Hi Panama Jones.
By all means, given your location, Id start saving for a GOOD dry suit. You wrote in one of your posts that its a viable option for you to suck it up, and just deal with being cold. Personally, the only things that I care to suck up during a dive day are the liquids that help me stay hydrated. If there are tools or techniques that can be used to make the dive experience the pleasant, safe adventure that I hope it will be, then Im all for it.
Many of the few cons, and considerable pros of diving dry have already been addressed in this thread, and I dont wish to beat a dead horse. I will however throw in a few random thoughts and trust that I dont repeat too much of what others have already stated.
Training is brief, straightforward, and not at all complex. You may even be able to have the shop where you purchase your suit throw in the class for free.
As regards exposure protection, safety and comfort are of primary concern. I never hesitate to purchase what I believe to be suitable, robust, and reliable equipment in either my suits or my life support gear. Cost, while a consideration in ancillary purchases, is relegated to a minor role in these instances. For an example of being overly stingy at the wrong time, look around for the Gary Larson cartoon entitled Als Discount Shark Cages. Id post it up, but think that Id be violating his copyright.
The whole idea of recreational diving is to maximize your time in the water. If you didnt love to be there, then why go through all of the trouble. It makes no sense to me at all to be in any hurry to finish most dives. If all other aspects of my circumstances warrant a greater amount of time in the water, then why should I allow one preventable factor, (in this instance, the cold,) to force me to the surface before Im good and ready? Ive been diving dry for several decades now, (havent even owned a 1/4 or thicker wetsuit for over 20 years,) and am still amazed when I see people having to abort dives, (or worse, skimp on stops,) just because they are not properly equipped.
Ive had my fair share of leaks in various dry suits. In most instances, the volume of water that enters the suit is quite small, and is not enough of a factor to cause a dive to be aborted. However, even a small leak is an issue that should be addressed as soon as is viably possible. The suits do not heal or miraculously mend themselves. Find and repair the suit ASAP. One particularly amusing incident, (actually a series of incidents,) occurred over a two day period when I was the stunt diver for a horrific bit of cinema that will go unnamed. The talent was dressed in a particular dry suit for the topside sequences, and I was his underwater persona. The talent was substantially heftier than I am, and it was impossible for the production company to find an identical suit that fit me. As a result, during every dive of the location shoot, I was diving in what appeared to be a dry suit, but was actually diving in a water filled rubberized envelope. As we were shooting and diving in warm, sub-tropical water, my safety was not jeopardized by the suits inability to keep me dry, but in normal dry suit circumstances, such a catastrophic flood would have caused an immediate abortion of the dive. The only real trouble I had was at the end of each dive, when I had to climb the ladder back onto the boat, weighted down with a suit filled with several gallons of water. Oh yes, I almost forgot, but the mask I had to use, (the same one the talent wore for his close-ups, didnt fit me either, so it was usually half flooded. During ascents and deco stops, I just took the darn thing off and held on to the anchor line.
As this posting has taken a bit of turn towards levity, while still addressing the main issues, a few more words about sucking it up may be in order. As I mentioned earlier, I hydrate constantly. As Im unaware of dry suits with relief flaps, you may, as you plan longer dives, find that you experience some rather urgent sensations in your nether regions. Having to relieve yourself in a dry suit may seem to be a rather messy or otherwise unpleasant affair. I have seen people staring at their timing devices, actually cross-eyed with urgency to get to the surface, whereupon they engage in a frantic dry-suit wriggle-dance and head off to the nearest bit of privacy and unleash the accumulated yellow stream. There is of course a simple way to prevent such discomfort. Simply wear a pair of incontinence shorts, (aka adult diapers.) Im partial to Depends brand as they come equipped with self adhesive tape-etts.)
