Probably saved myself $2K today

[Tigerman]

$900 is less than $1000, alas "a few hundred"
And youre right - your photography dont magically become better with a better camera - but when youre getting practiced AND get a better camera - damn I can relate to that not being married and having expensive hobbies thing

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I love the smell of gasoline thrown on a thread in the morning

 

[eelnoraa]

From cost point of view, yeah drysuit is more expansive, but with a bit of search and luck, I have been able to buy 2 drysuits, eash for about $600, very decent condition. REI merino wolf socks for $20. new but old stock 250g thinsulate for $90 and new old stock 400g thinulate for $180. All together it is still pushing $1000 envelope, but I am warm and comfortable down to 46F for 1 hour dive. My previous 8mm SolAfx semi-dry/wet suit is nowhere as warm new at $500. Weight used is similar in my case.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

$900 is less than $1000, alas "a few hundred"
And youre right - your photography dont magically become better with a better camera - but when youre getting practiced AND get a better camera - damn I can relate to that not being married and having expensive hobbies thing

Since there is gas fumes in the air....

The more you dive, the better you SAC becomes, typically because you learn to move slower and more efficiently. These skills also reduce the amount of body heat you generate. If you search SB, you will find years ago I also thumbed my nose as the spend thrift dry suite divers. Heck I started diving when I was 17 and did not need no stinking dry suite. I have dived in 40F water, I dive with snow on the ground and ice on the ramp. I am a mans man, a real diver and I could handle it...or so I thought. Eventually age / skills took me to a point where I had to eat my words and go over to the dry side (at least in winter, and yes pun intended).

 

[PhatD1ver]

Okay, I am going to show my ignorance here, but isn't it possible to 'layer' wetsuits? to get more insulation and protection? I mean, even a shorty 3mm over/under a 7mm long john seems like it would put layering in the right places (groin, armpits) to achieve warmth for wet diving?

Maybe the thermodynamics is escaping me.

---------- Post added May 27th, 2014 at 09:55 AM ----------

No sane person would think diving was worth it if they realized the cost up front. I am sure if my wife knew I would be a dead man walking.
Definitely don't look at u/w camera gear, its not worth it either, ditto for my boat, my guns and other man-toys.

I would have to disagree... the reason my wife LET me become a D1ver, is because I'm also an AV8r (aviator), and the cost of flying airplanes or helicopters for just a few hours will fund my equipment budget for diving for several years... I gave her the $500 price for my BP/W rig and she didn't blink an eye... must have been the $150 per hour rate for that little twin-engine I was talking about using this summer... that and the fact to stay 'current' in the flying world, you have to do your takeoffs/approaches/ and landings every 90 days of you end up having to get a ride with an instructor to do it. On average to stay current as a pilot in both airplane and helicopter for a year is easily $5000...

What kind of toys could you afford for your diving with that annual budget?

 

[Malpaso]

Okay, I am going to show my ignorance here, but isn't it possible to 'layer' wetsuits? to get more insulation and protection? I mean, even a shorty 3mm over/under a 7mm long john seems like it would put layering in the right places (groin, armpits) to achieve warmth for wet diving?

That's exactly what I do. I wear a 7mm Farmer John and a 7mm shorty, so I have 14mm on my core.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Okay, I am going to show my ignorance here, but isn't it possible to 'layer' wetsuits? to get more insulation and protection? I mean, even a shorty 3mm over/under a 7mm long john seems like it would put layering in the right places (groin, armpits) to achieve warmth for wet diving?

Maybe the thermodynamics is escaping me.

Adding layers is of minimal help. It not like topside where a layer of air between layers of clothing is desired as the air pockets themselves are insulating. It tends to restrict your movement and the more neoprene you pile on the more lead you need. I have done it, a vest can be worthwhile because it concentrates on the core. I have tried for example put a 3 mil under a 7, I did not care to repeat as I was high restricted in movement. It also does nothing for staying warm between dives.

As for aviation being more expensive, you have a point. The entry barrier for multi-engine general aviation (both training and cost) make it unreachable for most people to consider. The entry barrier for diving is relatively low, anyone 14 years old with a couple of days at a resort can be hooked.

 

[Malpaso]

Adding layers is of minimal help.

Going to have to disagree there. A number of us from my LDS do layers and find it very helpful in staying warm in New England water.

It tends to restrict your movement

I've never found that to be the case.

the more neoprene you pile on the more lead you need.

This is very true, I need 36# with a single AL80.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Going to have to disagree there. A number of us from my LDS do layers and find it very helpful in staying warm in New England water.
I've never found that to be the case.
This is very true, I need 36# with a single AL80.

Yes, I lived and dived in NH and MA for 20 years and am familiar with many strategies used to keep warm. I employed most of them myself over the almost 30 years I spent diving wet only, in hind sight they were band aids. Not really an issue in the summer / early fall, but come winter or shoulder seasons it was a different world. Dry suit dives are not fools, no one want to spend big bucks on a sack of air and deal with the additional complexity. They just figured out the cost / benefit ratio was favorable for their environment, extending the season to year round and increasing the number of dives / day they can handle before the cold gets to them.

 

[macado]

There were a lot of very good responses here but I'll add my two cents. I toughed it out and dove with a wetsuit for my first 7 years of New England diving before I switched to a drysuit. Both are tools, neither are wrong to use. That being said, I vastly prefer diving with a drysuit for the type of diving that I do.

With a drysuit, you are only as warm as what you're wearing underneath. Shell-type suits provide virtually no insulation so depending on what you were wearing you could be warmer in a wetsuit.

I personally find I can put a drysuit on (and off) much faster than a typical 7mm wetsuit or a 7mm farmer john. This might take practice and is not something you'll get after a couple dives in a drysuit.

I like to dive year around, it's very hard to do that in a wetsuit in February. I've done many New Years day and Christmas day dives in wetsuits, I've even gone ice diving in a wetsuit; While I did them with no problems, they were not "fun." I found doing multiple long dives in a wetsuit in New England to be painful. For me the benefit here is between subsequent dives when the air temperature is freezing. I can step out of my drysuit and be dry and warm. The drysuit also acts as a wind barrier.

I can't argue about the weight required when using a drysuit; It is true most people tend to need more weight. For me I actually don't require anymore lead than I would with my 7mm farmer john. Diving with steel tanks and BP/W can help offset this too.

When diving deep your wetsuit compresses and loses most of it's insulating properties at depth. This is not a problem for most New England shore dives that are less than 40ft but when diving off charter boats on deeper dives you're going to lose most of the insulating qualities that your wetsuit provided.

In the future if you plan on doing any sort of technical diving that requires long run times or decompression, a drysuit is going to be necessary in New England. Doing any sort of diving that requires decompression in cold water in a wetsuit can be very dangerous. Proper circulation is required for efficient decompression and when you're doing required decompression stops you can't simply decide to end the dive if you become cold.


With all that being said, I do like wetsuits in the summer for shore diving. One thing I prefer wetsuits for is when i'm lobstering. I beat up my suits pretty badly when I have my hand under rocks trying to pull lobsters out. I'd rather not risk damaging my drysuit when I dive for lobsters.