What is a semi-dry suit?

[Tigerman]

My drysuit isn't crap and I'm fairly sure I know how it works by now. Drysuits leak dude.

Good for you, but drysuits dont neccesarilly leak. You might be bit damp from perspiration, but if you get wet you ARE either doing something wrong or your suit is not good..

 

[SurDo2]

Good for you, but drysuits dont neccesarilly leak. You might be bit damp from perspiration, but if you get wet you ARE either doing something wrong or your suit is not good..

Again, I assure you my suit is of reputable manufacture, in perfect working order and I am doing nothing wrong. Somewhere in my several thousand logged dives I think I've figured it out. Yes, I am sometimes damp from perspiration and sometimes wet from leaks. When you are underwater for hours at a time, working with you hands, industrial tooling, craning your neck, and positioning your body at odd angles your suit is going to leak. Please, take my word for it.

 

[SurDo2]

Dive comedian? Somehow I don't think that gig is going to be very in demand. There's too many self proclaimed ones out there!

Darn it, I guess I'll have to work on my act a little more!!!

 

[tfsails]

In my experience (I have two of them) a semi-dry suit is neither.

 

[idocsteve]

A semi-dry suit is a wetsuit that has extra seals at the ankles, wrists and neck to minimize water transfer in and out of the suit. Most if not all have an inner neck seal and integrated hood. Neoprene is permeable and water passes right through it, whether its a wet suit or semi-dry suit.

I find mine to be suitable for diving in the late spring, summer, and early fall in the North East, Atlantic Ocean off of NY/NJ; where temperatures range between low 40's and low 60s. According to my log, anything less than high 40s tends to be rather chilly at depths of around 100 feet when wetsuit compression and thermoclines tend to make the dive too cold to enjoy.

You can pee in a semi-dry suit just like you can in a wetsuit, although I suggest an extra good rinse following the dive.

 

[Jax]

Semi-dry. Right. I'm on George Carlin's side, here.

"Semi-boneless ham. Now wait a minute. Is there a bone? Then it's a bone! Ain't no semi-bone! It's like when you break a crumb in half, you got two crumbs, man! Ain't no semi-crumb!"

Semi-dry. So, are you wet? Then you are not dry! Ain't no semi-dry!!

 

[Tigerman]

...
Neoprene is permeable and water passes right through it, whether its a wet suit or semi-dry suit
...

Ok?
Sure, water pass through the suit wether its a wetsuit or a semi-dry, but youre suggesting that water seeps through the material itself?
How is it then that I can be bone dry after an hour or more in the water in a neoprene drysuit or you can have neoprene mud boots that keep you dry?

And SudDo2.. If you havent figured out in "several thousand dives" that your suit dont have to leak, I have to wonder..

 

[idocsteve]

Ok?
Sure, water pass through the suit wether its a wetsuit or a semi-dry, but youre suggesting that water seeps through the material itself?
How is it then that I can be bone dry after an hour or more in the water in a neoprene drysuit

It has always been my understanding that yes, neoprene is permeable to water, which flows in and out of the pores of the material itself.

If that's not correct, then I learned something new today.

Maybe your dry suit has an inner or outer waterproof liner or is a different type of neoprene?

 

[Tigerman]

It has always been my understanding that yes, neoprene is permeable to water, which flows in and out of the pores of the material itself.

If that's not correct, then I learned something new today.

Maybe your dry suit has an inner or outer waterproof liner or is a different type of neoprene?

Its got some coarse cloth liner, nothing else. Neoprene is "just rubber with air cells", its not a spunge.

 

[RonFrank]

A semi-dry suit is a wetsuit with drysuit seals on the wrists and neck, and a drysuit zipper. It is NOT a drysuit, but the seals at the neck, and wrists help prevent water from getting in the suit, and the suit keeps the diver dry for the most part.

A semi-dry suit is another name for WETSUIT!