Which is the best dry suit

[Bob3]

i thought low profile exhaust valve was a good sollution.
By the way what are the pros and cons of having the inlet valve on the breast and on the thigh?

/Jonny

Apeks, the maker of DUI's valves, occasionaly has some "issues". The latest was leaking exhaust valves. The reports of leakers has been tapering off of late, its just something to watch out for if you're going to be needing to ship the suit back to get something replaced.
The belly inflators were originally on the combat swimmer's suits. Not really a good place for scuba as harness, weight belts, etc can get in the way.
You might want to try a search on the board for "leaking valve" or something similar.

 

[Arnaud]

I'm really happy with the SI Tech valve on my DUI. Low profile and no leak...

 

[JonnyB]

Apeks, the maker of DUI's valves, occasionaly has some "issues". The latest was leaking exhaust valves. The reports of leakers has been tapering off of late, its just something to watch out for if you're going to be needing to ship the suit back to get something replaced.
The belly inflators were originally on the combat swimmer's suits. Not really a good place for scuba as harness, weight belts, etc can get in the way.
You might want to try a search on the board for "leaking valve" or something similar.

When you say belly inflators do you mean the same ones as i am tlaking about that are on your thigs cause, i cannot see how these can be in the way of a bcd or harness. The one i have seen on URSUIT has a inlet valve on the outside left thigh and next to it there is a picket for a 0.5L argon bottle as well, which sounds as a great idea to me. The reason i think i prefer that is that to have an inlet valve placed in the middle of the cehst would prevent me from wearing a good harness or bcd.

/Jonny

 

[Scubakevdm]

Hey, you know, if you're not near any drysuit dealers I'm guessing that you probably don't have any drysuit repair shops around either. So, if this is true, you may want to consider a DUI suit with zip seals. If you tear a seal, you're gonna be out of the water for a while if you have to send it off for re-sealing. With zip seals you're up and running again in like 10 minutes. Just a bit of information so that you can make an informed decision.

 

[dive]

Go with DUI.

 

[JonnyB]

Hey, you know, if you're not near any drysuit dealers I'm guessing that you probably don't have any drysuit repair shops around either. So, if this is true, you may want to consider a DUI suit with zip seals. If you tear a seal, you're gonna be out of the water for a while if you have to send it off for re-sealing. With zip seals you're up and running again in like 10 minutes. Just a bit of information so that you can make an informed decision.

i see what you are saying, as long as the zip dont break i am fine... cause hole and tears i can repair by myself, but the zip is a whole different thing.
That is what i am afraid of when buying a front zip, wll they break much easier than a back zip bacuse of fricktion with a bcd and a harness...

/Jonny

 

[dbulmer]

JonnyB,
My Otter has a protective zip above the main zip. My zip is front entry. I would think it's more likely that you would catch the main zip on undersuit clothing than have a problem with bcd+harness. Despite having a front zip I always ask someone to help me zip it up - I have tried doing it myself and found that I found it hard getting the zip past the upper shoulder area. With practice I could probably do it but now I ask someone to do it and simply consider it a part of my pre-dive procedure. Having a second person move the zip allows me to be more rigourous in checking that the zip doesn't get tangled in the undersuit.

 

[gxdoyle]

Since we're on the topic I'd appreciate any comment on the whites drysuits from Canada - especially their tropical models.

Thanks

Greg

 

[SubMariner]

That is what i am afraid of when buying a front zip, wll they break much easier than a back zip bacuse of fricktion with a bcd and a harness.../Jonny

Jonny, that doesn't happen. The zippers on a drysuit are big heavy duty mothers that usually have some sort of protective flap over them to prevent undue wear/tear/stress on the zipper.

That being said, no matter WHICH type of suit you go with, if you properly maintain & lubricate the zipper, it will give you many years of faithful service.

 

[JonnyB]

my other concern is like i stated before, that the inlet valve is going to be in the way when it is placed at the chest. I like my bcd and harness to have a strap that goes over the chest as well for better stability. Will this not be in the way...
Then i think that it is better to place it in the thigh.
Concider looking at this model, i know its the miltary one but you can also get smiliar configuration on the civilian version...
http://www.ursuk.com/ursuit/www_en/pdf/heavy_light_military.pdf
/jonny