Is a dry suit worth it?

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Don't forget to factor in the cost of good thermals under the drysuit - the cost for good thermals is significant.
For me buying a drysuit was one of the best investments I ever made for my diving comfort.
 
So here’s the deal, I dive predominately in NC, and SC. Where a wetsuit is generally adequate. However, I’m looking at getting a dry suit. To deal with the colder water as opposed to my 2 piece 7mm for the 8-10 dives I do in the winter here, and for my annual trip to the Florida Springs.

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you may find you do more than 10 dives in winter if you have a dry suit especially if your doing 2-3 dives a day- good thermal protection is a must for cold water deco dives -
 
I own a fusion bullet and my wife now owns Marie13's old USIA tecniflex suit.

To start, I will answer your question: "us a dry suit worth it?"
That depends...I purchased my first drysuit this past June after years diving. For me there were 2 factors....one, I wanted to extend my season as I had a 5.5mm wetsuit and the season where I could comfortably dive that suit here in Belgium is rather short in my mind. Second, I have a 5.5mm shorty that goes over my wetsuit...I hated how restrictive the combination felt and to boot I was never truly comfortable with how well it was not keeping me warm or the impact on range of motion and overall comfort in general. Lots of bulk without much benefit...I also had to add a bunch of lead to balance out the buoyancy which sucked as well. I just did an hour long dive yesterday with an airtemp of 4c and a water temp of 13c...my only limit was that my partner had 60bar left on his tank and I had to pee, I have not yet purchased/installed a pee-valve.

If what I wrote above strikes a chord with you, then YES, a drysuit is worth it. If the waters you dive in are more temperate than where I am located you may find that added expense might not be worth it. With a wetsuit, you don't really have to worry about anything but catastrophic suit failure which is usually when a zipper rips out. With a drysuit, you have to be much more conscious of how you handle the suit, where you stand when you get dressed/undressed, etc as issues that would not cause a problem during a dive in a wetsuit would be a major issue in a drysuit. That being said, drysuits, except really thin travel suits, tend to be fairly robust. As an example, the USIA suit my wife bought is very robust and a bit heavier than the Aqualung Fusion bullet aircore suit I have...it should stand up to quite a lot of use.

I was browsing the deep6 sight last night and they offer a great deal on a drysuit. They only due made-to-measure and for 1400euros that is a great deal...if you go this route be sure to take your measurements a few times and average them out when filling out the form even though it is a good price it would still be a lot for suit if it does not fit properly and you don't use it because of that.

Marie13 had issues finding potential buyers for her USIA suit because of the custom cut....my wife has very similar body morphology to her (though a little shorter) that made it decent match and Marie cut me a really good deal. If you get a custom suit, depending on the cut you need you may find yourself in the same situation if you decide you want to sell it. If that is a concern then for an off the shelf suit that is designed to fit a range of body shapes within each size range I recommend the Aqualung/Whites Fusion. The aircore fabric is a heavy weight waterproof breathable laminate that is very flexible and fairly light weight, I have found it to be very comfortable and the outer neoprene skin (or lycra depending on the model) both protects the suit, keeps it streamlined, and slows down the movement of the air bubble in the suit making it much easier to learn to dive in and control body position in the water.

Bottom line, for me it was definitely worth it...only you can decide if it will be worth the investment for you.

Cheers and good luck with your decision whatever it is.

-Z
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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