poll: drysuits

[Les]

I want to hear from all who have drysuits. What brands, likes/dislikes, compressed neoprene or trilaminates.

Reason:
I want to purchase my next suit soon and be well informed before making my decision.

About me:
I have a leaky suit (that is also in need of seals and boots again) so I want to buy a new one. There are so many choices out there in both materials. I have had only one experience in neoprene, all others have been in my Andy's TriLam (An ex-rental suit from 7 years ago) I am thinking of front entry this time.
So post what you have experienced.

 

[TSandM]

My take on it: http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=3073884&postcount=9

 

[Thalassamania]

I know more than a few folks who use uncrushed neoprene suits, but I’ll grant you that they are not as popular as they used to be. The bad rap on them has to do with theorized greater buoyancy shift. Uncrushed neoprene (there is a HUGE difference between the neoprene many suit manufacturers use and quality Rubatex, in terms of compression) will crush with depth, but not 1/2 at 33 foot, 1/4 at 99 ft, etc. As is does, you must introduce gas into the suit to maintain neutral buoyancy, just as with a membrane suit, and that keeps the insulation about the same. Viewed from the outer cover of the suit in the argument about needing more weight with neoprene and losing the insulation at depth is a bit specious. An advantage of an open cell suit is that you can be fit tighter thus having less “moveable” air inside, and yet be as warm or even warmer since there’s still insulation on your chest (which has been shown to crust to about zero in other types of suits) when a driver is in a horizontal position.
Crushed, laminate and vulcanized suits have no inherent insulative properties, they are totally depended upon underwear and gas trapped in the suit for insulation. As you descend you add gas to the suit and that keeps both buoyancy and thermal characterizes constant.

Which is best? I don't really know. I've had Unisuits, Jetsuits, Vikings, DUIs, Gates, O’Neil’s and a Polaris (Rubatex suit from a small Santa Cruz custom house) over the years. I currently have the Polaris which I prefer for shore diving, a Viking for polluted water (nothing else can really be disinfected) and a DUI that is a joy for boat diving. I use an old set of Unisuit woolies under the Polaris and a ripstop/holowfill/synthetic pile (the blue and gray, kinda baggy ski-suit like stuff) set of Viking underwear under the Viking and the DUI.

I've yet to find the single use that the tilam excels at, it is light, packing away small for travel, and dries quickly, perhaps it’s advantage is being second best at everything … no small feat.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I want to hear from all who have drysuits. What brands, likes/dislikes, compressed neoprene or trilaminates.

Reason:
I want to purchase my next suit soon and be well informed before making my decision.

About me:
I have a leaky suit (that is also in need of seals and boots again) so I want to buy a new one. There are so many choices out there in both materials. I have had only one experience in neoprene, all others have been in my Andy's TriLam (An ex-rental suit from 7 years ago) I am thinking of front entry this time.
So post what you have experienced.

You're in Vancouver, and I'm assuming you want a drysuit for local conditions rather than traveling. (As both TSandM and T have said, the DUI 350 may be a better drysuit for a diver doing a lot of traveling by commercial aircraft - it is lighter, packs smaller, and dries much faster.)

In Puget Sound, the San Juans, and as far north as Port Hardy I will be using a DUI 450 with rock boots and a Weezle Extreme+ undergarment.

Regardless of your selection of manufacturer, I strongly endorse getting a front entry suit. I also suggest investing in a P-valve. This is the one I use, except that mine is stainless steel, and it has worked flawlessly for many years but there are others out there also:
http://www.omsdive.com/dryacces.html

There are certainly many different opinions on the subject, but the DUI 450/Weezle combination is the warmest, most rugged (wreck dives and rocky shore entries), and most convenient (in terms of the time required to dry and be ready for the next day's diving) of the various drysuits/undergarments I've owned or been familiar with - particularly for very cold water. I'm sure there are other drysuits out there that work well for their owners, but I have had excellent luck with DUI under a wide range of conditions and I don't intend to change to anything else.

Best with your decision,

Doc

 

[tstormdiver]

Right now I have a White's trilam. I am currently kicking around the thought of getting a custom cut DUI trilam & selling the White's. The White's, while it has many nice features is just a bit too tight for me to wear the thicker undergarments I need to be really comfy on cold water dives. The White's is an off the shelf suit. It's actually designed for a person about 6' (I'm 5'6"), but I had to get it that big to fit around my middle, which causes a lot of drag. I'm in the researching mode right now, but will probably move on it in a few days.

 

[stevewirl]

i have a northern diver dive master crushed neopreen doesnt leak . best buy ever . had one before and bought it again when i had to renew .

 

[fdog]

Used to dive an O'Neil - this was about 30 years ago,so I won't comment on their current offerings.

Lately it's been a DUI CF200. As said above, warm, heavy, restrictive, (scootering) slow. Also, despite many trips back to DUI, it has earned the nickname that some apply to DUI: Dry Until Immersed.

The next suit's a Whites. I am impressed by their quality, and the suit I ordered will be truly groundbreaking, so I am excited to see how it works for me.

Looking at the above, I can see I've had an evolution towards thinner from thickest. I guess I prefer mobility...



All the best, James

 

[bogrady]

Bare XCD2 hypercomressed neoprene.

Same quaility as the DUI for a lot less money. At the risk of being flamed - I think the DUI is like a Harley. Its an awsome, high quality product, but about 20-30% of the price is just so you can be in the club.

I'm not bitter - my wife won't let me have a Harley ... but no ... I'm not bitter.

One downside to the compressed neo that has been covered many times on the boards - It is heavy and it takes overnight to dry.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I have a Bare CD4 Pro Dry, which is 4mm. crushed neoprene. Great suit, I would buy another one if this one wears out. Never leaks unless it's my fault (darn zippers).
Just stuff waded up newspaper in the boots and they will dry in about an hour.

 

[r2t]

I'm diving the Bare Trilam HD Tech. It took a while to get used to the squeeze from a trilam going from a 6mm neoprene. I love the fact I can zip it up myself. All in all for the money you can't beat it. Go down to divetank in Burnaby and work out a deal, I don't think any other shop will be able to beat their prices.
Ron L.