I will progress to more tech diving but right now I want to make my Rec dives more comfortable and progress toward more complex dives. That's why the interest in the dry suits. I have only ever dove once in Lake Michigan and froze my butt off with a 7mm wetsuit, won't do that again.
Don't blame you for looking at a drysuit. I will dive a 3mm only down to 75 degrees, a 5mm down to maybe 65 dgrees, and a drysuit for everything else. I bought a custom-fit trilam drysuit less than a year after I started diving (my first DS dive was #31), and have never regretted the choice - it is the best scuba equipment purchase I have made. So, yes, I probably spent more money up front that I 'had to', but it has served me well for 10 years, and I plan to get another 10 out of it. I use it for recreational diving and technical diving. My suit happens to be a Diving Concepts suit (
http://www.divingconcepts.com/index.htm), but a number of other brands (DUI, Whites, etc) also offer very good suits. If you can find a used (therefore less expensive) suit, THAT FITS YOU, fantastic. I bought new because a) I am in an area where there aren't enough drysuit divers to support an extensive used maket, b) I wanted to dive dry sooner, not think about for 3 years uintil I found a suit; and c) I wanted to be sure what I got fit me. A trilam suit, for me, represented the best combination of durability, limited impact on bouyancy, versatility (ability to adjust my undergarment to suit the ambient temperature), and physical flexibility. Results for others may differ.
As for technical diving and training, you are in an area where there are a lot of wrecks to dive. Once you have a drysuit, you can dive more often, more comfortably, and the next logical step is to make certain that a) your rig is appropriate to support you in diving those wrecks, b) our skillset continues to develop to support your proper use of that rig, and c) your mindset allows you to use the equipment and procedures wisely and safely, as you progress toward more complex (deeper, longer, more challenging) dives. 'Technical' training does not have to mean a diver jumps right into double cylinders, or into a trimix class to go to 270'. Rather, it helps a diver develop better dive planning skills, develop the right mindset for progressing as a diver, and possibly accelerates their learning regarding the kind of gear rig needed to progress. Those are useful skills for any recreational diver. (In fact, that is why I pursued tech training - to simply become a better diver, not necessarily to dive to 200ft.) Pursuing tech training does not bypass the need to develop optimal bouyancy / trim control, effective propulsion techniques, etc. In fact, it adds to the importance of that development. I didn't make my first doubles dive until #194, but I started using a 40 cf pony bottle (and practicing gas switches) around #75, and moved to a long hose / bungeed necklace (and BP/W) before that. So, maybe I have a skewed view, that is not appropriate. But, I now have some trouble with the dividing line between technical and recreational diving, at least in terms of training. Many of the things I learned in 'technical' training allowed me to become a better recreational diver. So, good for you for thinking about it. And, I hope some of the other posts lead you to a good instructor in your area.
