Several times you have read about the cold water of the Northwest and the use of a dry suit.  There are a lot of manufactures of dry suits and you have to check them out before buying. All of them are somewhat different and they all do the same thing; hopefully keeping you dry while diving.  Dry suits are not a big deal and your local dive shop can help you with the selection and the training. I would firmly advise that if you dive in dry suit take the training before diving. 

I have owned two dry suits and found them to be the same. One was a back entry and the other a front self dawning. I like the self dawning myself since it is easy to get into and out of. The under garment is another item that will aid you in the cold diving environment. Again there are several and you should try each to see what works best for you. 

There are many reasons to use a dry suit, but the basic reason is to keep you somewhat warmer in the cold water. Dry Suits provide a warmer insulation and keep you dry. I also have used argon gas that is heavier then air and warms up very fast at depth. It is a great addition to your dive gear. And when you dive in cold deep water, you become very thankful that you have it. When I used air to fill my dry suit I had to add another hose to the regulator. You can see why they call it an octopus with hoses all over the place. With the argon tank you remove the hose from the first stage and use the regulator on the argon bottle. The argon bottle is attached to the air tank. One drawback to the system is that you have to make sure that you have it filled before diving. I think the reason here is obvious; it’s called the “squeeze.” If you have not had squeeze, you don’t know what you are missing or maybe you do. I have had a lot of bruises from a dive when I ran out of argon. It’s a good thing!

Owning a dry suit is great. However it comes with a maintenance requirement. Unlike wet suits the dry suit has a real expensive zipper, neck and wrist seals.  After each dive day has ended you should use fresh water to clean your suit inside and out and hang it up to dry. I like to hang my dry suit up after I have cleaned it. Some fold it, but I would recommend you do what the manufacture of the equipment tells you and then you will be safe. Before each dive always use a zipper lube on the zipper. Make sure that it is the right lube or wax that will keep it operating smoothly.  Remember the dry suit is real expensive; always treat it with TLC.  A small hole in a dry suit will cause you to get real wet, real quickly.

I prefer a dry suit and I don’t want to dive any other way. I like the Cold waters of the northwest with all its life and the warmth that comes from the dry suit. Again if you are thinking about a dry suit do the training first.

Note: Though the article is about dry suits, it is important to distinguish the differences between a dry suit and a wet suit. A wet suit allows water to get in between the material and the skin which warms the water. There are several thicknesses of wet suits and the dive locations, Florida or Canada for example, will determine the thickness of the suit you may need to use. When I am diving a wet suit in the northwest I use a 7 mil thickness. If I could have gotten a 20 mil suit I would have used it sometimes so that I wouldn’t have had to end a really good dive too soon because of the frigid water. 

© 03-28-2005 G. McK