A Drysuit is a Drysuit is a Drysuit

[ScubaJosh1029]

This thread is helping alot. I'm about to go dry in a few weeks (after another paycheck or two) and been having trouble deciding. My LDS owner, and two of my instructors (open water and advanced) all recommend vulcanized rubber. The viking protech to be exact. Durability, ease of repair, and its pretty flexible. (store fabric sample) My only concern is comfortability. Unfortunately he does not have any in the store to try on. Does anybody have any experience with the vulcanized rubber suits? Is it like wearing a big bike tire? I'm not a fan of neoprene either. My biggest factor is durability rather than cost or looks. Any thoughts?

 

[eelnoraa]

I haven't never dived a volcanized rubber suit, but I did help someone dress into one today. From the feel if it, it is like Northface base camp duffle bag. From durability point of view, I think crushed/compress neoprene is very tought. My first suit is DUI CF200 (crush neoprene). It is a very tough suit. IMO, the major downside of neoprene is their weight and dry time. They are quite heavy even when dry. Once wet, super heavy. Not a very comforble suit to be in especially wet. It is suit I want to take off in SI. It takes a lot time to dry too, so make it a poor travel suit.

 

[Diver0001]

I have to disagree with you last statement Lynne. I've been in Lake Michigan in 42 degree water and the only parts of me that got cold were my fingers and lips.

Suit materials are one of the biggest differences, but not for the reasons being discussed.

The suit material and the "cut" of the suit has a big impact on

- range of motion/comfort
- durability
- drag
- price

Lightweight trilam is by no means even remotely as durable as crushed neoprene or vulcanized rubber. As a general rule, the lighter the suit, the more it will leak. The other side of this coin is that the lighter the suit, the more it costs so (perhaps illogically) the most expensive suits tend to leak the most..... Weird for something called a "dry" suit.

On the other end of the spectrum, heavy materials generally don't offer the same range of motion or comfort as lighter materials. Expensive suits are expensive because they're more comfortable. Cheaper suits tend to be heavier, leak less and are more durable but are less comfortable. This has to do with materials, not price, but there is a correlation.

The third element is drag. A suit that isn't cut well can be really baggy. That's bad if you want to swim efficiently through the water. The Bare nexgen is a good example. Its' dead cheap, leaks a lot (bilam) and drags a lot but it's perfect for rental stock because they're cheap and fit a wide range of people. Neoprene suits also tend to be less draggy on the whole than trilam suits but that depends to a large extent on cut and quality.

Conclusion.... You can't really decide based on price if that suit you're looking at is the right one for you. You have four main elements to balance price, comfort, durability and drag.

drag and comfort are opposed
durability and comfort seem to be opposed
price and durability seem to be opposed
low price and high drag seem correlate
high price and low durability seem to correlate
high price and high comfort seem to correlate

All of this is independent of brand and very general. There are probably exceptions.

R..

 

[Stratosphere272]

I haven't never dived a volcanized rubber suit, but I did help someone dress into one today. From the feel if it, it is like Northface base camp duffle bag. From durability point of view, I think crushed/compress neoprene is very tought. My first suit is DUI CF200 (crush neoprene). It is a very tough suit. IMO, the major downside of neoprene is their weight and dry time. They are quite heavy even when dry. Once wet, super heavy. Not a very comforble suit to be in especially wet. It is suit I want to take off in SI. It takes a lot time to dry too, so make it a poor travel suit.

Much agreed about the dry time with a vulcanized suit. Not only is it more convenient if you're traveling, as an added bonus it keeps you warm during cold weather. A suit with a fabric exterior is like a refrigerator in the cold because the fabric holds additional water and dries slowly. A vulcanized suit usually dries in minutes after you exit the water.