What to look for in a drysuit

[DiverGC]

I have a Bare Trilam Tech Dry. It’s not a made to measure but they do offer minor alterations like shortening leg lengths. It works but I would not re-order the exact configuration I have today. I hope the following “short story” helps people with what to look for.

As people mentioned, fit is important. I wished I had an extra inch or two on my suit legs. Although I did try on the suit when it arrived with my undergarments, I did not realize the length did not allow me to comfortably put my fins on. I do primarily shore diving and put my fins on in the water. The leg length restricts my flexibility a little bit. I also swapped out the initial attached boots to a smaller size. It’s a bit tight if I wore the undergarment socks but I usually don’t so hoping it’s not a problem in the future. The legs are also a bit tight where the socks overlap with the undergarment so again hoping it’s not going to be a problem in the future. I believe all this could have been solved if I had been more outspoken with my shop and knew what a good fit was.

The one feature I wished my suit has is user replaceable seals like DUI’s Zipseals. The Bare seals are thicker than the Zipseals which is nice but I’m terrified of busting a seal on a trip. The recommended Si Tech system have hard plastic rings which I also do not like. I have also heard the neck seal does not work well if you’re a smaller person which is a concern for me. I rarely go on drysuit trips so I rent a backup wetsuit but I feel restricted in where I can go.

Short summary-Make sure your suit doesn’t restrict your movements, get something like Zipseals, and work with your shop if the fit isn’t right.

 

[broncobowsher]

As for the wrist seals, go a step further. Get some dry gloves. Kubi system rocks. You can change seals yourself and once you try some dry gloves that is all you will want to use. A new set of gloves for a Kubi system is $2, and the new DUI zipseal gloves are $200. Gloves are consumables. DUI owners are putting patches on there gloves where you just throw the set away and put new ones on. Yes, it adds to the cost. But it makes any suit so much nicer.

 

[Peter Slater]

I was in the same place last year. I ended up going with a seaskin. The suit is rugged and I'm really happy with it after almost 40 dives in, (wreck, ice, quarry)

The options I would recommend:
Get easily replaceable wrist and neck seals also go with silicone ones. I have the kubi system on mine and the sitech neck. Look at the thenar wrist system, it is more compact than the kubi. It is not in their webstore but if you contact them they are really good at allowing customizations.
Get the Kevlar knee pads, they are awesome.

I find attached boots more convenient since it is one less thing to worry about. The seaskin ones have good treads on them too.
Order at set of custom undergarments they are made to nest nicely in the suit.

If I had to do it again I would change:
Add more room for undergarments option. I didn't go with it and the suit fits great but im a freeze baby and need to squeeze in tons of undergarments.

I had them move the exaust for the dir configuration and it is kinda awkward to reach now. Leave it in the normal place

Make them ship it by fedex even if it costs more. Their local british service sent my package all over Europe then got it stuck in customs for a week. Fedex is the way to go.

Message me if you have other questions.

 

[JohnN]

So, I’ve dove a Bare for the last 7 years. I just switched to DUI about 15hours ago. I friggin love it. It’s stellar.

I went with an FLX Extreme. But the same day a friend of mine bought the Coronado or something like that from DUI. And he loves his as much as I love mine. I highly suggest it, and the price point is incredibly competitive.

I'm very happy with my USIA suit (and they are local for you -- Well St. Helens is almost local. . .) USIA builds drysuits for the military, you can draw your own conclusions for that. Mine is a HOG branded suit full custom.

And back to your first question, the three most important things in a drysuit are:

1. Fit
2. Fit
3. Fit​

If you decide to go the USIA/HOG route, check with Jim Lapenta on this board. You may be pleasantly surprised at the price.

 

[bravokiloromeo]

I appreciate all the tips everyone. Still a lot of things to think about but I have somewhere to start!

 

[gobuyastick]

Late to the thread but i love my custom sized FLX extreme, payed good money to get it how i wanted (pockets/pvalve/turbotec soles/kevlar padding on high ware areas) but its been great to dive (so far >10 dives).

 

[claymore]

One that doe not leak and will not shrink!

 

[Marie13]

One that doe not leak and will not shrink!

I have the opposite problem - I shrunk, rather than my drysuit! Expensive problem, although a nice one!

 

[stuartv]

I have no direct experience with DUI. But, I did a lot of reading over the last few months before I ordered a new drysuit and I felt like I saw a lot of posts suggesting the DUI quality is not what it once was. There was even a post from Kathy Long, a former employee from DUI, discussing what has been going on there.

It's the end of a 'Long' Run -

I had a Bare XCS2 Tech, which is compressed neoprene. It was good quality but the cons of compressed neo saw me eventually sell it.

I now have a Waterproof D9X, which is breathable trilam. It is also good quality, but the material is perhaps not as heavy duty as some people would like. I sent it off to Dive Right in Scuba last year and they did a great job modifying it for me. They added permanent Kubi wrist rings, a Si Tech Quick Neck system, replaced the attached boots with neoprene socks, and added 2" of length to the arms. It is great, now, except that it still doesn't fit me the best. My body shape kind of needs a suit that is made to measure.

So, I have recently ordered a Seaskin Nova, which is a trilam. I like my Kubi ring system so much that I ordered those rings on the Seaskin, as well. I've had my Kubi dry gloves for over 2 1/2 years now, I guess, and my hands have only ever gotten wet (when using dry gloves) one time - and that was after I had my Kubi setup for a full year, and one of the gloves finally got a very tiny hole in the thumb. The gloves cost about $2 to replace, so NO big deal.

I personally would absolutely not want Zip seals. They are ridiculously expensive. And the Zip gloves require that, one, you attach them to the suit before you don the top of the suit. And, two, you can't have the dry gloves and also have wrist seals. At least, that is my understanding, not having owned any DUI or Zip products. Personally, I really like putting my suit on and getting almost completely geared up before I have to put on my dry gloves. I also appreciate that I have wrist seals behind my gloves, so if I slashed my dry glove wide open during a dive, I would still not get any water into my sleeve.

Side note: People talk about needing to put something in to allow gloves to equalize with the suit, in order to avoid painful squeeze of one's hands. That is a theoretical benefit of Zip gloves, in that they are inherently equalized with the rest of the suit. All I can say about that is my own experience. Earlier this week, I did dives to 180 feet and 200 feet. I had on my Kubi dry gloves, with wrist seals installed, and nothing in place to support equalizing my gloves with my suit. I only had the thin Merino wool glove liners (made by Pinnacle) under them, and I never noticed any discomfort in my hands. My only point being that I don't feel like that is a "pro" for Zip gloves that should factor into any decision.

I am a little hesitant to recommend Seaskin to others until such time as I have my own suit from them and am happy with it. But, there is no denying they offer amazing value.

Dry Suits from Seaskin Custom Drysuits home page - Seaskin Custom Diving Suits

Other drysuit considerations:

Attached boots vs socks: I've had both. I prefer socks. Socks allow me to turn the suit fully inside out to dry. That was very handy this week after I got really sweaty in my suit on the first day. Attached boots that get wet inside take FOREVER to dry. Also, neoprene socks will (should!) be nice and snug with your thinnest sock on, yet still allow you to wear super thick socks (or 2 socks) for really cold dives. In contrast, my attached boots were either too loose and let too much air into my feet when I only wore 1 thin sock, or they were too tight when I put on 2 thick wool socks. Also, some people seem to act like serious rock boots are the only option to use with a drysuit with attached socks. But, that is not the case. I got a bigger size of wetsuit bootie that I wear with my drysuit and they work just fine. And were not nearly as expensive as rock boots.

Wrist rings: I have only use the Kubi rings. But, I like them for a variety of reasons: One, they come in different sizes, so you can get ones that are just the right size for your hand. You don't have to live with one-size-fits-all rings that may be a lot bigger and more bulky than what you need. Two, they are machined aluminum. They are less bulky than other systems I've seen, light, and see like they will last forever. Nothing to break except the O-rings, which are easily replaced. Three, they go together and come apart easily (once you lube the O-rings). You don't have to line up any tabs, twist anything, or any other funkiness. Just slide the glove on and press the rings together. And, if you dive with the gloves on, the sealing surface of the ring that is left on the suit is on the inside, so it is protected from getting scratched/gouged, which could affect its ability to seal with the glove ring later.

 

[DevilEyeDog]

Everyone is different with tolerance to cold. If the water is really cold 39°F-44°F, I wear a Patagonia midweight long underwear, a heated vest, Fourth Element Xerotherm, and Fourth Element Halo 3-D. I also have Fourth Element Arctic. This gives me a lot of options for diving in about any water temperature. From the Great Lakes in the spring to the caves in Mexico. When I initially purchased the Halo 3-D, I did a scooter dive in 44°F water and froze. I was not impressed. Adding the Xerotherm layer really helped. That said, I see people diving just the Halo 3-D and they are pleased with it. YMMV

Chris: How do you like the Fourth Element Halo3D? It seems you were cold in it (and I'm always cold) I'm looking for the warmest possible undergarment. It looks like it may be rigid because of the pad in it. Thoughts on what you prefer to the Halo as the main source of warmth?