Carribeandiver:
I am considering puchasing a dry suit but I have no idea what I need. DUI was just about the only manufacturer I was aware of then I found several other brands.
What do I need to know to intelligently shop for a dry suit?
There are four things that keep you from being underwater forever.
1) Gas supply - you can't carry that much gas.
2) Well, you gotta pee
3) Nitrogen... sooner or later you gotta come back
4) Exposure - you get cold.
I got a bigger tank to address number 1. I manage hydration for now, but a Pee Valve is in my future. I dive EAN whenever possible to address number three, and I beat number 4 by my DS.
My objective: Mad bottom time. I dive to stay under water and see & photograph stuff. I don't dive for the hang - I got friends. I don't dive to pull chicks - I'm a drummer (well, that was a bad example...) I don't dive because its cool. I dive to be underwater. A dry suit lets me stay underwater longer. Its that simple.
Wetties can't do what we do. Many think they can, but the simple truth is you guys get colder on your SI, you get more fatigued on your dive, and you won't climb back into slimey for that night dive. All of these are removed when you dive dry, so you dive more, you get more BT and you reach your (or in this case, my) objective of maximizing the UW time.
All the rest is marketing. If you want more BT, you'll dive dry.
You want a suit that fits well. You want a manufacturer that is reliable, approachable and preferrably, local. Dry Suits are not maintenance free. You will be sending it in for service once in awhile. For me, the answer to all of these was DUI. I'm a SoCal, they're in LowCal - it made no sense for me to buy a suit made in New England or Canada or wherever.
I dive in four-wheel drive. I climb over rocks, get mashed in the surf, get pinballed off of rocks and urchins in the surge, I wedge into tight spots to get the shots I want - all of this means my suit takes a beating. I started with a TriLam (TLS350) - still the finest suit for SoCal diving (read: hot days, cold water.) But I pincushioned the thing. So unless I'm guppy diving off a boat, I'm wearing their CF200 Crushed Neo.
This Sat I did a surf entry over very rough rocks. About 1/2 way in, I had to change direction... In doing so I needed to use my legs as cams and worm along between two rocks in a 130 tank and full gear. There is no doubt I would have put yet another rip in my Tri Lam. In the CF200, it was no biggie.
Seals are something you need to think about - Latex or Neo.
Dive objectives - do you dive an HP80 baby tank and do 45 minute dives, or like is dive 130's and do 90 minute dives, or dive dubs and get 2 hours down there in 52 degree water?
Think about your diving first. Not just what you do today - but what you WANT TO DO soon. Make a list, and then talk to us about it. There are a lot of smart people here that can help you out.
Lastly - do you fluxuate in body mass? What I mean is this: do you lose 30 pounds, gain it back 2 or three years later, get motivated and lose it again, etc? If you are one of these people, you need to think about the wisdom of dropping $900 - $1500 into a DS. There is no DS on the market that can manage that kind of swing and still fit you correctly. And you will have this suit for the next 10 to 15 years... maybe more.
Lots to think about - but start with your dive objectives.
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Ken