Im looking to purchase a dry suit.... My dilema..... I'm not sure which will suit me better, a shell suit or a neoprene. I live and will be doing most of my cold water diving in the north east. This will be my first dry suit so I don't wanna go for a lung just yet. Can anyone give me suggestions as to what kind of suits they like and some pros and cons to both types?
Trilam vs. Neo Drysuit
- Thread starter taat2d
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Green_Manelishi
Contributor
Neoprene Advantages:
1) tend to be less $$$ than shell
2) tend to swim better than shell
3) offer some inherent insulation (lost at depth due to
compression)
4) offer some surface bouyancy
5) tend to provide some insulation even if leaking
Neoprene DIS-advantages:
1) dry slowly
2) "absorb" water and become heavier
3) have variable bouyancy as the suit compresses/expands
Shell Advantage:
1) easier to adapt to varied conditions by adding/removing
layers
2) dry quickly
3) "lighter" ... even when wet
4) very little/no inherent bouyancy or loss of same (suit does not
compress)
Shell DIS-advantages:
1) tend to be more expensive
2) tend to offer more "drag" than a neoprene
3) not as easily repaired ... (excluding vulcanized)
***********************
What should YOU use? the best quality, best FITTING suit
that you can afford.
Do your research. Each type has fans and detractors. Don't
let someone else make YOUR decision for you.
1) tend to be less $$$ than shell
2) tend to swim better than shell
3) offer some inherent insulation (lost at depth due to
compression)
4) offer some surface bouyancy
5) tend to provide some insulation even if leaking
Neoprene DIS-advantages:
1) dry slowly
2) "absorb" water and become heavier
3) have variable bouyancy as the suit compresses/expands
Shell Advantage:
1) easier to adapt to varied conditions by adding/removing
layers
2) dry quickly
3) "lighter" ... even when wet
4) very little/no inherent bouyancy or loss of same (suit does not
compress)
Shell DIS-advantages:
1) tend to be more expensive
2) tend to offer more "drag" than a neoprene
3) not as easily repaired ... (excluding vulcanized)
***********************
What should YOU use? the best quality, best FITTING suit
that you can afford.
Do your research. Each type has fans and detractors. Don't
let someone else make YOUR decision for you.
I'm in basically the same boat as you, I've been diving in the waters off of New England for the past four years in a 7 mil wetsuit. This fall I'm looking to get into a drysuit, so I can extend my diving season and be a little warmer. I don't have a whole lot of money to throw at such an exspense. I've looked all around the web at different dry suits, and tried a few at demo days. I think I'm probaly going to buy the henderson arctic 2 drysuit. It won a RSD best buy and a testers choice award. I found it at my LDS for 500, which includes the drysuit course. One of the many things I like about this suit is that all the options come standard, such as kevlar kneepads and molded boots. I've been told that this suit is quite warm and that you only have to wear a polyprop. base layer to wick away moisture. It seems like a pretty good deal to me.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
techdiver2us
Guest
I dive both. I've had a TLS 350 for years and was always warm - - until I bought a Henderson to use while I was getting zipper and seals. Now I use the DUI summer and fall, and the Henderson winter and spring.
DO you have to use more weight for the Henderson? Do you use the same weight for the Henderson dry suit as u would for a 7mm farmer john? DO both suit require the samer amount of weight when u dive? This is why I'm not sure which type to buy I dont wanna have to be loaded down with more weight if I go with a 7mm suit. Does the Henderson have latex seals?
Joey
Joey
DivePartner1
Contributor
Another advantage of a trilaminate suit is that it dries faster and is easier to pack if you travel, but Green says it all: quality, fit, and what you can afford.
Some wetsuit divers think drysuits are trouble, but I love mine. It fits, I can don and doff it faster than a wetsuit and, most importantly, opens up new worlds of year around diving.
Trilam suits aren't necessarily more expensive than neoprenes. You can get a Whites Nexus Shell suit or a Viking X-treme for well under a $1000 just to name a couple off the top of my head. Both have received excellent reviews.
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