What was it like buying your first dry suit?

[Texasguy]

Dry suits are rather pricey, they can be the single biggest expense out of all gear for a beginner diver.

When you were buying your first and next dry suits, what compromises (on features, age of the suit, etc) did you have to make to afford one?

Were the compromises worthwhile, that is, if you could go back, would you still make them or would get a more expensive model?

Overall, my question tries to explore if you were happy with your first dry suit and what made you want to upgrade? Perhaps, your first dry suit was not overly expensive, but was it nevertheless a good choice?

 

[Lemna]

I bought a Whites fusion and like it, but I really regret not going for a ring system with silicone seals. It's impossible to retrofit them here in Europe. I did not get a p-valve either but at least I can install one myself.

 

[KD8NPB]

My regrets with my first drysuit

1.) Buying used : Not really a problem, but the seals were starting to delaminate. From the looks of the suit, the seals were replaced, but the owner was using a silicone based seal conditioner, which the adhesive was rejecting. That wasn't a big deal... I was able to remove the silicone with toluene, then reglue the seals with the proper Viking vulcanized suit adhesive.

2.) Buying a rear zip suit. It was cheap, but it was impossible to be self sufficient.

3.) Buying a suit that was the wrong size. It was used, it was a good price, so I went for it..turned out the legs were about 2-3" too short.

If you're 5'6" with a 28-30" inseam, let me know, I have a DUI RS1050 vulcanized rear zip suit with a latex hood for you! lol.

My second suit is much better. Viking Extreme, front zip, black, with custom boots!

 

[Spg01]

I started looking at the DUI suits first since they are a big name for dry suits. I quickly ran into a problem of actully trying one on to see if a stock size would fit. For some reason it seemed local shops just did not want to sell me one. I then stumbled through a few more shops looking for suits with the popular response being that they don't normally stock the dry suits so they had nothing to show or try on. Thats when I found out about the HOG dry suits. They are not very popular on the west coast so once again nothing to look at or try on. But every post I found online was positive and it was more of the price range I liked anyway. The HOG is basically a custom suit since you send in your measurements with your order. It also comes with pockets and choices of seal types and even a choice of boots or turbo soles. I did add the pee valve which brought the price to around $1300. I believe the suit is made by USIA.

I have been diving the suit for about a year and have had no problems. The pee valve takes some getting used to, but no leaks so far and the seal are still fine. When the seals do go bad I will look into replaceable style seals which most people are going towards anyway. So I have been happy watching the people in much more expensive suits dealing with leaks and other issues. So the HOG has worked very well for me at least.

 

[Johanan]

I also bought a Whites Fusion Tech. My decision was much influenced by this article. I bought it online. A good thing was to start looking for packages. At that time Scuba Toys and Dive Right In Scuba had best offers for a complete Fusion package + Whites Thermal fusion undergarment. I just wrote to both shops and went with Scuba Toys because Joey was keener to offer a personal approach and willingness to bargain. As the result my dollars were brought pretty far - I even got the SLT rings installed and free Hollis F1 fins as a bonus. The suit fitted well from the beginning but I made a mistake with socks and boots, as I chose the same size as my comfy jogging shoes. I had to return them and get one size larger. I also got the p-valve installed in the factory. I am satisfied with my suit, but if you chose to buy whites, make sure that the socks of the suit don't have indents.

After using Fusion for some time, I am pleased with it. Cannot eve imagine diving wet again, if there is a choice. Thermal Fusion undergarment is very warm, and it is good to have the MK0 base layer as well. I don't feel any need for an upgrade. On the contrary, maybe I would "downgrade" and choose the Sport skin and use shorts when I needed pockets. Sport skin is cheaper lighter, more flexible and dries faster. I would definitely not buy a Fusion Bullet, as Tech and even Sport seem to be quite durable, and you can change the outer skin if you really manage to tear it. All in all I feel that Fusion is a suit in the "upper middle class". DUI or Sante may be more renowned and cost me the double, but my diving has absolutely no need for that, and neither does my ego.

 

[asha]

My first (and 3 years later-still my only) drysuit set me back under $1000 brand new. It's a trilam Pinnacle Freedom.

It's pretty feature-basic. It only had one pocket, so I glued a Halcyon pocket on the other side. It doesn't have a neck warmer or any kind of protection over the wrist and neck seals. It has attached socks over which I wear rock boots. No p-valve... yet. I'm just getting around to adding dry gloves this month.

I'd make the investment again in a heartbeat. It basically made diving viable again when (a lack of) thermal comfort threatened to make me want to quit. And aside from the normal maintenance (seals, patches, one new zipper), I haven't had to do anything to it. It fit like a glove off the rack, which was a great bonus!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I've bought three used suits on Ebay. The first one, a rubber Poseiden suit was WAY too large, and I'm 6'3". I could lift the shoulders well over my head while wearing the suit. I sold it for five dollars more than I paid. The other two lasted for several hundred dives with minor repairs. My first new suit, a DUI TLS350 leaked on 98 of 100 dives. I sent it back to DUI twice but the material had hundreds of pinholes throughout the legs. I paid almost $2000 for the POS and sold it for parts for next to nothing. It was the last DUI product I'll ever buy.
I've used Diving Concepts suits for the past five years. I like the suits, but the customer service is the worst in the dive business.

 

[rx7diver]

Dry suits are rather pricey, they can be the single biggest expense out of all gear for a beginner diver.

When you were buying your first and next dry suits, what compromises (on features, age of the suit, etc) did you have to make to afford one?

Were the compromises worthwhile, that is, if you could go back, would you still make them or would get a more expensive model?

Overall, my question tries to explore if you were happy with your first dry suit and what made you want to upgrade? Perhaps, your first dry suit was not overly expensive, but was it nevertheless a good choice?

TXGuy,

My experience (c. 1993) purchasing my first and only drysuit was extremely enjoyable. After I recovered from the initial shock from learning just how much these things actually cost, and after chatting with a couple of trusted people who were doing the types of Great Lakes dives I was hoping and training and outfitting to do, I decided to bite the bullet and ordered a custom DUI compressed neoprene CF200SP (with neoprene fold-under neck and wrist seals and kevlar knee pads) and 55 degree Thinsulate underwear and socks. Since I tend to "purchase once and keep/use forever" much of what I acquire, I didn't/don't usually compromise when it comes to important features since I can rationalize away the significant (to me) cost. I've been extremely pleased with my suit from the beginning.

I still dive this suit (though not so often now since I no longer live near the Great Lakes). In ~2000 I had the zipper replaced by DUI, and at the same time I had a zipper guard and thigh pockets installed. (If I could go back, given how relatively infrequently I dive the suit these days, I probably would not have had the zipper guard installed. I don't care for the bulk it adds.)

This year--or next--I'll probably have the neoprene wrist seals replaced. And maybe the neoprene neck seal. And maybe the glued-on soles. If I thought I might again routinely do deeper, longer Great Lakes dives, I would replace my drysuit underwear.

Otherwise, I'll continue to dive the suit as is. For longer Great Lakes dives I used to wear an adult diaper--just in case. (Thankfully, I never needed to use this "bailout"!)

I should add, my only prior drysuit experience was with a DUI TLS350 borrowed from an instructor friend, who talked me through how to safely use it. I dove it in a quarry while he was teaching his AOW class.

Good luck with your purchase.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[Diver0001]

Dry suits are rather pricey, they can be the single biggest expense out of all gear for a beginner diver.

When you were buying your first and next dry suits, what compromises (on features, age of the suit, etc) did you have to make to afford one?

Were the compromises worthwhile, that is, if you could go back, would you still make them or would get a more expensive model?

Overall, my question tries to explore if you were happy with your first dry suit and what made you want to upgrade? Perhaps, your first dry suit was not overly expensive, but was it nevertheless a good choice?

My story isn't typical but I'll tell it anyway.

I learned to dive in 1984 and the shop that taught me had an instructor working for them who was commercial diver by day and gave PADI lessons for some extra cash on the side. (he eventually became an bo-bo at PADI Canada).

Because of this guy the shop had connections with a company called Fitzgerald (later to become known as Bare) who were, at that moment in time, developing their first trilaminate drysuit.

... and they needed "test" divers

I was an active diver, my uncle was a well known marine biologist at one of the local universities and my instructor was this guy with awesome connections. He pulled some strings, dropped some names of people my uncle knew and I got a custom cut trilaminate drysuit (one of the few in circulation in our area in 1984) and it cost me a whopping ... zero dollars... provided I would report back every now and then with feedback.

My second drysuit I got for next to nothing too. I was DM'ing at a diveshop in the Netherlands and it was the boom days. I got it for a massive discount as compensation for the work I was putting in (and because I'm fairly good at haggling).

My third one I only got a 30% discount on because of a standard key-man discount from the shop where I was working. That one was pretty expensive. I still ended up paying a lot of money for it but given that up until that point I had been diving for 20 years on a couple of hundred dollar budget I didn't really mind.

R..

 

[rongoodman]

I got a very good price from my local shop on my original DUI suit, but buying a rear-entry suit to save money was a mistake, as were the smaller pockets. Bigger is better for pockets, and the I think the ones from Halcyon are the best out there.