{"id":517,"date":"2019-08-03T05:31:34","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T05:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/?p=517"},"modified":"2019-08-03T05:32:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T05:32:07","slug":"517-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/517-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep WARM this WINTER with a DRYSUIT!!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

As soon as you mention diving in New Zealand to any non diver you\u2019re always faced with the same\u00a0question \u201cisn\u2019t it cold?!\u201d and I bet you answer the same way every time \u201cwell, yes and no. The water\u00a0 is freezing but I use the right gear to keep warm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Well for me using the right gear means using a dry\u00a0suit. And since we have two new drysuits about to arrive in store; The Bare X-Mission Evolution and\u00a0the Bare Sentry I thought I would try to shed a little light on why I dive dry and the two main styles\u00a0of drysuit Trilaminate and Neoprene.\u00a0So why dive dry? It\u2019s out there cold. End of story.<\/p>\n

But really it\u2019s an important decision, making the move\u00a0to a drysuit is relatively speaking expensive. Suits can\u00a0cost anywhere from $1500 to $4500, so I guess the
\nquestion should be is it worth it? Well I decided to go\u00a0dry when I realised how well winter diving is. In the\u00a0summer seaweed thrives along with all the algae and\u00a0other phytoplankton, for divers that means greener\u00a0water and sometimes reduced vis. But in the winter\u00a0there\u2019s less growth so water clarity is often better (on\u00a0the right day) wreck are more exposed and visible and its easier to find and explore new paths and\u00a0channels at old dive sites. The only drawback is its freezing cold in winter! Being in a drysuit though,\u00a0makes it perfectly comfortable. In my drysuit I can still do an hour long dive in 10 degree water and\u00a0come out happy. Through me into a 7mm wetsuit and id be lucky to dive more than 30 minutes in\u00a0winter. Being in a drysuit means I can (and do) dive all year round no matter the temperature. So yes\u00a0investing in a drysuit is absolutely worth it if you ask me. All you need to decide no is which style to\u00a0go for.<\/p>\n

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When I first started looking a drysuits I thought I\u00a0was about to become the next James Bond. I\u00a0could see myself swaggering out of the water as\u00a0I unzip my suit to reveal a perfectly dry tux. Well\u00a0I still haven\u2019t been brave enough to try wearing a\u00a0tux underneath but I can tell you coming out of\u00a010 degree water bone dry and toasty warm is\u00a0just as good as being Bond. My first drysuit was\u00a0Trilaminate, like the name suggests this is three\u00a0(tri) layers of waterproof material laminated\u00a0(laminate) together to create a dry and durable\u00a0suit. Trilaminate suits are typically favoured by technical divers or people who require a lot of\u00a0versatility in their suits. It\u2019s the outer most layer that has the appeal for the techies; basically\u00a0manufactures can put super hard wearing materials on as the outer layer without sacrificing too\u00a0much flexibility. The Bare X-Mission for example uses RipStop nylon making it super puncture\u00a0resistant. You know how frustrating a tyre puncture is; well a hole in your drysuit is ten times worse,\u00a0so having a hardy outer layer is well worth it. The other big advantage of a Trilaminate drysuit is\u00a0versatility. Trilam suits have next to no warmth on their own so you need to add layers underneath\u00a0to stay warm; but what layers you wear is up to you. So with a suit like the Bare X-Mission you might
\nwear a set of good thermals and a decent fleece in the warmer months but around June and July you\u00a0can bump it up to a big thick purpose made undersuit. The benefit is that no matter how warm or\u00a0cold the water is with a Trilaminate suit you can always adapt what you wear to match the water\u00a0temp. When it comes to durability and versatility Trilaminate suits are the way to go, so it\u2019s no\u00a0surprise that technical divers and dive professionals mostly go this way, but they are a little bulky in\u00a0the water not to mention more expensive than their counter parts Neoprene Drysuits.<\/p>\n

For me I think Neoprene Drysuits are a great way to go for recreational divers. Imagine your wetsuit\u00a0with much better wrist and neck seals, slap on a couple of inflation\/deflation valves and that is\u00a0pretty much a Neoprene drysuit. The great\u00a0thing about Neoprene suits is that unlike\u00a0Trilaminate suits they are inherently warm, so\u00a0you don\u2019t need to pack on the layers\u00a0underneath. \"\"The other thing that I really like\u00a0about diving in Neoprene suits is they are much\u00a0closer fitting and more streamlined in the water.\u00a0\u00a0It is important to keep in mind that not all\u00a0neoprene suits are made equal. Broadly\u00a0speaking there are two types: standard\u00a0neoprene suits and compressed neoprene suits.\u00a0\u00a0Our new suit in store is the Bare Sentry, a\u00a0compressed neoprene suit. Having compressed neoprene not only makes the suit more durable and\u00a0compact but its real strength comes in buoyancy changes. The Bare Sentry has 2mm hyper\u00a0compressed neoprene mean it was all the insulation properties of 5mm neoprene but won\u2019t affect\u00a0your buoyancy due to compression as you descend deeper and deeper on your dive. The payoff is\u00a0less fluffing about with your BCD and drysuit inflator during the dive and you\u2019re body temperature is\u00a0more consistent.<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s easy to get lost in all the waffle around features and differences between these two styles\u00a0of suits so hopefully comparing the Bare X-Mission and Bare Sentry side by side will help you get a\u00a0better idea of what\u2019s what.<\/p>\n

X-Mission\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>\"\"<\/strong>
\nTrilaminate
\nFavoured by techies and pros<\/p>\n

No warmth (need to add layers to suit conditions)
\nTypically more flexible
\nLight weight and durable<\/p>\n

Usually the more expensive option<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sentry\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Compressed Neoprene<\/p>\n

Suits recreational diving better<\/p>\n

Inherently warm (only thin\u00a0thermals required)<\/p>\n

More streamlined and\u00a0comfortable<\/p>\n

When compressed very durable<\/p>\n

Typically cheaper<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Diving dry means I can be in the water all year round and still do nice long dives. But the choice to go\u00a0dry isn\u2019t an easy one. There are so many options out there, and choosing which one is best for you\u00a0can be hard. You best bet is always to come down to the shop and ask us. Like I said drysuits are\u00a0pretty dam popular with instructors and we all have our own opinions and experiences that can help\u00a0guide you getting the right suit for you. As a starting point though, if you think drysuit diving is for\u00a0you come down and check out the Bare X-Mission Evolution and Bare Sentry side my side and see\u00a0the difference between Trilaminate suits and Neoprene. Whatever you decide, you won\u2019t regret\u00a0diving dry!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As soon as you mention diving in New Zealand to any non diver you\u2019re always faced with the same\u00a0question \u201cisn\u2019t it cold?!\u201d and I bet you answer the same way every time \u201cwell, yes and no. The water\u00a0 is freezing but I use the right gear to keep warm.\u201d Well for me using the right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":528,"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions\/528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divehq.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}