O' Neill Drysuit Experience Anybody?

[DA Aquamaster]

I agree with the evaporative heat loss observatrion. A we neoprene dry suit - crushed or not- becomes a great big swamp cooler out of the water.

There is virtually nothing I'd rather ice dive in than a good neoprene dry suit as they are very warm, but once you get out you need to cover the suit with a non breathable cover such as a rain suit to keep the evaporative coooling in check between dives. Unless of course it is close to or below zero degrees F - in that case the water on the suit freezes nearly instantly and greatly limits evaporaticve cooling, you get a little sublimation but it is minimal.

On the other hand, the swamp coller effect can be used to advantage when gearing up on the boat in hot sunny 90 degree weather prior to a dive with 40 degree bottom temps. A quick dip in the water after you zip the suit keeps you much cooler until you can get in the water and the damp suit you don for dive two keeps you much cooler thorugh the whole suit donning and gearing up process.

A neoprene suit feels warmer and it also has much less condensation inside the suit compared to a trilam when your hot self and the humid air in the suit hops in chilly water.

 

[*Floater*]

Bought a specialist (last year) it didn't work for me, the ankles were cut to tight for my undergarments.

Did you try it with other undies; ones that were less thick around the ankles?

For readers not familiar with the suit, the ankles have a fairly standard cut. Here's a pic of what they look like on mine with the suit inflated (size L):

However, I imagine they might be too small for somebody who is used to using O'Neill or other suits with attached boots that require extra ankle room to allow the boots to be pulled on. Here's a pic of such boots on a women's O'Neill 7000X drysuit:

 

[akscubaduck1]

Yes, I tried polar fleece, DUI 400 thinsulate.
My problem was size 13 feet, No give in the crushed neoprene.
My latest XL O'Neill 7mm neoprene had a larger set of boots, then the last O'Neill neoprene suit I had. I true set of size 13 boots.
I tried a O'Neill suit with the socks they seem to fit better, But I dislike the rockboot system.

Today's diving: 20 knot East wind, 3 foot seas 5' visibility,
sunken 20' skiff.
Dive Safe, Dive Often, Dive Prince William Sound, AK.
Terry

 

[mbshelto]

Yes, I have one of their 3mm compressed neoprene Specialist drysuit and I'm very happy with it. I've used it from the Channel Islands to Alaska and the coldest dive was 39 deg F. Obviously it's all about what layering you have inside the suit and that took me a bit to figure out depending on water temps and number of dives per day. But, once you know what you need to wear it's perrrrrrfect. The suit is very easy to get on/off with a nice set of suspenders inside to keep it from hanging too low while not in the water. The zipper is really nice and when 'waxed' it opens and closes with ease. It's easy to check the very end of the zipper to verify your buddy closed it for you since it's across the back of your shoulders. Do NOT jump in without verifying: I found on 2 occassions where the zipper was not completely closed. The neoprene neck seal turned out to be a bonus rather than a hassle. When others were having issues with their latex neck seals blowing out, I was happy to know I have a beefy neoprene neck seal. The wrist seals are latex and do require some care, but, it's easy: use either K-Y or get the spray lubricant and just put a bit on the outside of the seal and as you take the suit off, the seal turns inside-out and is then lubricated by the material and the cuff comes right off. When putting it on, just put a little bit of lubricant on your wrists and you're good to go. Overall I'm VERY happy with my suit and I'm planning on buying one for my wife. Compared to the cost of trilam suits this 3mm compressed neoprene approach is a great compromise.

 

[Underwater Ogre]

All experiences I have had with both the 7mm and the Specialist have been good...very durable and completely dry. For the price they are a really good cold water drysuit. Do agree that the "cuff" around the sock feet are tight, but it really limits any air shift.
Just my 2 pennies.

 

[chetflyer]

does anybody know if an O'neill 3mm specialist drysuit size L/Short will fit me. I am 5'8" tall,195lbs., 44" chest and size 9-10 foot.

 

[rescue15]

It should fit you but the boots might be too big. That's the problem I had...size large body and size 9 feet. Mine had a size 10 or 11 rigid boot I had to replace.

Steve