My first Dry Suit

[vetdiver]

Don't buy a neoprene suit. QUOTE]

Just wanted to hear a bit more about this, as it differs from what some others have told me. Granted - I am a woman who gets cold quite easily, and I don't need a lot of weight (even with the 6mm neoprene suit, I only carry about 24 lbs), so I am different from most guys in those respects - but maybe I'm missing something else here? Why do you think it's a bad idea to have a neoprene suit as one's first drysuit? Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[jonnythan]

Neoprene compresses at depth. At 100 feet, you'll have about 1/3 to 1/4 the insulation as you do at the surface.

Strictly as an insulation, neoprene is not ideal. You can get more warmth per unit loft with something like Thinsulate.. and when wearing nice warm undies you'll be as warm at 100 feet as you will at the surface.

Neoprene also leads to large buoyancy shifts as it compresses. Therefore, unlike air which can be vented from a trilam suit, you will gain buoyancy as you go higher that you can't vent. This is especially problematic in shallow depths where small changes in depth can lead to large changes in buoyancy. This is dynamic instability, where a small change in depth leads to a large change in buoyancy and results in a positive feedback loop. The more you go up, the faster you go up. This is of course alleviated by dumping your BC, but you have to be that much more on top of the air in the BC whereas air in a trilam suit is not only kept to an absolute minimum, but venting is virtually automatic. You have the manage a much larger air space (the bubbles in the neoprene) in a neoprene suit than a trilam.

The only reason to use a neoprene suit is that it's cheaper or warmer. Trilam suits these days are very inexpensive, and neoprene as an insulator is problematic and non-ideal. In other words, in choosing an insulation, neoprene should be far down the list.

 

[Laser]

Neoprene compresses at depth. At 100 feet, you'll have about 1/3 to 1/4 the insulation as you do at the surface.

Strictly as an insulation, neoprene is not ideal. You can get more warmth per unit loft with something like Thinsulate.. and when wearing nice warm undies you'll be as warm at 100 feet as you will at the surface.

Neoprene also leads to large buoyancy shifts as it compresses. Therefore, unlike air which can be vented from a trilam suit, you will gain buoyancy as you go higher that you can't vent. This is especially problematic in shallow depths where small changes in depth can lead to large changes in buoyancy. This is dynamic instability, where a small change in depth leads to a large change in buoyancy and results in a positive feedback loop. The more you go up, the faster you go up. This is of course alleviated by dumping your BC, but you have to be that much more on top of the air in the BC whereas air in a trilam suit is not only kept to an absolute minimum, but venting is virtually automatic. You have the manage a much larger air space (the bubbles in the neoprene) in a neoprene suit than a trilam.

The only reason to use a neoprene suit is that it's cheaper or warmer. Trilam suits these days are very inexpensive, and neoprene as an insulator is problematic and non-ideal. In other words, in choosing an insulation, neoprene should be far down the list.

.......and it takes a long time to dry.

 

[vetdiver]

.

Strictly as an insulation, neoprene is not ideal. You can get more warmth per unit loft with something like Thinsulate.. and when wearing nice warm undies you'll be as warm at 100 feet as you will at the surface.

Neoprene also leads to large buoyancy shifts as it compresses. Therefore, unlike air which can be vented from a trilam suit, you will gain buoyancy as you go higher that you can't vent. This is especially problematic in shallow depths where small changes in depth can lead to large changes in buoyancy.

Thanks - excellent info.

Have to admit, I have noticed that keeping on top of buoyancy has been challenging on shallow dives, even when I change depth a few feet. I am constantly adjusting - much more than I'd ever done in a wetsuit!!

I just ordered some new undies, so we'll see what transpires with the warmth factor - but I do stay pretty warm, even around 100 ft, in neoprene with ski underwear. My husband recently got a DUI (half trilam, half compressned neoprene), and he commented to me that even with warm undies, he has had a hard time adjusting to the difference in insulation as compared to his old 7 mm neoprene suit - but then again, he wears Weezle undergarments, so we're back to the "compression at depth" issue.

Maybe in a year or two, I'll look to upgrade to trilam - but in the meantime, my cash is being saved for some steel tanks, so I'll have to continue to deal with the buoyancy carnival ride that is NEOPRENE!!

 

[jonnythan]

Hey, I'd rather dive dry in neoprene than wet..

 

[vetdiver]

Hey, I'd rather dive dry in neoprene than wet..

Hell, yeah - that drysuit course changed my life! (Does that make me sad and pathetic? Oh, well - no time to waste thinking about that, as I can dive any time of year...) thanks again.