Goin' Dry

[Mountain Dog]

Thanks to an unbelievable deal, LadyDog and I have aquired our first dry suits. The story is a common one - people with excess money decided they were going to take up diving and dumped a fortune into gear before they realized that there's more to diving than just jumping off the boat. Exactly one dive later, after scaring the crap out of themselves, the drysuits now belong to us.

We will be using the suits in the local quarries as well as Great Lakes trips. I have relatives in Wisconsin, and LadyDog has them in Michigan. So both states offer us the excuse of visiting relatives in order to go diving there.

The suits are Bare Nex-Gen's. Not the best, I understand, but given the dirt cheap price I couldn't pass it up. They are in perfect condition.

Naturally, we'll be taking the drysuit course with our LDS. But I am interested in some non-salesman-based opinions about accompanying gear that we will need.

What works best for gloves, hoods, boots, undergarments? Does any of the gear we have for wet diving work with these suits as well? I'm willing to buy what we need, but the more I spend on gear the less I can spend on diving. Help me strike the balance. Thanks

Mountain Dog

[jockers]

i buy my dry suit used to and come whit the underwear . the guy he sold me not dive whit it. if you look at ebay , you see many underwear and maybe you found a good deals . i buy the si tech ring for dry glove at my lds. my glove buy them at sport center and it s fisherman glove.at 9$ a set is not expensive.

if you not dive in cold water a set of wet glove it s okey to.me i buy bare hood for my dry suit , i like them very much.if you look at used stuff in many forum. and you have the patience , you found many deals.

i hope it help you

jim
ps
i pm you

[BamaCaveDiver]

Bought my latest dry suit (DUI TLS350 Signature Series - measurements were dead on with mine) and my scooter (SS UV26 w/ UV18 hull) under the same circumstances. The DS had 3 dives on it (the only wear I could find was where the guy had wrote his name in it) and the DPV had two dives on the short tube; got both for a song and a smile (got to love some folks out there.)

If you are looking to save cash, my advice would be to skip the DS class. Instead hook up with someone that dives dry for advice and pointers and take the time to get used to the suit. Not that the classes ares totally useless, but there just not all that much to learn about diving a DS that cannot be done with an average level mentor. Inflate just enough to relieve the squeeze, learn to raise the exhaust valve so it can vent prior to ascending, and it really is not that much difference from diving heavy neoprene. Start off in a pool or shallow water just to get the feel of it and gradually go from there.

Undergarments are going to be a personal choice, depending largely on the water temps that you will be diving. Thinsulate is nice and toasty, but it is also expensive and does not take to washing well (read, get used to replacing it or learn to handle the stench.) A lot of folks find cheap thermal wear through regular sporting good stores (if it is marked as dive gear, the price automatically goes up given our limited market share.) I know a lot of FL cave divers that are more than comfortable wearing cheap polypro from Walmart, while others freeze unless they have on a set of 400gr thinsulate. I would try the cheaper stuff first and go for a layering effect; by all means I would avoid buying used undergarments unless you know the seller well (that's just me though, several go this route and have no complaints - btw, I have a set of XL Moby's 400gr thinsulate that I'll make you a good deal on {too hot for me}.)

You say boots, so I am assuming the suit has neoprene socks rather than attached hard boots. If this is the case try a pair of converse high tops (Chuck Conners All Stars); they work every bit as good if not better (and fit into fins better) than the rock boots at a fraction of the cost. Hoods again will depend on what you are comfortable with. Typically dry suit hood will not have the flap at the bottom since you have no place to tuck it; this does not mean that you cannot use one or cut the flap off of one that you already have.

Hope you enjoy your new suit.

[Mountain Dog]

Thanks Bama,

Great advice all the way around...especially the part about used undergarments (that's like buying a used wetsuit - just don't do it).

Mountain Dog

[littleleemur]

Try the discount aisle/section of sporting goods stores, camping stores and ski shops. Look for something sweat wicking for your underlayer as you will sweat and maybe a fleece (preferably a stretch-fleece) as your insulating layer. You can always cut the neck off and make it a crew neck; fleece will not unravel. That way, both layers are washable.

What BCD said about market share is true. that's why no major sporting names have targetted the coldwater dive market yet.

[Bill22]

I also agree about the Drysuit specialty course. Save your money. I read up on it, got some tips from my buddy's who already dive drysuits and just went for it. Everyone is different, but I was feeling pretty comfortable by about my 5th or 6th dive. Just takes practice

I didn't purchase any special undergarments. I've been using my polarmax thermals (that I already had) and they work fine. I found that after the water temp got down in the mid 40's that I would start to get cold after doing two dives. Not a big issue since most of us rarely do more than a couple of dives in a day when diving locally.

I remember diving with friends in late November here in Japan. Watching them shiver when the cold air hit wet skin, as they stripped off their 5mm semi-dry and 7mm wetsuits, brought back lots of memories I'd never go back to that

[lars2923]

I just tape a bunch of Depends together, then wrap it all around me
for insulation and other things.. Duck tape works wonders and holds up
well when it gets wet...

:-O