wetsuit or drysuit?

[Chris H]

Although the reasons I originally stated can be traced directly to DIR, an expensive piece of gear like a drysuit should probably be purchased correctly the first time.  There is no money saved buying things two or three times.

Another disadvantage to a back zip suit is that the zipper is constantly being abused by the tanks on your back.  A zipper replacement, the last time I checked, is around $250. I didn't mention anything about solo diving.  Self donning suits are also preferred by divers who always dive as members of a team as well.  Being able to get dressed by ourselves gives us a chance to get things sorted out before the dive.  Usually we are struggling with the long hose and trying not to strangle ourselves with it.  A bungeed hose on a pony bottle that you can't reach the valve on seems like it would be so much safer, easier to deploy, and easier to stow after use, but for some reason we keep using those darn 7ft hoses :

Cotton should never be worn as an undergarment or base layer for diving or any other sport for that matter.  Cotton holds moisture. Whether it is from sweat or a leak, if you are wet, you're going to get cold.  Technical insulation can be found at REI or wherever, some of it ought to work fine for diving.  Just make sure that whatever you get isn't so restrictive that you can't reach your valves.

Any suit is only as warm as what you wear under it.  A neoprene suit by itself offers more insulation than a shell suit, but I think the shell is much more versatile and still a better suit overall.  Neoprene is tough, so it isn't all bad, it just isn't right.

I don't know too many who don't have to watch the budget.  Again, buying things one time as opposed to buying four before settling on the right one is as much a part of the DIR equipment selection process as anything.

I recommend going to the DUI DOG days that I think is at Lake Wazee on an annual basis and trying a suit.