Choosing a dry suit?

[beaverdivers]

I'd be interested in reading forum members views on the following:

• What drives the choice between getting trilam or neoprene?

• Cost, trilam is more expensive.

Latex v neoprene seals, what's the big deal?

Latex holds up better, less bulk and easier to replace

Would the choice be different if the suit was primarily for Tech, as opposed to just recreational diving?

Tech - you may want spend the extra $$$ and go trilam

While I have no intention in spending any meaningful amount of time in sub-10 C water, I would like to try ice diving at least once; would diving in 0-10 water play any role in the selection of a suit & if it is to be an extremely infrequent activity should this play any role in my choice?

NO

If I was to get anything but the most mainsteam of brands customer support would be very limited - is this an issue with dry suits?

Yes

Advice I've received regarding buying tech equipment is to wait until I've done my course. It makes sense, but does it also apply to dry suits - especially seeing I would like to be comfortable in a dry suit by the time I start and some of those 10C dives will be happening before the course starts?

Do not dive in a drysuit until you have taken a drysuit course!

what you choose to use and why?

I use a DUI crushed neoprene. I use it for everything from teaching in 84 F in a pool to doing commercial work in ice. It is the most durable suit. The downside is it is heavy out of the water, a bit bulky in the water and doesn't dry fast.

I am both a DUI and Scubapro dealer, so I have access to both. I tried the Scubapro Everdry 4 on, but have not dove it yet. It has been very popular. It fits people in good shape. It is a very good value.

As mentioned in a previous post, DUI has some excellent features, but you pay for them.

Good Luck and Good Diving ( stay dry )

[TSandM]

I wouldn't even look at a full neoprene dry suit, if you are considering technical diving. Remember that a) neoprene loses insulating capacity when it compresses at depth, and b) neoprene has a lifespan of compression/rebound cycles.

The real choice is between compressed/crushed neoprene and laminate. Neoprene is more durable and more difficult to put a hole in, but it is heavier and slower to dry. If you travel with a suit, this becomes an issue. Neoprene DOES provide a small amount of insulation in addition to what your undergarment offers. Compressed/crushed neoprene suits are a poor choice if you are going to use a suit in warm water.

Laminate is easier to puncture but a bit easier to fix. Laminate suits dry quickly and are lighter. Laminate suits have no stretch at all, so they HAVE to fit correctly, or they will impair mobility (and reaching valves).

I use a hybrid suit, the Fusion. It's a laminate suit that's deliberately made quite oversized, and then the bag is compressed against the body with an elastic outer skin. That way, you can have enough fabric for excellent mobility, without ballooning or air-trapping. The other skin comes in contact with the outside world and generallly will snag and then let go -- it does a very good job of protecting the underlying laminate material. The downside of the Fusion is that it's comparatively difficult to get in and out of.

Neoprene neck seals are warm and friendly, but don't work well for anyone who has a thin neck. They are durable and can be wedged out and repaired and reused when they begin to stretch. You'll do a full replacement less often with neoprene, but on the other hand, fewer shops will do them. Latex seals are more fragile and shorter-lived, but more easily replaced. SiTech now offers a neck ring system that allows easy owner replacement of neck seals (and it works GREAT). Neoprene wrist seals are problematic if you want to use dry gloves; to my knowledge, only Diving Concepts has a dry glove system for neoprene seals.

Although beaverdivers is right that some customer support is necessary for a dry suit, most of us get pretty good at finding and fixing leaks on our own. I've found wrist seal replacements are an easy DIY, and with the SiTech rings, neck seal replacement is, too. So I'm really only shop-dependent for zipper replacements, and I have really no intention of trying to do that myself. Zippers, well cared for, will last at least 3 to 400 dives, so this is an infrequent problem.

If you have access to a pool or some shallow water to play with the suit, I don't see any reason why you can't get a dry suit before taking whatever class you are considering. There ARE a couple of safety drills that are important with dry suits, to recover from a feet up ascent, and any instructor who is familiar with dry suits should be able to take you through them. If you buy through a local shop, they may be willling to throw a dry suit orientation or even dry suit class in with the suit purchase.

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

If SP is your only option, they also make a Trilam with pockets for around $1500 US. A SANTI Espace may be right up your ally! Take a look and you maybe able to find one over there.

[GramsciBeat]

I took delivery of a Scubapro Evertec on Friday; choosing a dry-suit was one of the most difficult equipment decisions that I have had to make! So thanks all for the input.
Even though crushed neoprene was very tempting, it appeared that it was only at the top-end that it would be a better option than trilam and the prices for DUI equipment are already eye-watering enough before it incurs a 30% import duty here (for some reason, according to our customs & excise, neoprene is for fun, while trilam is safety equipment).
While there were several other brands mentioned here that seemed to be exceptionally good, once again price played a significant role - the price of the bog standard Otter telescopic was almost twice that of the Evertec. Additionally, Scubapro's international reach means that all guarantees remain in place when it serviced/repaired here. It was a relief when the suit fitted properly, cos I ordered it based on measurement and had not tried it on.
I'll be frolicking in a shallow pool this coming weekend under appropriate supervision, before heading to Cape Town (a cold destination for this warm water diver) to try it out in the Kelp Forests and on the wrecks.

[Colliam7]

If convenient, please post your experiences after ~ 30 dives, so others can learn from them - are you happy / unhappywith the choice (and why); if you were to make the decision again, what (if anything) would you chnage.

[ajduplessis]

I am a South African living in Centurion. All your questions are related to preference. a Drysuit (any drysuit) is designed to keep you dry. You add thermal protection to keep you warm. So any suit that keeps you dry & fits well is a good suit. You have to decide what you like/prefer. Scubapro have both trilam and neoprene drysuit, I have used both and prefer trilam (lighter and dries quick). They are both very, very good. I am not 100% sure where you want to ice dive, but I feel it will be a once off event. In that case I would rent the kit for that once-off event.

Drysuits are expensive, especially here. Grant with BlueFlash | Welcome to BlueFlash have some secondhand suits. You will also find a lot of useful tips and information on drysuits that will help you make a choice.

South Africa is warm, donning a drysuit in summer and even winter is a very HOT affair. Boat rides in particular is not pleasant in summer. The other downside is weight, if you dive recreational you will have to add at least another 6-8kg (depending on undergarment) of lead above what you already need!!!

The only water here in the 10C range is Cape Town, not sure how often you will dive there but a SP Nova Scotia semi-dry and thick hoodie will work for shorter duration dives and could be a better option.

[LiteHedded]

I love my DUI FLX Extreme.

I have never dived a neoprene drysuit, so I lack that ability to compare. I went with DUI based on recommendations from people I dive with, and loosely on the fact that most GUE divers use DUI. Also, I did a little poking around and found that DUI has a pretty good track record with respect to its zipper (the most expensive part of the dry suit) compared to other suits. The thing that put me over the top was when I was diving in the Seattle area and stopped in at a dive shop and noticed that they sold Diving Concepts dry suits. After getting into a conversation with the owner of the store he mentioned that he used to sell DUI, and admitted that it was a better dry suit, although they were a difficult company to deal with (he didn't go into details). Basically from this point on, I had it in my head that DUI made the best quality dry suits, and decided to bite the bullet on its price.

I have latex seals, and I am happy with them (never used neoprene). DUI is coming out with silicone seals, but I was talking with another diver that tried them and wasn't very impressed with them. He said they didn't stretch as much, and ended up ripping is neck seal after about 10 dives even though the silicone seal is supposed to be more durable. Personally, I would rather carry an extra neck seal and have the added comfort of more stretch when putting on the suit.

Things I really like about my drysuit:
- the zip seals, they are easy to swap out gloves for zip seals, and easy to tell visually if the seal isn't seated properly (never had a leak on a seal)
- easy to put on and take off by myself.
- very flexibile. Although the material doesn't stretch, I find that there is excess material in the right places for doing things like reaching for my first stage.

Things I am not so happy about
- very expensive, and I think think they are a bit overpriced. I still think it is the best drysuit, but you could buy two ScubaPro drysuits for what I paid.
- time, it took DUI over a month to make my drysuit and although I haven't needed repairs yet, I have buddies that were without their drysuit for over month waiting on repairs.

my FLX extreme took ten months to get right. luckily I had someone i knew working at dui to help. if not, who knows how long it would have taken.

that said, the suit is amazing and I would buy one again even if it took a year to receive.

[ddmattos]

I dove both the Flx Extreme and Santi E-lite. I choose the Santi E-Lite based on seam construction, cut, fabric, size of thigh pockets, and the attached turbo soles.

Both are great suits, but Loved the Santi E-lite more.

[GramsciBeat]

@ ajduplessis - the points you've outlined are pretty key too why I went for trilam and our benign water temperatures was the main reason that I struggled to get good advice. I spoke to Grant and a couple of others during the course of my research, got some excellent pointers but no 2nd hand dry-suits in my size range. I'll use the suit in Badgat and Wondergat more often than Cape Town, but it will get some use there too. One of the drivers behind the purchase is the amount of time I intend on spending underwater and the impact sub-20 C temps will have on that, more than just just temperatures below the 15 C mark.
@ colliam7 - I most certainly will post about my experiences with the suit.