Drysuit help !!!

Pierre Farrugia

Hello,

Yesterday a friend of mine asked me some help to buy a drysuit. He asked me what is best a trilaminate or compressed neo ? I told him compressed neo... but I cannot tell him why ? If you had to buy a new drysuit, would you buy a trilaminate or 2mm (or 4mm compressed Neo) (make Bare) to be used in Malta for min temp. 14'C. Also if possible what undersuits to wear or a 2mm compresssed neo, one can wear as on a trilaminate?

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Pierre Farrugia

My wife told me " If you don't quit diving I'm going to leave you"
My reply " God, I'll miss you"

www.atlam.org www.divemed.com

decoweenie

In the last 8 years, I have owned almost all of the popular DUI drysuits:

• CF-200 (compressed neoprene)
• CLx-450 (thick cordura/trilam)
• TLS-350 (trilam)

plus a few others:

• Abyss Kevlar-covered compressed neoprene
• Beuchat trilam
• Typhoon trilam
• Northern-Diver compressed neoprene
• Scubapro std neoprene

And if I buy another drysuit tomorrow, I will consider:

1. TLS-350 for general diving since it is so light and comfortable, easy to travel, dry very quickly, use for really cold or warmer water easily by changing the undersuit.
2. CLx-450 for cave diving or anywhere I have to climb over abrasive surfaces. Same characteristics as TLS-350 but just slightly heavier and longer to dry.

Just IMHO...

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Nick uk.

I have a Otter Britanic, Trilam. And a Moby's pro shield neoprene. They both work well, but i slightly prefer the Otter because it's 'front loading' and i can use it in the summer with a light under suit, july and august gets a bit hot with neoprene.

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and if it is.............well......get another one!


divechief2000@hotmail.com

Sue

I currently own a DUI TLS-350 and a CF-200, and I almost don't use the CF-200.
The TLS-350 allows great mobility, it's easier to don, get dry very quickly and I'm able to really manage the undersuits I wear with depending on weather conditions.
A few days ago I've seen a 4mm Bare, and it looks like a nice drysuit for those who enjoy neoprene.

Beanie

I've had two tri-lam suits now I have a compressed neo.

The compressed neo is great so toasty and warm.
I use Fourth Element eXotherm and O Three PBB so I can change what I have under it depending on the temperature and dive time

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Beanie
Gallery Admin & Library Assistant.
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annetj

I love my Trilam with front entry!

Very flexible both on shore and in the water.
Here in Norway I do not change much what I use under my suit, but wear dry-gloves now during the winter, which really helps!

Anne

Gadget

Have always used otter suits and always neo. however my latest is a tri lam, britannic supperskin, not to say it isn't a good suit but i will go back to neo. next time, Prefer the snogness of a neoprene suit and the flexibility as the material will stretch, and will also switch manafactures to O3 as they seam to have better quality control and are more up for customiseing and one off requests.

As for under garments fourth element is the only choice for me.

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Si Lawrence


www.divehdi.com

fubari

Encourage your buddy go to a dive show and try on some
different mfgr's suits; that is what did it for me.
The TLS-350 felt really heavy, but I found this one to be
pretty sweet: http://www.ossystems.com/diving/hdpro.htm

I stepped into one of their shells they had on the floor-rack,
futzed w/the seals a bit, zipped it, wrapped it, and voilla!
Easy, light-weight, flexible. I wrote a check on the spot.

It is just a nylon shell; if he really wants trilam or comp-neo,
I'd ask why (nothing wrong with wanting that, I'm just curious).

I've been diving it for a year now, and I'm very happy with it (see
avatar ). I find the front-entry is really easy, that is what sold me
on it. That and the shell being pretty light and quick-drying.

For undergarments I'm using the light-weight and/or heavy set that
came with the kit. Haven't had a sufficiently long(or cold enough)
run time to want more. My next upgrade will probably be weazel
booties - toes are the only part I've had get a bit chilly.

If your friend is buying everything new, I'd suggest getting whatever
pkg the seller can put together & trying that out for a while.
It may be sufficient for what they need, you can always layer
more (speaking of which, I just bought into the "under armor"
moisture wicking base-layer idea; haven't tried that yet...
hopefully I'll know if I like it after the 1st weekend in Feb).

I like this ring-glove thing: http://www.ossystems.com/gloves/gloves/index.htm
having a backup wrist seal in case a glove goes is a nice
idea, and for some summer dives I use wet-gloves (or no-gloves).
I don't like the blue "smurf-gloves", the black seals come un-stuck
too easily for me (I've found the viking rubber "gauntlet" style
works well w/the ring coupling).
John G.

ScubaDadMiami

I also have a TLS350. I was going to get a CLX450. However, DUI actually talked me out of it. It is stiffer than the 350, enough that DUI wanted me to sign a waiver before they would sell one to me.

Instead of getting a 450 (with all cordura), DUI will make a 350 with a cordura overlay on the top half of the suit (except for the back, where it is covered by the Rebreather, and the inside of the arms, where you just have to be a little careful not to cut it on a wreck). They will also put cordura on the butt, and they will wrap cordura around the front of the legs.

The end result is a suit that offers almost as much protection as the 450 but with no reduction in flexibility. In Europe, they have a model, called the Explorer, which has these modifications.

I will admit that I have never dived a neoprene drysuit. However, I asked a million people before making my decision. Other than the die-hards, almost everyone told me about how heavy the material is when wet, and how long it takes to dry after diving it. The suit ends out wet, smelly and heavy for your return flight home from your dive trip.

Thermalwise, I originally used DUI 200 gram Thinsulate. However, I do not like the "pretty" looking nylon cover (it is already warm here in South Florida. I am looking for some ventilation when I open up my drysuit. I find that the nylon traps in the sweat and heat). The thermals tend to fall apart from washing.

After two years, I bought another set. This time, the nylon got stuck in my drysuit exhaust valve after doing a 250 foot dive. I had to flood my suit to keep from blowing up to the surface. That was it for me.

I now dive Andy's 100 gram stretch Thinsulate (ST1000), http://www.andysdrysuit.com/undies.htm. For you very cold water divers, they are available in 200 gram as well.

While I have had some minor areas that needed to be re-stitched here and there, I am warm, they ventilate well when I open my suit between dives, and they fit like a snug dive skin while still being easy to move around in them. I did a dive in 66 degree water for three hours last week, and I felt like I could stay down forever in comfort.

They are not as "pretty" as the DUI thermals. However, they are holding up well to washings, and they are working great for me.

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Howard Packer
IANTD CCR Instructor
Miami Beach, Florida
CCRDiveTraining.com

divetheworld

Same here, I use a DUI CF200SE, with the rock boots. Love it, VERY flexible and easy to move around in. Neoprene is a lot more resistant to puncturing than a straight membrane in my opinion. We've had CF200's for years and years. The last one lasted 7 years before it was changed for another. All that was wrong with it was it lost its flexibility and turned a bit brown (on the outside OK!).

Brent

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