HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR DRY SUIT

Dry suit as “the first pressure-proof diving suits” have been invented in 1710 by two English inventors.

A dry suit is a waterproof suit that provides environmental protection. As we know, air conducts heat from a diver body much slower than water, which means that the diver, who stays dry, underwater will not lose body heat as quickly as with a diver with a wetsuit.
Good quality suit can serve you even 20 years, if you treat it right. Take extra care of it when you’re diving, when you clean or store it.

When buying a dry suit we should remember that it is an investment, same way as your wet suit: they cost more, but you can use a dry suit all trough out the year. The only thing you have to do is to choose the “underwear suit” depending on the weather (warmer ones in the winter and lighter in the summer).
It is possible to get wet from a leak diving in a dry suit so, the best types of clothing to wear under a dry suit are clothes made from materials that isolate even when wet, such as polypropylene, pile fleece, wool, etc.

Important advices:

It is crucial to fit well when selecting your dry suit. In fact you should choose a suit that does not restrict your normal movement, so it will be easy to operate your equipment  and is not too tight around your neck and wrists. Also, you must consider the size of the dry suit’s boots or socks.
When trying on position the neck seal low; the seal should be snug, but not too tight. At first a snug neck seal may feel uncomfortable out of the water, however once in the water will be comfortable.

  • Warmth

    The most important reason dive in a dry suit.  Dry suit as the wet suit slow the amount of heat loss. As wet suits is using a layer of neoprene and a layer of water that is trapped between neoprene and your skin. The dry suits use air and the “under suit” that you can add in order to slow the loss of the body heat.

  • Buoyancy

    When wetsuits compress with depth it lose some of the buoyancy. Dry suits however allow the diver to add air and compensate for the increased pressure at depth. When the wetsuit compresses, it  loses insulating properties. The dry suit does not.

  • Weight

     When a wetsuit loses buoyancy at depth, a diver can feel being over weighted. With a dry suit, the  buoyancy stays more or less the same.

  • Different water conditions

    The big benefit of a dry suit is that you can use the suit in various conditions. Divers use dry suit all year round, from diving in warm water to dive under the ice in winter.

  • Price

    Years ago dry suits were very expensive.  However with the new materials available, a quality entry level dry suit can cost same as a high end wetsuit.  Keep in mind that one dry suit will serve you in different environments while a wetsuit will not serve you in cold water.

  • Cost of ownership

    Even thou the dry suits require seals to be replaced, potential leaks to fix, boots or socks replaced, and in some cases the zipper replaced, in the long run, a dry suit might be less expensive. Lets say you dive a 100 dives a year on an average, a wetsuit might last five years or so, where a dry suits, with good care, can last 20 years or more.

5 stars score  We give our 5 starts to Black Pearl Equipment

At Black Frog Divers, the instructor wear a Black Pearl Equipment suit.
The company is always update with really good quality material. The products are innovative and they fulfill all divers wishes and desires.
The suits present cordura protections over many crucial parts such as kneews, zipper,arms, shoulders, crotch and seat to guaranty an extreme protection. It is possible to personalize the all suit based on body measurements and personal taste. It fact there is a great variety of colours to please every diver, but the equipment keep being extremely light and resistent. The Black Pearl dry suit are fully customizable and the customer service is quick, professional and reliable.

As for the underwear suit, we choose the Drylastic from Cressi. Very comfortable, warm, dry and great value for money.

The dry suit is an investment we recommend: it is not very good to interrupt your dive because of the temperature and the shivering! You might miss something very special just because you are busy thinking about something warm.

At Black frog Divers we also offer the Dry Suit speciality course.

We have few dry suit , the diver can use during the course. The course include two dives where the instructor will teach how to se the suit and how to control the buoyancy with it. The course cost is 180€ and we run it all the year round.
For more information on dry suit diving and courses please contact us