Women's favourite dry suits

[Tanja C]

I'm looking at getting a new dry suit, and with so many options am finding it hard to decide on what to get. I'm keen to know what other women out there are diving in. What's your favourite suit? And what makes it so awesome?

Look forward to your suggestions.
Tanja

 

[TSandM]

I'm diving a White's Fusion. The single biggest plus of this suit is that it doesn't have to fit. I am a small woman, and for most dry suit manufacturers, I am a custom size if I want a good fit. I have had a very unpleasant (and VERY expensive) experience with custom suit ordering, and I do not want to do it again.

Pluses: With the sport skin, the suit is very light. It dries fairly quickly (not as fast as a trilam suit, but much faster than a crushed neo). It has proven EXTREMELY durable and hard to damage. It is easy to vent. It gives superb mobility in the water.

Cons: It can be challenging to fix when damaged (although if it's only the bag that gets a hole in it, Gorilla tape works a treat). If you are diving with very thick undergarments, it is a challenge to get on and off (although this may be better now -- they changed the cut of the arms and legs after I bought my suit). You cannot put pockets on the sport skin, so you have to wear something like X-shorts if you want storage. And the socks that come with the suit are not sized, so they can end up enormous on small feet and hard to stuff into any footgear.

 

[kathydee]

I'm quite happy with my DUI TLS350. It's comfortable, easy to dive, easy on/off, durable, it's quick to dry, the zip seals make seal replacement a few minute job, and DUI offers a fantastic warranty with exceptional customer service.

I added nice deep Halcyon pockets which are a major bonus.

 

[Peter_C]

I have purchased a few woman's drysuits to get my buddy diving comfortable with me. Right now she is diving in a Bare ATR light I bought for $127 shipped with dry gloves off ebay. Fixed a few leaks (6) and it is DRY! Came with an undergarment too.

So the question becomes do you plan to buy new or used? Are you familiar with the costs of new? They are expensive.

Kathy above has a really nice suit and she got a great deal on it, but for most that is probably close to a $3,000 suit if not more. She also went through a few suits prior to it. If you go with a DUI just start with a TLS350.

My recommendations would be Trilam, unless you decide on a Fusion. You want a fairly light suit for mobility and to keep you wet walking weight down. For instance a crushed neoprene is very heavy when wet.

I know you are over seas, but if your water is cold, definitely look at an Otter Bay hood or the like. http://www.otterbaysuits.com/ They really make a difference.

Dry gloves help too, although they will be less dexterous in some ways, keeping your fingers cold will mean more dexterity throughout the dive. The orange gloves seem to be more flexible.

Pockets are a must have for the serious diver. Big is good and a velcro flap is the best form of closure.

I understand Bare is supposed to be coming out with a new suit that offers stretchiness in it. That might be something to look at. White's makes the Fusion, along with Trilam suits at affordable costs. Scubapro rebrands the Fusion in Australia. Bare makes decent suits. DUI is the Cadillac of suits, and they charge for it.

I would recommend finding a dive shop local and trying some on. Make sure to use the undergarment you plan to use, since that is a major part of the system. The thickness of your undergarment is dictated by the water and your cold tolerance. Thinsulate is better incase of a flood. I experienced one a couple of weeks ago and was glad to be in Thinsulate, even completing an 80+ minute dive. PrimaLoft and the like works well too.

Giving folks a better idea of your dive profiles and temps would help. Along with other things. IE: Do you do wreck diving?

 

[tstormdiver]

I love my DUI TLS350 signature series suits. They are custom fitted to me. I'm rather wide for my height. For me to fit (width- wise) in an Off- the- shelf size, I would have to wear a men's XL, in which the arms & legs would be 6-8" too long; that equals too much drag. My suit has a bellows pocket on the left side & a smaller neoprene pocket on the right for storage, zip seals make it very simple to switch seals or switch to dry gloves. The only minus to the zip system I can find (in my case) is the zip seal on the neck tends to get pulled back with the weight of my doubles & is a bit choking when walking to & from the water with the doubles. I also installed a P-valve on my primary suit to use with the She- P device,.... a very nice thing to have on the longer dives.

 

[Tanja C]

Thanks for the replies so far. I have been diving dry for a couple of years now (and am never going back). I currently have a Scubapro Everdry. At the time I bought it through a friend it was a cheap solution and an offer I could not pass up.

I find the location of the dump valve anoying as it is difficult to vent without twisting my body - even more difficult when I'm wearing my twins. It is also fairly restrictive in the arms which can make it difficult to reach cylinder valves. But in saying that it has always kept me dry. I have been making the transition to tech over the last 2 years and feel it is time to invest in a new suit, so am happy to invest some more $$$.

I dive in the southern waters of Australia. An average dive is approx 28 metres, and the temp ranges from 13 to 21 degrees C. I do some wreck diving as well, and now that I have twins I am definitely spending longer down there. The She-P comments have been noted too and it is already on the shopping list

 

[spectrum]

Your Everdry I see is a neoprene suit.Those are very warm suits with a level of stretch. The downsides include maximum buoyancy at the surface and buoyancy swing. They stay wet (evaporate cooling) and also are slow to dry when turning gear around post dive.

Most alternatives are no stretch and get virtually all warmth from the undergarment. The water temperatures you cite should be easy to dress for. Since you are going the tech route and have your eyes on things like valve reach you need to be sure your cut is liberal enough. This applies to the suit and garments. Different garments will have different slip factors in different suits. Some slip will make life easier when squeeze takes hold. Latex seals will not feel as warm as neoprene but again, your water sounds mild so it's not a concern.

The biggest question is often, are you really an off the rack person? I you are then it's easy to shop and maybe even get a demo suit in a pool. If dive suit companies offer demo days participating is a no-brainier. At least DUI and Whites do it here in the U.S. If your build is athletic or otherwise needs something other than stock do no hesitate going custom for a single nanosecond. Nothing tales the fun out of a suit like a poor fit. Once you consider the options you may need or what on your suit the custom fee is a rounding error.

The relief valve is another high priority that may be added when desired. It adds a little prep and clean-up but hugely enhances your diving comfort and safety by enabling ample hydration.

BTW, I'm speaking largely from last year's experience in purchasing new his & hers dry suits.

Pete

 

[Thiad]

I am starting to look at dry suits, too, so I appreciate the insights. I've heard really great things about the DUI suits. For those that purchased the TLS350, what about it did you prefer over the FLX50/50?

The idea of the demo-days is a great sales pitch. I'm looking forward to both DUI and WHITE when they come along.

 

[tstormdiver]

The TLS350 is the more economical suit between the 2 types. The Flex 50/50 (if memory serves me correct) is a combo crushed neoprene & trilam, whereas the TLS350 is a total trilam suit. I had a Whites Catalyst (Off- the- shelf size) & it never really fit me correctly, but I will say it was of very solid construction. That's when I went with the DUI suit, because of the fit. I will probably always have to have a custom suit, but I love the way it feels & moves with me.

 

[Ren127]

I recently bought the new Scubapro Everdry 4. It is a neoprene drysuit and I love it. I really like the neoprene reverse roll neck seal- so much easier to get on- and no ripped hair. I'll second everyone's comments about getting in the pool and trying different drysuits out.

As far as the other post about the neoprene drysuit drying slowly- the everdry 4 dries quite quickly. When I got home from my first dive weekend in it I hung it over my shower bar (haven't built a stand for it yet) right side out and it was completely dry on the outside the next day- I flipped it inside out and within an hour the inside was dry too (I let water in during a checkout maneuver) Way quicker than I expected after reading so many posts about neoprene drysuits taking days to dry.

Good luck with your search.

Lauren