Type of entry in dry suit

[Dan Gibson]

Diving Concepts has a zipper that eliminates the need for extra length in the torso. Shoulder injuries should not be a problem with this suit. It is the Ultraflex Pro. I have the special 5thD version.

http://www.allenhost.com/gallery/album189/aab

This suit fits very well.

My DUI 350 TLS fits even better, but the zipper design and approximately 1/2" of telescoping torso (I have a cave cut) does make it much harder to get into.

The obvious advantage of a self donning suit is that you can put it on by yourself. But it does require a bit more shoulder motion and a diver with a shoulder injury or restricted range of motion may have some trouble getting into one. Also, in many self donning designs, the zipper extends below the waist and the zipper is subject to wear from the weightbelt and waist strap. This is reduced but not entirely eliminated with a flap protecting the zipper.

The biggest disadvantage of a self donning suit in my opinion is that the torso needs to be cut a bit longer than in a shoulder entry suit and fit is often not quite as good in the self entry suit.

 

[Tristessa]

One thing that I have noticed with all Diagonal front entries is that bigger people have a lot of trouble getting in and out of them, ours included. Rear entries or Horizontal front entries are the easiest to get in and out of, but horizontals tend to have more drag.

Jerry,
I totally agree with you and i consider this to be a huge issue with drysuits. I'm 5'10 and 180 lbs and i have no trouble getting into my tls350, but a friend of mine who is 6'3 and maybe 260? does. I think the reason for this, although i'm not sure, is that both suits, despite the size difference have the same size zipper. I haven't check this so i could be wrong, but i think that's the problem and maybe bigger people would be better off with a back entry suit, or manufacturers could make bigger zippers on larger suits.
What do you think?
Billy

 

[USIA]

Jerry,
I totally agree with you and i consider this to be a huge issue with drysuits. I'm 5'10 and 180 lbs and i have no trouble getting into my tls350, but a friend of mine who is 6'3 and maybe 260? does. I think the reason for this, although i'm not sure, is that both suits, despite the size difference have the same size zipper. I haven't check this so i could be wrong, but i think that's the problem and maybe bigger people would be better off with a back entry suit, or manufacturers could make bigger zippers on larger suits.
What do you think?
Billy

You can only make the zippers so long and still be able to open and close yourself. If you make the zipper too long, it ends up on your thigh and is extremely uncomfortable. Also, the lower the zipper is on the suit, the more twisting and turning it is subjected to. It is ridiculous to see what some manufacturers charge for zipper repairs, so they probably don't care if they have to replace zippers. They make money off of them. But we hate repairs. Even if it is not our fault, if a customer has to send in a suit for repair, they come away with a bad feeling about the manufacturer. That is the main reason that, even though we have an inexpensive suit, we use the most expensive and highest quality zipper in the YKK. We could use cheaper zippers like some of our competitors, but we would also have to replace more.

 

[Tristessa]

But is the zipper on one of your medium self donning suits the same length as one on an x-large? The torso area of a large is obviously bigger than that of a medium. So should'nt the zipper be too? If zipper length is proportionate to suit size then i don't think that there would be a problem with the zipper being on your thigh or being uncomfortable. It would simply be a little longer, amd i wrong here? I apologize for the repetitive questions, just trying to understand.
Billy

 

[USIA]

Our standard procedure with zippers is that an XS gets a 28" zipper, Small 30", Med-Large 32", XL 34", XXL-XXXL and bigger get 36-40".

 

[Rick Inman]

Another factor on some rear entries (like my Whites Nexus) is that the location of the zipper on the rear left shoulder causes the placement of the dump valve to be too far back on the upper arm, so you really have to twist right and upward to get a good dump. (I'm thinking of moving or adding a wrist dump.)
White's front entries don't have this problem.

 

[USIA]

Another factor on some rear entries (like my Whites Nexus) is that the location of the zipper on the rear left shoulder causes the placement of the dump valve to be too far back on the upper arm, so you really have to twist right and upward to get a good dump. (I'm thinking of moving or adding a wrist dump.)
White's front entries don't have this problem.

The only reason I would caution on a wrist dump is that we see a lot of suits come back with broken Exhaust valves on the wrist. The placement causes divers to smash the valve a lot on rocks and boats. The same with valves placed on the leg or, god forbid, the boots.

 

[Rick Inman]

The only reason I would caution on a wrist dump is that we see a lot of suits come back with broken Exhaust valves on the wrist. The placement causes divers to smash the valve a lot on rocks and boats. The same with valves placed on the leg or, god forbid, the boots.

Thanks for the heads up.
I usually try not to smash up my wrists on rocks or boats, and so far my wrist gages have survived. But then, I've never dived the Or. coast. Hopefully if I do break something on my wrist, I'll know enough to work on my other skills.