What drysuit?

[Hcklo]

Hello fellow Swiss diver!

I did my drysuit course last December in Zürich and rented a suit and undergarment from the shop. I did this because I wanted to get a better idea of what type of undergarment I would need and general conditions in Lake Zürich. I then placed an order with seaskin, which by the way should arrive in about 2 or 3 weeks. I can let you know how much the suit ends up costing (import costs and taxes).

The problem as you may know is that while Switzerland is in Europe, it's not really Europe. We don't get the same benefits in terms of EU shipping and are much more restricted in terms of product availability. Also people here have completely unrealistic expectations in terms of second hand products (eg. Asking price is 5% less than brand new) and the used drysuits that come up are often more expensive than a brand new seaskin.

In general, for Central European lake diving you'll likely want a trilam drysuit and thick undergarments.

Where in Switzerland are you?

Hey thanks for your Lovely answer.

Indeed Switzerland is a bit tricky, it would be amazing please if you could indeed share how much were the taxes. I have the possibility to send the parcel to France or Germany and do myself the importation (Wich reduces in my experience a lot the fee, you end up paying around 10% of importation fee but don't pay eu VAT Wich is often 21%, so still good. But I know that when you send by the post the fee is huge as they consider the price of the parcel as part of the importation.

But please let me know how much did you pay. I am in Valais, between Martigny and Sion. Indeed most of the material that I buy 2nd hand comes from France as the price is more interesting than here...

Hope to be able soon to dive dry and maybe to dive together, Switzerland is very small

 

[Hcklo]

A quick search should bring up lots of posts on this subject.

Neoprene - slightly better underwater (more insulation, more streamlined and maybe more durable)
Trilam - slightly better on surface (easier to don, more comfortable on warm days).

I have used neoprene, crushed neoprene and trilam suits, and am sticking with Trilam. Front entry trilam are easy to get on and off, they dry quickly, and you can use them in warmer water. I don't notice the slightly less insulation or streamlining in a trilam. With neoprene socks I can wash and dry my trilam suit inside and out, compared to trying to dry the inside of a neprene drysuit with fixed boots.

On top of the brands mentioned by Ontwreakdiver diver do look at German company scubaforce

SCUBAFORCE DRYSUITS

Try to get a custom fit. Most drysuits are similar in build, regardless of the maker - so I would see which manufacturer has a representative near you who can help measure you up.

Good luck with your search.

Cheers
Rohan.

Hey, thanks for your answer, I had a look of SF and also the 3 other brands proposed by Ontwreakdiver. Unfortonately it seems a bit out of my budget.


With the little that I understand it seems that it is essential to have a dry suit made by own measurement (instead of standard measurements).

It seems also important to get options (P valve, seals, good zips). So I think seaskin + options is better call than a big brand without those options.

Thank you for the output as I will know once I want a better équipement with a more substantial budget where to aim...

 

[Hcklo]

Hello everyone and thank you for your advices.

It seems that as a general concensus:

Trilam>neopren
Boots>shoes

It seems that the provider that I can get with my restricted budget is seaskin.

Could eventually some of you give me some feedback about all the options that are available for a trilam seaskin ?

For instance, for the P valves, what are the difference between the apecks, the monkey balanced, the sitech ?

For the convenience zip + dry zip cover I suppose it is an addon so if you want to pee or adjust your condom with your suit on it this is possible easely ?

It is very hard for me to understand as I never dived in dry and also don't see what is an overkill or a super necessary option...

For the seals, are the silicones better than the latex (that is a lot of the feedback that I hear or read by friends and in other forums).

What are the difference between the quick neck and the orust system ?

Kubi>SITech ?

Thanks, again, for your time and help !

 

[Boarderguy]

Here's a good place to start.
Telescoping torso
Quick neck
Warm neck
DIR Dump location
Zipper cover
Sitech valves
Trigon Pee Valve
Kubi Rings suit and glove side (fantastic and inexpensive as a whole system from Seaskin)
Neo Socks (get rock boots)
Large zippered pockets x2
Reinforced shoulders, back, knees and butt
40mm braces

Review - Seaskin Nova drysuit

I ordered a new Seaskin Nova (trilam) drysuit at the beginning of June. It arrived last week. I took it up to the Saint Lawrence River and did 7 wreck dives from Fri to Mon (yesterday), as part of an Advanced Wreck Penetration class with @Trace Malinowski. I am VERY pleased with how it worked...

scubaboard.com

 

[Wibble]

Pockets.

Two large velcro closing with a divider and at least two bungee loops.

Needs to be large enough to fit a spare mask and SMB with spool or small reel.

 

[Sebs]

But please let me know how much did you pay. I am in Valais, between Martigny and Sion. Indeed most of the material that I buy 2nd hand comes from France as the price is more interesting than here...

Hope to be able soon to dive dry and maybe to dive together, Switzerland is very small

I just got the bill for import duties. It was 153chf on a 1540chf order If you want to have a look at what I bought, I posted my order details in the seaskin mega thread. I basically ticked every possible option, including the most expensive dry glove option (Kubi), plus a 250g undersuit. I'll make a post in the seaskin thread when I try it on.

Before I forget, if you prefer to buy something in a shop and try on, when I did my dry suit course a woman there was using an Avatar Drysuit and she was pretty happy with it. It has the Santi smart seal system so you can install dry gloves very easily (a must when diving in Swiss lakes). From memory the Avatar costs around 1650chf (plus whatever the gloves cost).

 

[Hcklo]

I just got the bill for import duties. It was 153chf on a 1540chf order If you want to have a look at what I bought, I posted my order details in the seaskin mega thread. I basically ticked every possible option, including the most expensive dry glove option (Kubi), plus a 250g undersuit. I'll make a post in the seaskin thread when I try it on.

Before I forget, if you prefer to buy something in a shop and try on, when I did my dry suit course a woman there was using an Avatar Drysuit and she was pretty happy with it. It has the Santi smart seal system so you can install dry gloves very easily (a must when diving in Swiss lakes). From memory the Avatar costs around 1650chf (plus whatever the gloves cost).

Hey sebs thanks for your answer. I will have a look of your order details. What is the difference between the seaskin+kubi that you picked vs the avatar drysuit with Santi smart seal system.

What I mean is, is the Santi system better than the kubi ? Whare are the pro and cons and also, I suppose that in both system you can have dry gloves correct ?

Thanks for you help !!

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Hello everyone and thank you for your advices.

It seems that as a general concensus:

Trilam>neopren
Boots>shoes

It seems that the provider that I can get with my restricted budget is seaskin.

Could eventually some of you give me some feedback about all the options that are available for a trilam seaskin ?

For instance, for the P valves, what are the difference between the apecks, the monkey balanced, the sitech ?

For the convenience zip + dry zip cover I suppose it is an addon so if you want to pee or adjust your condom with your suit on it this is possible easely ?

It is very hard for me to understand as I never dived in dry and also don't see what is an overkill or a super necessary option...

For the seals, are the silicones better than the latex (that is a lot of the feedback that I hear or read by friends and in other forums).

What are the difference between the quick neck and the orust system ?

Kubi>SITech ?

Thanks, again, for your time and help !

Here’s what I got.

SI tech silicone quick change neck system.
Warm neck simple
Move dump to DIR position
QCS oval quick change silicone wrist system
Computer strap retainers both wrists
Telescopic torso
Tech boots
40mm “suspenders”
P-valve hose tidy
Inflator valve comfort patch
YKK plastic front zip
Front zip protective cover
Large Velcro bellows pockets I think?
Shoulder, back, elbow, and knee reinforcements.

I did not get a p valve yet, but I will install one when the type of diving I start doing calls for it. Not a great picture but it’s the only one I have. It may look just a little baggy, it’s because I have very thin undergarments on.

 

[Boarderguy]

That's a lot of black

 

[Robert H. Diver]

That's a lot of black

I’ve got a red Diverite line cutter to offset all the black