Any downsides to diving dry?

[bwade]

I took my suit down to 38F and I felt like my face was being dragged along asphalt at 60mph. I have no idea if the rest of me was cold or not. I have no idea how you get to 32F.

Jump off the back of a boat in Lake Superior... you'll find 32F - 33F surface temps any time of year.... it's luxury to have 38F at depth

 

[aquaregia]

I got real cheap undergarments... huge woolybear jumpsuit. I did a 40 minute dive completely flooded (zipper torn open, shoulder to shoulder) in 50F/10C, wasn't too bad. I add a fleece top for 40F/5C. Needs a bunch of lead though.

 

[rhwestfall]

FWIW - As much as I love my DS, I wish I still had a WS for some dives. The shallow stuff (<60') are in the 60's & 70's, and a well fitting WS was great in mid-summer. I replaced a fantastic custom WS (SAS Aquatic Suits) with a custom (DUI CF200) DS (I just couldn't keep my physique of 21 from playing collegiate sports at 30+ and I couldn't find a custom WS manufacturer at the time) as there is no "off the rack" ever going to fit me.

All in all, the DS is just fantastic, but is "overkill" at times. example - I recently did a 29' dive (water temp was 72, air was almost 90), and just wore a t-shirt and shorts under my DS - was sweat soaked as bad as if I went "wet".

 

[Blue Sparkle]

the problem with the 3/5 wetsuit underneath is it will still compress with depth, the benefit of a drysuit undergarments is you can add air to retain loft, neoprene is closed cell, it will compress and you will still freeze in a drysuit.

Is that true? I have no plans to ever wear a wetsuit under a drysuit, just for comfort reasons, but would neoprene inside a drysuit compress any more than any other type of undergarment? I thought the air in the drysuit kept all undergarments from compressing (?)

Blue Sparkle

 

[rhwestfall]

delete

 

[ScubaSam]

Yep, it compresses, feels like you're being shrink wrapped if you don't add gas to your drysuit.

 

[aquaregia]

Is that true? I have no plans to ever wear a wetsuit under a drysuit, just for comfort reasons, but would neoprene inside a drysuit compress any more than any other type of undergarment? I thought the air in the drysuit kept all undergarments from compressing (?)

Pressure of air in the DS is the same as the pressure [-]of air[/-] in the surrounding water. The fabric holds the air as loft rather than compressing. Wetsuit will compress like whoa.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Enough to leave welts in fact. Great for those with masochistic tendencies :shocked2:.

 

[Some X Dry]

Only down side to dry is I did not dive it last year during the winter. New GF/Diver was diving wet. Her being a new diver and buddy I wanted to gauge exposure to know when I could expect her to be cold. And handing her my towel after only drying my hair seemed rude.

Comes out of storage tonight for a test dive tomorrow. This year it's dry all winter. She can now be motivated to buy a drysuit.

As far as flooding being a downside, IMO depends on the kind of drysuit. I own a 7mm neoprene that even when dry compresses down underwater like a wetsuit. Only then do I add gas to take off the squeeze. If it floods, which of course it has, it then becomes like diving a 7mm wetsuit. The leaks (zipper not fully closed etc..) have always been slow enough for what warmth inside warms the water incoming to make it a soggy cool dive instead of out right cold.

Only other downside IMO I see with mine is the different environments that are potentially more hostile to a neoprene drysuit than say a tri-lam. Anyone who has snagged a wetsuit knows what I'm talking about.

 

[eelnoraa]

The major down side is cost, no double about it. Beside the DS itself, there is the undergarmet, which can be as expansive as a wetsuit. DS under garment also loses its warm like wetsuit, so as time goes by, you need to replace the undergarmet as if you are replacing your wetsuit.

Other downsides are distant, like body fluid related, ie. peeing & sweating; possible of being too warm in DS etc. Usually can be resolved before the dive.