Semi-Dry Wetsuit?

Fish_Whisperer · Feb 9, 2007

Talk to me about semi-dry suits, please. What are they, and how are they different from regular wetsuits. I was thumbing through a catalog, looking for a new 5mm, when I came across a 5/7mm semi-dry suit. The price is reasonable.

SteveAD · Feb 9, 2007

As far as I'm concerned semi-dry is nothing but a marketing term. They usually have wrist and ankle neoprene seals and may have a neck seal, but usually have a normal zipper. the usual marketing line is that they allow a minimum amount of water in, last time I checked that's exactly what a wetsuit is supposed to do.

If you don't wear dry clothing under it it's a wetsuit. Granted some of them are very good wetsuits, but the other half of semi-dry is obviously semi-wet.

Fish_Whisperer · Feb 9, 2007

Yeah... That's kinda' what I thought.

Interestingly, the zipper is different. It's a single zipper that goes horizontally across the chest, like a dry-suit zipper.

bvmjethead · Feb 9, 2007

I recently purchased a Mares 6.5 mm Isotherm Semi-Dri. The zipper is supposed to be the same in nature as what is in a dri suit and that in combination with the seals at neck, ankle and wrist is supposed to give the suit very good leak protection.

I was informed that it's sealing properties are only as good as the person donning the suit correctly and how it fits that individual.

I was also informed that with a bit of duct tape this suit could be made very dry.

I was all but guaranteed that the zipper is truly dry. The shop owner said if I experienced water coming in through the zipper he would buy the suit back @ full price.

YMMV

I'll let you know what I think of it after I get a chance to dive with it on in the cold water of Lake Rawlings later this month.

SteveAD · Feb 9, 2007

some semis do have a "drysuit type" zipper, usually a plastic one (just don't see them being very durable)

"a bit of duct tape"? with enough duct tape I could make jeans and a sweatshirt dry

The Kraken · Feb 9, 2007

FW,

I have a 7/5 semi-dry that I purchased from Divers Supply some years back. I think they referred to it as their "Expedition Semi-Dry".

It has a horizontal, across the chest front zipper and a sort of shoulder baffle that slows the water creep down through the neck. It has baffles a little ways up from the wrist opening and about 1/3 of the way up the calf to limit the exchange of water.

I love it !!!! I paid $185 for it new.

Believe it or not, I wear it when doing confined water work with classes because we're in the water for such a long period of time.

I can do two fifty or so minute dives in water temps to about 54 degrees F with no discomfort or appreciable loss of core temperature.

Hope this helps . . .

the K

bvmjethead · Feb 9, 2007

stevead:
some semis do have a "drysuit type" zipper, usually a plastic one (just don't see them being very durable)

Time will tell, I have one coming. It seemed very sturdy in the shop, but everything is different in the water.

"a bit of duct tape"? with enough duct tape I could make jeans and a sweatshirt dry

Yeah

but you wouldn't want your dive buddies to see you dressed like that.

MarkUK · Feb 9, 2007

I have a 4/5mm Ralf Tech semi-dry and a 7mm Waterproof semi-dry and they work far better than a similar-thickness simple wetsuit.

As someone said, semi-dry is semi-wet, but I find you don't get the flushing you do with a traditional wetsuit thanks to the double seals on the wrists and ankles, and the longer neck seal. When I was filming in South Africa, the water was 16°C and we were static in the water a lot of the time, and when we came out and took the suits off (we were in the Ralf Techs), I was virtually dry underneath, just slightly damp, and that was more from sweat than anything!

The good thing about them is that if you get hot, you can always pull the neck to allow a bit of cool water in to cool off, whereas if you get cold in a normal 5mm, there isn't a lot you can do to warm up (unless you drank lots of water before you went in...)

Mark

*Floater* · Feb 9, 2007

If a semi-dry is really sealed like a drysuit, then wouldn't you get "drysuit squeeze?" On the other hand, I suppose you could let some (cold) water in every so often to relieve the squeeze.

SteveAD · Feb 9, 2007

Being compressible neoprene, tight enough to allow virtually no internal airspace, and not completely sealed, squeeze is generally not a problem.

Semi-Dry Wetsuit?

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