14 replies to this topic

[andy_deitsch]

I tend to get cold towards the end of an 60 minute dive and when I'm making several dives a day, on the last dive I tend to be really cold. To give you a sense of water temperature, I was wearing a 5mm wetsuit with hood in 22C in the Bahamas a couple of weeks ago and still felt cold towards the end of the dives.

So, I'm considering purchasing a semi-dry wetsuit. I'm curious to know how flexible semi-dry wetsuits are for photography. Do you have a particular brand you would recommend or one you would stay away from?

Interested in your feedback.

Thanks
Andy

[Graggs]

Hi Andy,
I dive in a semi dry 6.5mm wetsuit in Tenerife, water temperature varies from about 19~22C and I don't find it a problem with photography at all. But I've dived in a neoprene dry suit in 10C and managed too.
You may want to consider a rash vest or better one of these https://www.simplysc...leeveShirt.aspx
I dive in Tenerife at Christmas and the water temp is at the 18~19C end and after a few dives it can get chilly, so I bought myself the lavacore top and it's pretty good...obviously I wear this under my semi dry!! normally for the last dive.
Hope that helps?

G

[ChrigelKarrer]

Hi Andy,
i dive in Sardinia a SEAC Semi-Dry and i really love it and i have no particular problems while taking pix.
The only thing to consider is that you HAVE to try it before you buy it, if not you may end with a nice shiny semi-dry
what don't fit your body and subsequently squeeze/limit your movements or leak.
Every manufacturer has his cut and each XL from different manufacturers are differently cut and my not fit your body,
especially the neck seal is a neuralgic point.
Chris

[Cary Dean]

Most of the semi dry's that I've seen require more lead as they generally have
a higher buoyancy due to thicker rubber and air retention.
Why not a dry suit?
You choose the undergarment depending on water temp and I've seen a variety
of prices depending on the manufacturer. I've had my DUI for over a decade
now and I doubt I'll ever have to replace - save seals....

[acuevas]

A second vote for the dry suit.
A combination like a Whites Fusion plus a Fourth Element Xerotherm undergarment will feel like using a wetsuit but warmer.
For colder water, the Whites Fusion Undergarment, that will be my next undergarment for sure.

[SwiftFF5]

I was going to question "why a semi-dry suit" as well, but I see that others have beat me to it. I would also suggest going to a dry suit. For various reasons, I use a Viking HTS suit which is overkill for most recreational uses, but there are various tri-lam drysuits that are comfortable and great for recreational use. As has been mentioned, you can tailor the temperature range via the proper choice of undergarment. Lately, I use the dry suit for anything lower than about 70 degrees (F), and only use a wet suit when I can get away with either a 5 mm or a 3 mm suit (ie, relatively warm water).

[ChrigelKarrer]

Are you sure that a dry suit with a - same warmth as 7mm neoprene - air filled undergarment is less buoyant than a 6/7 mm neporene semi dry?
My semi dry is not retaining any air as it fit like a glove - as any wetsuit should - and i prefer the "normal" use of a semi-dry than the more complicated use of a dry-suit.
I see one big vantage of the dry-suit, to doff it and being dry/damp and this comes very handy and confy when diving with cold outside temperatures,
as you can slip out of it and get dry clothes for the travel back to the harbor in a open boat like a RIB.

Chris

Edited by ChrigelKarrer, 29 March 2012 - 09:25 AM.

[acuevas]

Are you sure that a dry suit with a - same warmth as 7mm neoprene - air filled undergarment is less buoyant than a 6/7 mm neporene semi dry?

Yes, but you need to pay for that technology, non less than US$2500.

[Timmoranuk]

http://www.othree.co...emi-dry-46.aspx
http://www.othree.co...eepskin-49.aspx
http://www.othree.co...ch-vest-50.aspx

[andy_deitsch]

thanks for everyone's feedback so far. A dry suit seems like a lot of extra effort and bother. Having never dived with one, maybe I'm imagining that it's more effort than it really is? I've also heard from people I trust that dry suits can pinch and are difficult for photography.

I'm not looking for really cold water diving. I'm just looking for the extra warmth in water temperatures ranging in the low to mid 70's.

[Steve Williams]

How old is your 5mm Andy? I'm with you, I'd feel really strange using a dry suit in the Bahamas. There are some new wetsuits that are real improvements over some of the old styles.

Steve

[andy_deitsch]

How old is your 5mm Andy? I'm with you, I'd feel really strange using a dry suit in the Bahamas. There are some new wetsuits that are real improvements over some of the old styles.

Steve

Hi Steve,

My wetsuit is actually fairly new. I purchased it in May 2011 just before a trip to the Red Sea. It's a Henderson Neosport. I don't think it's the wetsuit honestly because I was diving in the Red Sea a week ago in a loaner wetsuit which was also relatively new. It was a Mares 5/4 and I still got cold at the end of each dive. Water temperature in the Red Sea was 21C.

[AndyBarker]

Hi Andy,
when we were in the Red Sea last year I was wearing a 3mm Fourth Element semi dry, which is a pitched as a 5mm,
the 5mm, is pitched as a 7mm. these are very good suits also the Waterproof Company have very good suits, their 5mm
is great but I find them a bit to warm for any water over 25 dec, also you can wear under clothing from Fourth Element
they have a wide range of dive wear.
Regards,
Andy

[andy_deitsch]

Hi Andy,
when we were in the Red Sea last year I was wearing a 3mm Fourth Element semi dry, which is a pitched as a 5mm,
the 5mm, is pitched as a 7mm. these are very good suits also the Waterproof Company have very good suits, their 5mm
is great but I find them a bit to warm for any water over 25 dec, also you can wear under clothing from Fourth Element
they have a wide range of dive wear.
Regards,
Andy

Thanks Andy. I'll check them out. See you in June!

[tdpriest]

... I was wearing a 3mm Fourth Element semi dry, which is a pitched as a 5mm,
the 5mm, is pitched as a 7mm. these are very good suits...

The Fourth Element Proteus suits are really, really good. Unfortunately, I am of a shape that needs generous talc lubrication to put mine on: those blessed with model's bodies would find it much easier!

Tim