wetsuit or drysuit?

[divbum]

You guys kill me.  I am going to go back to strangling myself with the long hose :'(

[moneysavr]

After a slow start we were to hit the Northerner fist but the lake was not as said on NOAA,So we just did several dives on the Mahoning,
been diving dry but love diving wet as the lake warms,the dry suit to me extends the season & BT!
Looks like a RT to Cleveland Wis. with all this rain for next weekend! a pal several weeks back had top to bottom vis on the dredge and we had none with too much run off.

 

[matt t.]

"Better dead than wet" 

[matt t.]

Article on neoprene drysuits from Billy Williams:         
Neoprene drysuits are unacceptable. Weights must be
carried to counteract the neoprene's inherent buoyancy near the surface. At
depth the neoprene compresses (even pre-compressed or crushed neoprene holds
compressible gas bubbles) and loses buoyancy, so the wings must be inflated to
compensate for the weights. Inflated wings produce drag which requires extra
energy to overcome. The extra energy increases gas consumption. Increased gas
consumption limits the diver's range which, in turn, limits the effective range
and safety of the whole team. This cascading series of problems is typical of
Personal Preference equipment and configurations.

O.k so there is a slight DIR "dig" for you "anti's" at the end there ;D. Other than that it sums up the negatives of neoprene drysuits pretty well. It does NOT mention that over time with repeated use, the bubbles in the neoprene collapse due to the water pressure, and the insulation quality diminishes (like a wetsuit). George Irvine also had a quote about neoprene drysuits, but I find it inappropriate to post here at this time .

[JAS]

I would start with the wetsuit. Get a good one and have it custom fit. Once your comfortale go for the drysuit. There are times now when I prefer wet to dry, not in Lake Superior, but I've had 60+ on the Willy and sweating my arse off dry. We haven't mentioned having to take a leak yet. With that said I was toasty warm on the Milwaukee, Sunday and I dive dry more than wet, but would not want to be without the wetsuit.

[FreediveWI]

I started out in a wetsuit at 14 and by 15 I had saved up enough cash to buy a used, and somewhat leaky, neoprene drysuit. It worked for the next 4 years while I grew. The suit only had to fit my neck and wrist and I could add as much body weight as i wanted to. It was a great way to dive the wrecks around here at the time.

Eventually other kinds of suits hit the market, and I ended up buying a few different kinds over the years. I've owned a couple of vikings, TLS, Crushed, cordura, bi-laminates, and at least one other neoprene suit.

The neorpene was the cheapest, and crappiest, of all the suits. Because they are made out of the same material as a wetsuit the bubbles break down and they all end up leaking after time- some estimates from the makers themselves put this around 200 dives. The tricky part is that they can LOOK almost new on the outside, due to the nylon lining, but the inside can be trashed and you'd never know unless you dive it. Still, if  it's the only way you can afford a drysuit it's not a horrible way to go- it worked for me. 

Having said that, TLS suits are my favorite type if I am diving dry. You can layer them up, or down, and have a lot more room to move around in them- if they are cut right.  8)

I did really like my CF-200, crushed, suit, but it took forever to dry. There were entire months, when I still lived in Milwaukee, where the suit never fully dried out once! IT was also a pain to patch, but super comfy to wear.


Having said all of this I now find myself diving wet all the time. I mainly freedive, but do so all winter long under the ice and in the Lakes. I never would have thought this possible until I found out what a REAL wetsuit should feel like. I'll give you a hint, none of the good ones are made in the USA.

I, now, buy all my suits from ELIOS. You can pick the rubber you want depending upon the depths your going to dive to- low, medium, or high density bubble count. you can also pick the inner lining to make it warmer or easier to slide on- opencell, silver, copper, black shadow, gold, super-elasitc, kanko, or nylon lining. The outer lining is decided when you know what you want to dive in. you can choose from a number of linings to camoflauge you in any enviroment, or pick a basic black in something really tough for diving on wrecks.

Best of all, they mainly do custom cut and I get all my suits without zippers and with attached hoods. For anyone thinking that a wetsuit is a restrictive straight jacket that doens't allow you to move, you simply have no idea just how wrong you are. I've also used my suit for the odd scuba dive and they kept me very warm.

There are other good suits out there as well like Picasso, Esclapez, Marea, Sub prof, and even some cerssi Sub suits that only seem to be available in Europe. Still, the Elios suits seem tobe the best bang for the buck and my custom cut suits are still cheaper than any off the rack Henderson suit I could buy here in the states.

If your only scuba diving down to 60' I think you could be well served with a GOOD wetsuit. However, if you have deeper dives, and more technical training, in your future then it's best to jump into a drysuit as soon as you can as that's one more skill you'll have down before you try anything else.


Jon

[badgers]

I have a Bare NextGen and I am 6'-4.5" and I come in at 260lbs.BUT REALLY I am on a diet and I will be 230. Honest.... :

Mine is a XXXL

I use the fleece that came with the setup and the boots. I have the scubapro split fins(twin jet) and I had a hard time getting the boots 100% into the fins, I get it about 95%. I took a rat tailed file to the boots and shaved off 1/8" from two little spots and then it fit in just fine.

I got some 5mm gloves, nothing special.
I actually use a wet suit hood and it works just fine. I had the wet suit hood from when I though I was hardcore and I would be fine in a wetsuit. That is where the gloves came from as well.

I am in Madison, WI.
diving in lake Michigan, Perl lake and only once in kegonsa(right after the ice came off the lake, no bacteria infection!!!)

After I had my bare nextgen for a while, I went to the DUI days. Shop that did my dry suit training suggested going just for the fun of it. I found that they have some nice suits but I couldn't justify the extra cost.
I think my NextGen is a little big around the upper arms, but not bad. If you weigh a little more then me maybe it will work better for you.

I got mine a long time ago, maybe the prices have changed.

HTH

[Tol]

The price difference between a custom suit and a stock suit is surprisingly small.  I'm pretty close to a stock size and am currently ordering a custom suit.  Stock suits tend to be cut a little too generously for my taste.  Food for thought.