Faster drip dry a non-issue?

[Greendiver]

In watching the snow come down I have to admit that my issue limiting time underwater is my cold tolerance. I will soon have to replace my wetsuit with a drysuit and am going back and forth on the different materials. I hope those of you with more experience can offer your opinion.

Being in the mid-west alot of our diving is in colder water with a couple of months being winter. When changing out of my wetsuit naturally I'm wet, no brainer there. When moving to a drysuit, is the material much of a concern for holding water? Meaning if I use a neoprene drysuit it will hold some water on the exterior... and a Fusion will hold more I would believe. Getting out of a soaked suit while warm and dry doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. I mean the idea of diving dry is to be well...dry. Or am I all wet?

Is this even an issue for those of you who dive in the colder temps?

 

[Saudi-Diver]

I do the changing by the side of a road in winter lark quite a lot. The fact the suit is wet isn't really a big issue you just have to be careful to try and keep the inside dry. What I find is trying to dry suits out between dives is a nightmare especially Neoprene dry suits they can take for ever to dry out and are really lovely (not) to climb back in to when damp!

 

[Greendiver]

"are really lovely (not) to climb back in to when damp!" That is exactly my thought. With that being the case, a tri-lam with integrated boots would be a plus yes?

 

[TSandM]

There are a number of ways in which a quick-drying suit is an advantage. They are lighter to pack, easier to cope with in motel rooms, and are a little bit warmer in cold, windy surface conditions (out of the water). But they have no intrinsic insulating capacity, which means you have to depend entirely on undergarments to keep you warm, and past a certain point, that gets difficult (more isn't necessarily better, as the weight penalty skyrockets and mobility gets more and more restricted). So a lot of people I know who only dive locally have gone to compressed neo suits for greater warmth.

I travel with my dry suit, so I use a Fusion. With the Sport skin, it dries almost as fast as a laminate suit, and it's light and easy to pack.

 

[dave4868]

Getting out of a soaked suit while warm and dry doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. I mean the idea of diving dry is to be well...dry. Or am I all wet?

I don't think you'll find it to be an issue of diver comfort at all. A faster drying suit might be slightly more convenient when storing, but removing a damp drysuit at the dive site is no problem, unless it's so cold that the material has become frozen and stiff....

As far as standing around during a surface interval on a really cold and windy day, a fast-drying rubberized suit would be a bit warmer than a slow-drying compressed neoprene, but the diver will probably be plenty warm anyway.

The fact the suit is wet isn't really a big issue you just have to be careful to try and keep the inside dry. What I find is trying to dry suits out between dives is a nightmare especially Neoprene dry suits they can take for ever to dry out and are really lovely (not) to climb back in to when damp!

Good point! Even perspiration moisture can significantly dampen the inside of the suit and undergarments, for that matter. In the winter, in between dives, I usually don't even open the suit up unless really damp. Sometimes I might vent or peel the upper torso, but will keep the lower half on. If I get wetter than that, it's a good excuse to cancel the second dive....

"are really lovely (not) to climb back in to when damp!" That is exactly my thought. With that being the case, a tri-lam with integrated boots would be a plus yes?

I like my DUI CLx450 trilaminate. Perspiration moisture will generally wick out of the undergarments and stick nicely to the inside of the shell. The attached drysuit socks are crushed neoprene and stay pretty damp on the outside, but on the inside, they're warm as toast, unless I lace the Rockboots too tightly.

Dave C

 

[manni-yunk]

As far as standing around during a surface interval on a really cold and windy day, a fast-drying rubberized suit would be a bit warmer than a slow-drying compressed neoprene, but the diver will probably be plenty warm anyway.

How??? If you are inside the suit - and dry - and the moisture is outside the suit - how is the faster drying suit warmer??? If you are doing a surface interval - assuming that you are still dry inside the suit - wouldnt it still come down to your undergarment choice?? The warmth offered from a compressed neo suit isnt just warmth at depth - if one is warmer at depth - it should be so on the surface as well?????????


I went with compressed neo since almost ALL of my dry diving will be cold and with NO travel. If I planned to travel I would probably have gone tri-lam. Any travel I do will be in a wetsuit in warm water!

 

[Saudi-Diver]

Compressed Neoprene/ Neoprene Dry suits have intrinsic Insulation and you wear thinner undergarments. There lovely and toasty on but may need a little more weight to sink them. But there a pig to dry out after a dive. I dive a 4mm compressed neoprene dry suit with 4th Element Arctic undies and have never been cold on a dive yet. Laminate suits depend on the under suit to keep you warm.

 

[manni-yunk]

Compressed Neoprene/ Neoprene Dry suits have intrinsic Insulation and you wear thinner undergarments. There lovely and toasty on but may need a little more weight to sink them. But there a pig to dry out after a dive. I dive a 4mm compressed neoprene dry suit with 4th Element Arctic undies and have never been cold on a dive yet. Laminate suits depend on the under suit to keep you warm.

Another thing I dont understand - If the suit itself needs more to sink it - doenst the
"less undergarments" counteract that??

If you need thicker undergarments in a shell suit - doesnt that counteract the lack of suit material compression at depth?

Also - not all compressed neo suits are 4mm - dont the 2mm versions conmpress less at depth?


Plus - isnt the thread about which one is warmer on the surface do to its ability to dry faster - I believe the faster drying is nice for travel - but a non issue for warmth during a surface interval since in either suit - you are dry irregardless of whether or not the outside material is wet still.

 

[Greendiver]

manni-yunk, mostly I was asking about getting into and out of the suit post dive, as well as the drying. In other words, will I be miserable getting out of and putting away the suit. AND, will I be miserable getting back into the suit tomorrow, or next week for that matter.
Lots of good thoughts and I appreciate the opinions...
TS&M, so in this case a Sport could be a benefit over the Bullet when thinking of a Fusion for cold weather and not just cold water? This will have to be a year round suit and I suspect I'd pack the wet suit away for good...

 

[Saudi-Diver]

I choose my compressed Neoprene suit which is a Scubapro Everdry 4 model because it was cheap, it was my main criteria (sadly). I had dived in the past with a Laminate suit with Weezle undergarments and found that I prefer to dive with as little air in my drysuit as I can get away with, which usually mean't I was a little chilly as I never had enough air in the suit to loft the Weezle properly. I like having the intrinsic insulation of the Neoprene suit but hate the time it takes to dry.