Drysuits - Neoprene or Membrane - what are the pro's and con's

[Phil_C]

Guess the title says it all - I need a dry suit to dive in the UK when I am not in the Med and the choices seem endless but seem to come down to membrane or neoprene, assuming cost isn't a factor what's the differences and benefits of each please?

Cheers - P

 

[tstormdiver]

Neoprene-
Pro's- Depending on thickness, not much insulation needs to be worn. If it rips, then you have a large wetsuit & still has some insulating properties. More resistant to tearing
Con's- Very heavy, especially when wet. Requires a large amount of weight to offset buoyancy. Not good for warmer waters. Can be bulky underwater (more drag). More expensive than Trilaminates (membrane). Slow to dry.

Crushed Neoprene-
Pro's- Very tough. Lighter than neoprene, but heavier than trilaminate. Some insulating properties, requires some insulating clothes, but not as much as trilaminate. Less drag than neoprene but more than trilaminate. Requires less weight than Neoprene, but more than Trilaminate.

Con's- VERY expensive, some of the points above.

Trilaminate
Pro's- Light weight. Realatively inexpensive (compared to the neoprene suits). Only requires weight to offset undergarments. Less drag. Can vary undergarments for colder or warmer waters. Quick to dry.
Con's- No inherent insulation by itself. Tears easier. Most undergarments lose insulating properties if wet.

 

[FinnMom]

I bought my daughter a crushed neophrene suit 6 mo.s ago. It seems to dry just as fast as my membrane suit and really didn't cost that much more:
With the crushed neophrene my daughter uses XC-skiing long underwear and a fleece jumpsuit, sometimes w/ a wool sweater under her crush neophrene suit. For the same conditions I wear a membrane suit with a Weezle Extreme Plus (and the same XC-skiing long underwear) . Since she needs no fancy undersuit and my fancy undersuit cost about 200 euros, her "package" was really almost exactly the same cost as mine.

Her suit is A LOT spiffier looking (admit it, that does matter ;-).
But mine has pockets!

 

[aquaregia]

Regular neoprene drysuits compress at depth as well.

Don't underestimate the drying time advantage of the trilam. I thought it was a dumb reason to get a particular kind of diving suit, however it's usually dry by the time I'm done unrigging the rest of my gear, so I can just roll it up and toss it in the car. My wetsuit required a day in the yard as a theft risk.

 

[FinnMom]

Drying time for a wetsuit and a neophrene drysuit are completely not comparable.
The wetsuit has a more skin-friendly lining that holds moisture, plus it needs to dry inside and out.

A crushed neophrene drysuit seems to have even less tendency to stay moist than a normal neophrene drysuit, but that be could just be my impression.

About drying: use moisture-absorbing boot liners (i.e. insoles) in your drysuit, like you would inside rubber boots. It's a lot easier to get the boot dry when you can remove the liners.

 

[RonFrank]

Laminated suits tend to be as or more expensive vs. crushed neoprene. Shell suits run over a grand to $3500 new off the rack. A custom suit can can go well over 4K. I think you are insane if you spend over 2K unless you are a really big guy.

About the only reason to dive neoprene is if you live in a very cold climate, and you want neoprene for insulation. They are heavy, slow to dry, and cumbersome. The suits however are inexpensive especially used. My buddy picked up one for under $300 on ebay.

 

[Phil_C]

Thanks for all the comments - I was wavering towards a trilaminated suit which is made out of ballistic nylon so sounds like it should be fairly tough wearing. Two further questions - Is there much difference in the weight you need to carry for a trilaminate versus a neoprene, and can you wear pretty much whatever you want under a trilaminate (I already have a lot of walking and climbing base layers) or do you have to buy special liners?


Cheers - P

 

[FinnMom]

If it's not seriously, seriously cold you can at least try your existing base layers. Do it on a tryout dive though, not on one where your whole weekend will be ruined because you're freezing if you go underwater.
Once you know whether your existing stuff is good enough and if not, how far away is it from what you would need to be comfortable, you can better gauge what to buy.

 

[TSandM]

One of the big advantages of a laminate suit is that you can make it as warm as you need it, by varying the undergarments. I use my Fusion (which is a weird suit, but basically a laminate) in Puget Sound, in 7 degree water, and also in Mexico, in 24 degree water. I just change what I wear underneath.

Laminate suits travel more easily, because they dry faster and they are MUCH lighter. Compressed neo suits, on the other hand, are really hard to hurt. My husband uses a Bare 2mm compressed neo suit, and aside from a leak in a boot, he has NEVER had a leak in the suit. You really can't say that about most laminate suits.

Full neoprene suits are heavy and fairly slow to dry, but they are really inexpensive in comparison with many laminate and compressed neo suits. If you are mostly going to do shallow dives, I think a full neo suit is not a bad idea at all. They do take a lot of weight to sink the neo -- but once you have layered a bunch of insulation under the other sorts of suits, they take a lot of lead, too!

 

[p1p]

I too weighed the different types of suits, and found the Whites Fusion Tech Skin the best balance of being a shell suit, fast drying (not quite as fast as a pure shell), awesome flexibility, durability, and weighs about 11 pounds to pack it up..

The Bare SB, is around 8 pounds, same level of flexibility. Only reason I didnt go with it, is the new fabric type (breathable). I dont need to be on the lateast coolest new technology fabric.