Drysuit Recommendations (Revisited)

[Chris H]

Jeff,
Welcome to what was a pretty long thread  before someone deleted it ;D  Not sure if you had a chance to read it or not.

I like the neoprene neck seal because it is warmer than the neoprene seal I had before.  It seemed that with the neoprene seal, there was always a bare spot on the back of my neck that was cold for obvious reasons.  They are also quite comfortable, and would be easier to make a boat repair on than a latex seal that would have a tendency to tear at a puncture point.

As for boots, I have integrated boots on my Bare Trilam ATR-HD, and I'm not a big fan.  They make it very difficult to get off, hold a bunch of air, I have size 13 feet, and make it so I have to wear Turtle fins, which are the equivalent of swimming with wet lasagna  noodles on your feet.  This winter, I will probably send my suit to Superior Drysuit repair and have Turbosoles put on it.  Bare offers a sock and external boots, but not a sock with a sole on it.

Omicron, on the other hand, likes the Bare integrated boots for their durability.

Dry Gloves are a must as you have mentioned.  While we are on the subject, I just picked up some Mountain Hardwear, Powerstretch liners and they are great.  They aren't bulky and very warm.  I noticed that Mountain Hardwear also makes a Scuba Liner, but I haven't tried it.  Stop by Divepoint Scuba and pick up a pair.