You don't need to be COLD to be DRY!

[RJP]

I wonder what prevents DUI (or someone else) making other shell suits with this breathable material? I would not mind if my TLS breathed a bit more on days when it's 70-90F on surface but bottom temp is barely 40F. Wonder what the problem is (stiffening of the material? durability?) Maybe this is explained somewhere on their site but I don't recall seeing it.

The material on the 30/30 is quite nice. It's as flexible as the TLS-350 material, but from what I understand it's not quite as robust. For instance, DUI recommends against adding pockets, kneepads, etc to the 30/30, stating that they don't hold up as well when sewn on to that fabric.

To me the "breathability" aspect is sort of odd. How does the fabric know to let moisture/vapor OUT but not let it in?


Sort of like a Thermos: keeps hot stuff hot, and cold stuff cold. How do it know whether to keep it hot or to keep it cold?

 

[piikki]

The material on the 30/30 is quite nice. It's as flexible as the TLS-350 material, but from what I understand it's not quite as robust. For instance, DUI recommends against adding pockets, kneepads, etc to the 30/30, stating that they don't hold up as well when sewn on to that fabric.

To me the "breathability" aspect is sort of odd. How does the fabric know to let moisture/vapor OUT but not let it in?


Sort of like a Thermos: keeps hot stuff hot, and cold stuff cold. How do it know?

That weakness kind of sucks then. I need my pockets! Maybe in couple of years they can come up with a solution...

I have long since given up trying to understands all these fancy garments, gore, climatex etc. It swooshes past my brain in one fast snap.

 

[rongoodman]

After my trip to Turks and Caicos last week I'm seriously thinking about a 30/30. The water temps were 76-78, but I was cutting dives short by the end of the week. (I'm an old guy with no body fat to speak of these days.) The above was the first I'd heard about DUI recommending against pockets, though--it's hard to imagine buying a suit without them.

 

[piikki]

Could they not make a sturdier, less breathing patch of garment around the thigh areas (below hip and knee joints, so it's not a mobility issue), so there is enough strength for full pocket to hang on... ?? (Come to think of this, I bet it would then be only on the Special Products or Signature Series and cost a good deal more...blah)

 

[RJP]

So you only use the 30/30 for warm water. Is that because its cut so slim you can't get much in the way of underwear into it; or, you already had the TLS-350 so there's no point in trying to get much underwear in the 30/30? I'm curious since my wife's trying to decide between the 30/30 and a White's Fusion. She's really only interested in warmer waters (and gets cold easily), but, I'd like her to try some of the local lakes. Still, the primary concern is here staying warm in tropical waters with 20+ dives a week.

I did already own the TLS-350 for NJ diving. I had worn that suit even in south Florida mid 70's water and it was fine with a lighter undergarment than I wear here at home, but they are two different suits, beyond simply how much underwear you can stuff into them.

TLS-350 is more robust, with extra layers of fabric in key spots, outer zipper cover, "warm neck" to accomodate tucking a thick hood into, etc.

One of the keys to the comfort of the 30/30 in warm climates is the lack of built in boots (turbo soles or neoprene socks) such that your feet are still "wet" when diving the 30/30. Probably helps keep you cool under and above water. On the downside to using it in "colder" water is that no matter how you have it cut and even if you put two layers of 300g fleece under the 30/30, if you wear it into 65F water your feet are going to get damn cold. And since there's nowhere to tuck a typical warm-neck hood, your neck and head are going to get cold. My buddy dives the White's, and has used it in 65-70F water (remember Catalina, Dave?) and was not happy with it for just these reasons.

It's like anything else: there's "the right tool for the right job" and then there's "compromise." You CAN compromise, but you need to know that compromise means compromising your own satisfaction as well.

 

[RJP]

After my trip to Turks and Caicos last week I'm seriously thinking about a 30/30. The water temps were 76-78, but I was cutting dives short by the end of the week.

As I always say, I've never ended a dive thinking "great dive, but would have been better if I was cold!"

 

[poe67]

After diving dry all year long in Maine, I welcomed the 80 degree water and my shorty while in Curacao at the end of March.