To dry suit or not to dry suit

[Wineaux]

I did OW in a wetsuit and AOW *gasp* almost immediately after in a dry suit. Personally, I find buoyancy control sooo much easier in a dry suit.

One reason to get the cert is if you plan to rent a dry suit for occasional use vs buying one and having someone teach you is you will probably have to show your cert to rent.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Something people forget is it seems the longer you dive (and the more often), the more you become a warm water wussy. Seriously, DM's and Instructors seem to be rather wimpy in their cold water tolerance. I am not taking a shot at anyone, but if you in the water constantly you probably more sensitive to being "comfortable" where as someone on vacation is so gaga over the dive site they will tolerate cooler temps for 45-60 minutes.

 

[RJP]

Something people forget is it seems the longer you dive (and the more often), the more you become a warm water wussy. Seriously, DM's and Instructors seem to be rather wimpy in their cold water tolerance. I am not taking a shot at anyone, but if you in the water constantly you probably more sensitive to being "comfortable" where as someone on vacation is so gaga over the dive site they will tolerate cooler temps for 45-60 minutes.

I am severly allergic to water... it makes me break out in COLD!

:d

 

[eelnoraa]

I want to say wait too, but it really depends on your home water temp. I have seen OW student in drysuit. I don't think they get much out of it beside being warmer especially during SI. But hey, if you want to be warm, why not. Keep in mind tho, OW students tent to move around a lot in class, so you are less likely to get cold. Also, with the amount of skills you have to performance in OW, I doubt you will really have chance to play around with the drysuit.

 

[RJP]

II have seen OW student in drysuit. I don't think they get much out of it beside being warmer especially during SI. But hey, if you want to be warm, why not. .

What else would you want to get out of diving a dry suit?

Keep in mind tho, OW students tent to move around a lot in class, so you are less likely to get cold.

Actually, OW students tend to spend an inordinate amount of time NOT moving much at all. In a typical class of four students, you'll spend 75% of the time waiting for three OTHER students to perform skills while you stare at the divemaster. Especially fun if you're waiting for three other people to attempt a CESA three or four times each.

:d

Also, with the amount of skills you have to performance in OW, I doubt you will really have chance to play around with the drysuit.

A.) there's nothing to "play with" on a dry suit, as far as I can tell.
B.) if you add Dry Suit to OW you will do the Dry Suit academics session, pool session, and an additional Dry Suit dive after OW dive number 4

Fact of the matter is, if you combine OW and Dry Suit classes you will get far more "chance to play around with the dry suit" than if you took Dry Suit by itself later.

 

[tyesai]

If the $150 bucks doesn't break you then I'd take it. It is an additional cost but it is also additional knowledge and it hurts nothing. It might make certification more challenging but that isn't a reason to shy away from it...

 

[spectrum]

I'd wait. it's pretty much summertime now so you won't be needing the drysuit for any real comfort reasons. Without a doubt it will all be easier in a wetsuit and learing to use a drysuit should you ever be so inclined will be much easier when you know how to dive. The real deal breaker is that you don't seem to have any immediate plans to go dry so this distraction will be a dead end.

Going dry from the beginning is certainly an option with the need or desire but you don't seem to have either.

Pete

 

[Scuba.com]

Going to be doing my OW certification in a month and a half. They offer the dry suit option for 150 dollars extra. I'm not sure if I should just get it now or wait. I live in the midwest and don't plan on diving much in the Mississppi. So this will really be mainly on trips and vacation spots. So I wanted to hear the veterans thoughts on if it was a good idea or not..

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

If you are going to dive in the Midwest where it is cold water, then learning how to use a dry suit is a good idea. And while you could figure it out yourself, the learning curve would be much faster if you had an instructor. However, if you don't plan on doing any, local diving, then you might want to wait. A drysuit is a big investment, and you could spend your money on other dive gear first like a good dive computer or a regulator.

Good luck and welcome to diving!

P.S. Don't count out local diving, even if it's cold. You might miss out on a lot of fun!

 

[TravisD]

That falls into what I consider the "will this get me into the water more" category. If there's a chance that you might be able to do some, or more diving because of it, it's pretty cheap, especially if that includes the suit rental. The fact that you're doing checkout local impllies that there are in fact local diving opportunities, and even if you only get couple more dives a year in before making those trips to warm clear water, you'll be ahead of the game vs. hopping in after a year off. Now, you can certainly dive locally wet, but having the option of going dry might mean the difference in being able to make that local tune-up dive before your trip.

$150 is only 1.5 ScubaBucks after all

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Its not a $150 question, its the $1500+ you will spend on the dry suit.