Drysuit 101

[KevinNM]

I have the Bare base layer, it's good. Their mid layer is very warm even wet but is quite thick. I have a 4th element arctic and xerotherm, they are good. I also have a santi flex 190 that seems decent, But I mostly use the 4th element one. These are all used for mid 50s to low 70s, if you are ice diving the xerothem probably makes a decent base layer, but otherwise you are on your own.

 

[tbone1004]

wool trumps all for undergarments if you can afford it. if you have base layers for any cold weather anything already, then those work perfectly fine. If not, swing over to REI and go through their polartec undergarments, much cheaper than dive specific stuff

 

[fish149]

Cheap undergarments: I started out with ( and still use to this day) some miscellaneous fleece tops and bottoms that I had lying around. I add layers or subtract depending on the water temp. My buddy went to the local Goodwill store for his fleece pieces.

 

[GlennL]

Ok, so I picked up some mares power plana tec fins big enough for the boots.
I got home all excited and geared up and got in my pool. So there is good and bad. The good is that I didn't need any extra weight to sink 8 ft down in my pool. SS backplate and 117 doubles did the trick. Now to the bad. My dry experience was not dry. I am thinking that either I let water in by subconsciously fidgeting with the neckseal, or maybe since I am part gorilla I need to shave up the back of my neck. Maybe both.
Also I easily donned the suit by applying talc to the latex seals. What is the best method for doffing? I am uber paranoid about tearing a seal.

 

[fish149]

The #1 misleading term in scuba is "Dry" suit. There's almost always some water that leaks in some where and in some cases you might be under the false impression that your suit is leaking because you were sweating in it while gearing up before the dive. In your case sounds like the neck hair could be an issue ( I had a buddy with the same problem). Just pay attention to what you're doing during a dive which might be causing any extra leaks in via a seal.

 

[buddhasummer]

When I first got my drysuit I was convinced my suit was leaking as my undergarments were wet and I had water on the inside of my suit. It wasn't a leak, it was sweat. I now take care it to gear up too early keep the suit open until the last minute and on warmer days dowse myself with water once suit is on, this makes a world of difference. Good luck with your new adventure.

I find DS diving to be more of a pain than wetsuit but it allows me to dive an extra 8 months of the year and at my age it's worth the PITA factor, not to mention that on average conditions are better during the colder months.

Took a handful of dives to get undergarments and weight sorted but after that it's plain sailing.

 

[GlennL]

this was a little more than sweat....LOL. I think it is user error. in hind sight i cant say for sure i had the zipper all the way "clicked" in at the end. I will play later this weekend as im heading off to the grotto.
I have been wearing a sharkskin under my wetsuit. I think for now it should be good under the drysuit.

 

[GlennL]

So I scheduled myself for the dry suit course this weekend. Mainly because I want to dive and figure this suit out, but have no buddy.
Anyway while doing a thorough inspection of the suit I found several loose threads. They are danglies. On a shirt or whatever I would just use a lighter and burn em down. But on this suit my paranoia says leave em be. If I cut them, burn them, or whatever, are they going to keep coming loose and cause a leak or cause my suit to come apart? I thought DUI was supposed to be top tier. But if that was true I would not be worried about loose threads and my suit coming apart. What did I do........

 

[tbone1004]

DUI's quality has gone way downhill over the last few years. If you are careful you can burn it back with no issue but the seams should be stitched and glued with the stitching being secondary reinforcement so it won't unravel like a shirt will

 

[GlennL]

DUI's quality has gone way downhill over the last few years. If you are careful you can burn it back with no issue but the seams should be stitched and glued with the stitching being secondary reinforcement so it won't unravel like a shirt will

wtf. I knew I should have just bought a bare and waited for it to get here