Current top drysuits for rec diving

[vioch]

Seaskin:
Cheap material

Not that durable but a good suit especially considering its price.

There is a big difference in quality but also a big difference in price compared to top brands.

Suit features are very cheap parts but the actual suit isn't bad.

Great value - budget suit/ backup

Are you kidding? Have you ever seen the suit by yourself?
Excellent suit for a fair price

 

[EireDiver606]

Are you kidding? Have you ever seen the suit by yourself?
Excellent suit for a fair price

Yes I have. I dive with two guys who own them. I never said it’s bad suit. In fact, it is a good suit for the price you pay.

 

[vioch]

Cheap material
Not that durable
There is a big difference in quality
Suit features are very cheap parts
backup

Don't know what have you seen but all mentioned above is definitely not about Seaskin Nova))

 

[EireDiver606]

@stuartv
I suggest you do your homework on Santi suits. It is clear from the questions you ask, you do not know enough to criticise them.

Here is a start on your homework:

 

[EdC]

Any high quality brand suit that fits you used locally for 1/10th the price of new and probably used 5 times tops.

Seriously I have a DUI Seal TLS and a FLX 50/50 that I had to do nothing but seals for less than five hundred total.

 

[CJS]

Today I used my new Seaskin neoprene drysuit for the first time. Water was 16.7C, so not too cold but this is a site that you drift with the current the whole dive so even in warm conditions you get cold because you hardly do any kicking.

I only had on my minimum undergarments and was very warm. No water at all through the wrists or neck, different to my last neoprene suit (neoprene seals on both). I also went for a single wrist valve, no problems at all with its use.

Very happy with my purchase, price was less than half the price of an Australian custom drysuit.

I'm also in Sydney and beginning to think about a drysuit because I'm getting over being freezing through winter and the possibility of doing some tech training down the track. I'd be interested in the wisdom you gained from your purchase. If you had time to share answers to the questions below I'd be grateful.

1. Did you buy the Seaskin from a distributor in Australia or direct? Who will you use to service it?
2. Who makes an Australian custom drysuit?
3. Are there locally distributed options that you've had before or considered this time and are there any you would recommend?
4. What undergarments will you use with it in Sydney, during winter?
5. What factors led you to favour neoprene over trilam?

I'm not finding a huge range of options in Sydney (looking at websites) and only a limited number of the ones most recommended on scubaboard. I am planning on doing some of the different shops 'try a drysuit dive days', but there are not many scheduled yet this year, because of the current circumstances.

 

[clownfishsydney]

1. Did you buy the Seaskin from a distributor in Australia or direct? Who will you use to service it?
2. Who makes an Australian custom drysuit?
3. Are there locally distributed options that you've had before or considered this time and are there any you would recommend?
4. What undergarments will you use with it in Sydney, during winter?
5. What factors led you to favour neoprene over trilam?

I'm not finding a huge range of options in Sydney (looking at websites) and only a limited number of the ones most recommended on scubaboard. I am planning on doing some of the different shops 'try a drysuit dive days', but there are not many scheduled yet this year, because of the current circumstances.

1. No. You can only buy from Seaskin in UK. Cost was AU$938 delivered, no import duties charged, but this was when dollar was a little higher. I will use either Seatec or Aquasea to repair (both in Sydney - Google them), but that will hopefully be years in the future.
2. Seatec.
3. Had an Apollo drysuit but is very old now. Was good, but original cost exorbitant. I purchased second hand.
4. I use my Apollo undersuit, sort of a one piece tracksuit pants and top and a long-sleeve t-shirt.
5. Most people I know who use drysuits use neoprene and my first one happened to also be neoprene. I have used trilam (in Norway) and to be honest, not much difference in actual use but you need lots more undergarments.

Hope this helps.

 

[vioch]

Seriously I have a DUI Seal TLS and a FLX 50/50 that I had to do nothing but seals for less than five hundred total.

My experience with DUI (TLS 350) was not so positive. I ended up with this suit as colander in 200 dives))) I like very much its lightweight and thus flexibility, but the cost of this is durability, as the thin butylene layer wears out rather fast... than in more dense trilam fabrics.

 

[EdC]

My experience with DUI (TLS 350) was not so positive. I ended up with this suit as colander in 200 dives))) I like very much its lightweight and thus flexibility, but the cost of this is durability, as the thin butylene layer wears out rather fast... than in more dense trilam fabrics.

I’ve heard that, seems that DUI had a bad patch for a while. The suit I have I bought from a veterans charity auction, unused sitting in a box since 2002. The seals were age rotted, zipper never had been zipped. I put new seals in and has never leaked a drop.

 

[CJS]

Hope this helps.

It does, thank you!