beginnig I want to rent anyway before buying

No

 

[Sbiriguda]

No

OK

 

[Storker]

Does diving in lakes or in the sea influence the choice between trilam and neoprene?

Why would it? Or, what @EireDiver606 said.

 

[admikar]

Admikar...

Not so...there is no better...only personal experiences with what you have had...both the Pinnacle Evo II and the ScubaPro Everdry Four had merits...as you may or may not have read in my narrative...one being a Trilaminate and the other being a Neoprene suit...however the negative aspects of both suits did not suit me...personally...

I find no negatives with the DUI CF200 and was more than happy to pay the price for all the benefits......I understand however that there are divers who have had less than favorable experiences with DUI products for one reason or another...I'm not one of them...

I have visited your residing area of the world...and logged some of the best dives of my life in the Adriatic...warm...clean...with visibility that goes on forever...even including ancient artifacts...

What make of dry suit do you dive with...how do you like it...and what don't you like about it...

That response would be something worth sharing...

Dive Safe...
Warren...

I dive Santi Enduro at the moment. It's a gift..of sorts, so can not really complain. It's durable, albeit somewhat stiff. No major complaints. I would love to get Santi E.motion+, but $$$$$ rules, so that is still an open thing.

 

[EireDiver606]

I dive Santi Enduro at the moment. It's a gift..of sorts, so can not really complain. It's durable, albeit somewhat stiff. No major complaints. I would love to get Santi E.motion+, but $$$$$ rules, so that is still an open thing.

I’ve heard the enduro is very stiff. I’m saving up for emotion + as my first Drysuit even though I’m only in uni

 

[Sbiriguda]

Why would it? Or, what @EireDiver606 said.

Some people say trilam is better than neoprene for very cold temperatures. In Italy temperatures in the lakes tend to be much lower than in the sea for several reasons. In summer visibility in the lakes is very low, so mostly lake dives are done in full winter. Lakes are at the very north of the country, water temperatures on average are lower than in other places. Some lesser lakes are not at sea level but up in the mountains for example Lake Lavarone is at 1.079 m of altitude.
So the idea would be that while neoprene can suffice in most conditions, for lake dives at very low temperature trilam could be better. I see anyway that you don't seem to agree with this