Drysuit Purchase Help

[craig chamberlain]

Hi Everyone

I am going to buy my first drysuit soon. I am living in egypt and i will be using it in the winter time. i am also a tek diver and will be using it on the deeper trimix dives. The ones that i am leaning towards are the scubapro ones. everdry 4, evertec and fjord. i think that i am favouring the fjord due to the intergrated boots. i think though that i would prefer a crushed neoprene suit like the everdry but with boots and not socks. If anyone could tell me there expierences with the neoprene socks as aposed to the boots then that would be great. I think that in the warmer water neoprene is more appropriate than trilaminate any info would be greeat.

Thanks
Craig Chamberlain

 

[TSandM]

Just remember that, if you are doing deep dives, the full neoprene suit like the EverDry will lose significant insulating capacity at depth.

I found a laminate suit to be ideal for the Red Sea. I needed very little undergarment under it to be comfortable, it was light and easy to move around, and dried very quickly.

 

[Bopper]

Hi Everyone

I am going to buy my first drysuit soon. I am living in egypt and i will be using it in the winter time. i am also a tek diver and will be using it on the deeper trimix dives. The ones that i am leaning towards are the scubapro ones. everdry 4, evertec and fjord. i think that i am favouring the fjord due to the intergrated boots. i think though that i would prefer a crushed neoprene suit like the everdry but with boots and not socks. If anyone could tell me there expierences with the neoprene socks as aposed to the boots then that would be great. I think that in the warmer water neoprene is more appropriate than trilaminate any info would be greeat.

Thanks
Craig Chamberlain

Boots take forever to dry and might end up stinking even when they do (assuming you get water inside the suit, which if you're new to drysuit diving might surprise you how often this happens). This is opposed to suits that terminate in socks, you can always reverse the suit inside out and let it dry that way. It lets it dry properly and not get a rank, mildewy, or moldy smell. This is what I've found to be the major down side to integrated boots. The other down side is that the bulky-ness of the boots cannot be separated from the suit. Whereas w. socks you can keep your rock boots or booties separate from the suit, maybe in a place that the bulky-ness doesn't matter as much.

You didn't mention your specific situation buy my general advice to a new drysuit diver: Unless $2k - $3K dollars isn't a lot of money for you (for a lot of ppl it really isn't), your first drysuit should be a used one. There are TONS of fantastic used drysuits on eBay that sell for less than $500. The $3k drysuit should be your last drysuit, not your first...IMO.

 

[Instructor_Tom]

totally agree with bopper. my 1st dry suit was a shop trade in and I was able to get it for $400. it fit great and the seals where just right for me. like others have recommended I would shy away from a neoprene dry suit and stick with the laminate as you will be better able to adjust your undergarments depending on the dive you are doing and they are easier to repair if you get a leak or tear in it.


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[dbulmer]

Depends on your budget. If you are in the UK and are buying new then a Seaskin, Predator MTM or Hammonds MTM might be worth a look for under a grand.

If your budget is over a grand, Santi, Ursuit or DUI are good bets. I'd go Trilam for Egypt - light, easy and quick to dry.

Dry Suits from Seaskin Custom Drysuits home page
Technical HD
[url]http://www.hammond-drysuits.co.uk/scuba-diving-dry-suits.html


[/URL]

 

[Searcaigh]

Trilam has to be the optimum suit to use in both Egypt and UK, just change the undergarments to compensate for the different temperatures.

I am planning to buy one for diving back in Scotland and will be using it during the winter in UAE.

 

[Gunrock]

I bought my DUI trilam suit (after doing a lot of research) through a post on ScubaBoard in 2006 for $1000k including undergarment. I'm not knowledgeable about ScubaPro suits but in my research I was told the crushed neoprene is better for cold water. I was also told it holds a lot of water, is very heavy, and takes a long time to dry, all reasons I decided to go with the trilam. The trilam is very lightweight, transportable, and dries quickly, and suitable for warm water diving.
I had the integrated neoprene boots and they worked out just fine for me over 4 years and hundreds of dives. I did mostly shore dives from sandy beaches but I also did my fair share of crawling up and down jetty rocks. I did add neoprene knee pads and a butt pad to protect the thin trilam suit. Kevlar pads are no good, or so a knowledgeable source told me.
BTW don't know how relevant it is to ScubaPro but consider your options for seal care and replacement. I had the Zip neck seal which allowed me to easily replace the latex neck seal myself. Also the longer you can make the seals last the better -- the latex neck seals were expensive and the non-zip type seals are a pain to change out yourself. I'm sure you would not want to have to mail your whole suit from Egypt back to the manufacturer for seal replacement. Also since I couldn't predict when the seals would go bad I always kept spares around. I did change the (non-zip) wrist seals myself but I messed that up a time or two and it really was not something I enjoyed doing, so I preferred to have someone else do it for me. That may not be an option for you.
Guys I knew who had only had socks complained endlessly about the DUI rock boots falling apart. Solutions I was told worked included wearing hi-top Converse chuck taylors or oversized wetsuit booties. Depending on what you decide on and your current fin strap style you may find yourself needing an extra set of straps. I use spring straps and I needed separate sets for wet vs. dry diving due to the different boots.

 

[OkByMe]

I agree with Divemaster who also agrees with Bopper.

Get socks, eaiser to keep clean, you can add boots over the socks if you need shore protection. I actually put clogs ( i have seen some use the slip over "rubbers" which work very well on boats.) over the socks for shore dives and take them off and sling them in a pocket so my fins always fit.

IF you get hot in neoprene, you get hot and can't change it. On deeper dives if you get cold, you can always add undergaments (first), but at shallower depths, especially deco, with the sun beating down on you and the neoprene expanding, you will get hot

Plus it will be damp with sweat and funky! With trilaminate, you can add/remove undergarments and change them out if they get sweaty. You will always wear one light absorbent undergarment in warmer water for just that purpose. Multiple undergarments, you can keep one washed and ready to go.

Considering where you are, you might get a good deal on a BARE. I have the Trilaminate Tech HD and could not be happier. Expansion waist, lifetime guarantee, even if you sell it to someone else it is transferable.