A different dry suit - don't shoot me

[Sbiriguda]

Thank you interesting explanation

 

[KiltedOne]

Uh guys, Aquala is still alive & kicking & selling these “tunnel entry” suits if you’re interested. Must still be a market here in the US.
The Coronado - Aquala

 

[Sbiriguda]

The cord that keeps the suit closed in the coronado suit picture looks like a surgical emostatic lace

 

[David Wilson]

The cord that keeps the suit closed in the coronado suit picture looks like a surgical emostatic lace

The entry tie a length of surgical tubing:

The Aquala Coronado is a replica of the original Bel-Aqua tunnel-entry drysuit, worn here by its designer, Californian diving legend Bill Barada:

Bill Barada - NOGI

The company's name changed to "Aquala" (Aqua + LA [Los Angeles]) after Barada's departure in the late 1950s. Over the decades the company moved to a number of different US locations and is currently sited in Louisiana, whose abbreviation is also, coincidentally but felicitously, "LA". Here's a video showing how the Aquala Coronado suit is donned and its tunnel entry tied off: