Yet another to add to my list of "Uncle Pug said this...

[muddiver]

Been using neoprene neck seals for years (reference the Avatar) way comfortable.

A reply to Taxgeek - I like the rubber suits that Viking and Hunter (aka Gates) put out for the same reasons you mention.
1. They are lighter than wet neoprene because they are not porious.
2. They are the eaisiest to clean of any dry suit, scrub with a soft brush with mild soap or just hose off.
3. They are very rugged and if you do poke a hole in it, you fix it like a bicycle tire and save shipping it to some repair shop for three weeks.

The down side that I see
1. Not sold at most SCUBA or recreational toy shops.
2. Only seem to come with laytex seals.

 

[pipedope]

I'm not seeing how dry gloves = warm feet. Warm hands I can see...but warm feet??

It is the same as the old sourdough saying, "If your feet are cold, put on your hat!"
Keeping your head warm is #1 and keeping your hands warm is #2.

Besides, if your hands are warm then everything you do with your hands is easier, faster and more accurate.

Yes, kayaking can be as addictive as diving.
Watch out if you get into the Greenland kayaking with learning dozens of rolls and practicing on ropes strung between trees when you are not out in the boat.
Then there is building your own boats and paddles so that they fit exactly to your body and desires and there is not much time left.

 

[Mo2vation]

Darn OE2X for introducing him to kayaking, anyway . . .

Yeah - THAT's why he's no longer here. :shakehead

---
Ken

 

[suthnbelle]

Darn OE2X for introducing him to kayaking, anyway . . .

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Mo2vation]

Hi Ken.
Don't want to hijack the UP is Always Right aim of your post, but I'm curious to hear about your comparison of the 50/50 v. the TLS v. the CF200 vis-a-vis CA diving. What did you like better about each, and why have you now switched back to crushed neoprene, if the trilam was really great?

I'm just really struggling with this decision. Each material seems great in its own way and I can't figure out which one is more important to me and the way I dive! (I'm a wimpy girl who hates carrying heavy wet neoprene from the boat to the car and hanging it up to dry. I'm also fairly rough on my equipment and end up doing some rock wrestling in barren surgy areas, and may do some rocky shore diving some day, so durability seems important. Comfort is also paramount too!)

Any insight you could provide based on your experiences in socal with these suits would be so helpful, I would even put an Uncle Pug is Right sticker on MY car!

Thanks!
Susan

Background: I dive dry. Have been for about 6 years. I've owned 6 drysuits in this time period from two different manufacturers, and rented and dived several others. Some I liked, some I hated and some I love. I'm doing about 250+ dives a year in SoCal - beach, boat, stairs. Doubles, singles, P&S Camera to silly outsized camera rig.

I've been bounced, pinballed, crushed, slammed and even once in awhile walk out of the surf unharmed, I dive very slowly, and I dive year round - so I consider myself very well qualified to speak on DS diving in SoCal and specifically what are some of the elements of a good SoCal drysuit. I'll send you some info in a PM so I don't put the rest of these nice people to sleep.

---
Ken

 

[hydro12]

Actually, I was reading your last post waiting to hear your comparisons - what a tease!

Like a cheap hollywood trick to get me to see the sequel; I've been left hanging after all that reading and no finale (ala Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest).

I'd certainly appreciate the point of view.

 

[JohnL]

Watch out if you get into the Greenland kayaking with learning dozens of rolls and practicing on ropes strung between trees when you are not out in the boat.
Then there is building your own boats and paddles so that they fit exactly to your body and desires and there is not much time left.

Uh-Oh...do I hear a fellow twigger? Never got into the rope manuevers and I am currently down to one boat (from seven) but I do still try to paddle on occasion. First it's multiple rolls, then boat building, then surfing, then racing, then surfskis. We'll never get Pug back.

Back on topic...it's nice to know I am not the only one that searched out and looked forward to UP's posts. He had a post on Multilevel diving that was genious...seems to be missing though.