Drysuit buying guide FOR BEGINNERS - How to fit a drysuit 🧑‍🚀

in today's video we're talking about dry suits how to fit them considerations and how to buy one on a budget vamanos welcome to our channel asuw unlimited where we teach all things scuba diving my name is sarah and i have a very special video planned for you guys today because one of my best friends megan joined me to talk about her experience with buying a dry suit when making a big purchase like a dry suit it's always nice to get first-hand experience from fellow divers so i got together with her and just asked her opinion on how to get into a dry suit how to start dry suit diving even if our budget isn't super forgiving this video is a little bit different from ones that i've done in the past because it's more of a conversation with one of my good friends so sorry for the bad jokes but you guys are used to that by now right i think so before we get to that conversation i want to give a big shout out to our sponsor ecoroots i'll talk more about them at the end of the video so today we're going to talk about dry suits with my friend megan hey thanks for having me sarah and i met through a friend actually the person who was my instructor so i got certified in 2011 2012 and i think we met in san diego the first time and then we met the second time in catalina no the first time was a night dive in morro bay oh i remember that coleman speech yeah because i remember being really awkward and like shaking your hand but you went in for a hug and so we did like this awkward handshake sounds about right and this was pre-coped times yeah so it was just me being really awkward because that's how i am no never diving since 2012-ish and mainly just shore dives boat dives in california is done a couple places internationally and then over the past year after diving in monterey far too many times and losing sensations in my fingers and toes i opted to go and take the dry suit course and purchase my dry suit and i am so happy about it yay you mentioned cold digits cold limbs um is there any other reason why you switch to dry suit diving mainly for the cold i would say that pros and cons of dry suit diving you stay warmer at depth longer because you're not being saturated by water completely encapsuled by my tri-laminate suit with my undergarments i'm nice and cozy and it's also very versatile so with the dry suit i have i'm able to layer up so if i'm doing something that's like 50 degrees i don't have to wear as much as if i'm gonna be diving something close to like 42 degrees my downside is it can be a little cumbersome it can take a little bit longer to put on your gear but it's also easy to travel with because it really rolls up tight nice yeah sometimes taking those thick uh wetsuits i know i have a seven mil uh semi-dry and that thing takes up a lot of space how did you figure out what you wanted to buy so i dove first into research on the internet and i read a few forums and got to know that the two most popular types of dry suit are the tri-laminate or the tri-lamp it is three different layers of materials i don't know if they are and they press them together super thin and it's like a hard shell or the crushed neoprene keeps you waterproof and it gives you more insulation than a tri-laminate suit does because you already have that thickness to keep you cozy for me choosing the tri-laminate again with the layering i felt like i might be diving up and down the coastline so i might be needing to layer up more than i might need to for a neoprene where i might not be able to stuff as many layers underneath me figured out that i wanted to go with the tri-laminate model and i went to a couple different dive shops and i live here in san luis obispo so we have two drives to no two shops two scuba shops one of them definitely does not carry dry suits and i'm pretty sure the other one definitely doesn't carry dry suits what are you talking about we're so well equipped around here let's talk about there's a little shop in fisma i've never been to really yeah i didn't know that i'm pretty sure they definitely don't have dresses i'm pretty sure they definitely don't have guys so calling around to different shops it was really hard to find any shops that really carried a whole line of different dry suit makers they're like hollis or goobapro or aqualung it seems like each shop is kind of tied up with their own brand so i hopped down to a shop and just kind of picked their brain on the different suits that they had and i did some online research i think after going to the shop and talking to a couple divers they were able to say which suits they liked the best and being that i dive in the area i figured probably like what they like snap how do you say airplane in sign language oh there we go got a lot of noise pollution yeah it's this industrial area great for van life this is my dry suit setup i've got the hollis dx300 it's an older model complete with an even older set of undergarments which were highly desirable because of the price on ebay so as abby's discovering i chose to go with a suit that had the silicon seals on it so the whole neck piece can pop out stretches around your neck along with the cuffs here the reseals they pop out so the dry suits come with a couple different types of seals silicone is really malleable to your body when you flex your wrist it sticks pretty well another version of this would be latex folks have a lot of latex allergies though so not as popular and then another common type of seal you might see is neoprene a little bit more seepage with the neoprene my my suit just inevitably has a little bit of seepage but i did unknowingly choose a backup method so my undergarment has cuffs made of neoprene on both the wrist and on the ankles so that way when i get a little bit of water coming in this kind of sucks it up and the way that my garment is constructed is it doesn't actually get wet at the core i also went for the cross zip so i have only one zipper here a lot of other suits might have two zips mine is plastic older versions might come in brass so a single cross zip makes it easy for me to put on and off by myself and then it has this nice velcro protector that goes on top and another version that might be seen is straight across the chest it's a lot easier to get in when it's across your whole body um it's pretty cumbersome inside and then another option is the back zip which is really hard to do i also should show inside comes with a very sexy wonderful set of suspenders or bracers you might call them if you're in the uk so when you gear up you put one foot in and the other fling these over your shoulders and your set for the day this suit has two gigantic pockets that have double layers of velcro on the outside and on the inside so if you come across anything like an old beer bottle while diving stuff it in your pocket take it up to the surface a lot of more technical divers will put their gear in there too and i also got the integrated booties so these are just crushed neoprene that are already sewn in to the suit first i wrap my foot up in a really fashionable hiking sock i have not gone completely over the edge with my outfitting yet so i just use my regular old dampening boots stuff my foot in there a lot of people do have custom dry suit booties which look a little cooler the soles are more sturdy not as much of a squeeze on your foot you got the perfect little assistant there oh no if you're new here don't forget to hit the subscribe button and the little bell so you don't miss any of our future videos what kinds of things did you need to think about for fit so i ordered my suit based on the sizing chart that hollis offered they don't have a woman's suit line or a male a men's suit line it's just a unisex suit which is great and easy so i ordered based on a sizing chart and then when i went to do my course for the dry suit they fitted me for the seals and they immediately found out that the standard size seals were too big for me so i had to go for the smaller size [Laughter] five foot six still the child is closed but part of the steel fit is also if your seals are too tight it can cause difficulties with your circulation they have this nice test where they put on your next seal and then they wait for a minute to see what happens and then they take your pulse here and here and they're checking to see if your face turns red that's that's good what are they checking for the carotid sinus reflux got it love it i mean they did you did take the course so that's that's good that you know that i also looked it up right before you came out in my book nice we'll talk about what that is in the fiat theology physiology physiology behind that in a future video did it come with those smaller seals or did you have to custom order those oh no i swapped them out at the shop oh okay yeah there's a tool that comes with your interchangeable cuffs and it's a piece of plastic that fits into the other piece of plastic and you just pop them out and then kind of stitch them back in are they like i just think of the air pod like headset things kind of like that like and then you just like put the right size in sure no that's that's all or like a crocheting circle where you have to stretch your maybe it's not even crocheting stitching needlework we're getting old those are the references when i used to do my stitch work my cross stitch you have to stretch the fabric across the circular seal then press it in with a tool i love it you mentioned that you tried out some dry suits and then you made a purchase how did you do the purchase did you buy new did you buy second hand yeah i opted for new um they were talking about at the shop that you can get away with a used suit and you can get a pretty good deal on places like ebay or craigslist or even the consignment store but if something is wrong with your seal or something is wrong with your zipper the cost is going to be pretty big that also is a newer dry suit diver and wanting to feel confident in my first few dives i just felt more comfortable buying new so i did find a suit that was a little bit older model so it's not a 2020 edition i think it's like 2018 2019 and i called the shops wanted to vet them to make sure they're a real operation they were thank you texas just for this one yeah the sign of the times now it's okay we probably shouldn't put that in your videos you're gonna get like hate i know it's fine i get hate anyways yeah but i i called the shop and they delivered they said it was brand new nobody used it before it's a warmer area so not as many people are diving dry there now that you've done a few dives what are like the must-have accessories my undergarment really do you wear your regular gloves i did buy a newer hood for this i will say before on my neoprene suit i had like a gigantic skirt and when you put that on top of a dry suit it just flies up around your neck like a clown i kind of wish that you had worn those in san diego snakes that would have been fun so i did get a hood that has a shorter skirt on it and they do make dry suit hoods which just kind of go like under the chin and they're super warm i will say that i didn't really realize it when i was buying all of my gear but everything is black my gloves my boots my hood i am totally invisible underwater so i got brightest hood this is my favorite so everyone can see me when i go diving oh not only is it vibrantly orange it has reflectors on it and they work yeah if someone shines their torch on you i am a light show yeah it worked really well i i like it it's a shorter skirt spies a little around a little bit but not too bad so with choosing your gear often i've seen a lot of other dry suit divers diving with a back plate and because you do need more weight to get underneath because your whole body is filled up with water i mean air filled up with air um so the back plate naturally pushes you down with your back inflator i think each back plate not weighs about like seven or eight pounds so you don't need to strap as much on i did opt just to keep a vest because i get to do warmer dives so i like to put on my vest my neoprene i'm not as trim but i like it it's cozy we've talked a little bit about things that you have to buy and equipment that you need to have like what can you get by with on a budget you can get by with just the dry suit and the accessory inflator hose so you do need to add that to your setup it doesn't match your inflator hose so that's nice so you won't screw that up but when i go diving i just wear this sweater these leggings i throw in some socks and i like again i got my undergarment for under 100 other ones out there the best ones are upwards of 500 i wish i could try that out what are the price points that you were seeing when you were purchasing like what was the range i would say anywhere from a thousand to three thousand or this is why i don't have one it's fine yeah it's totally fine i've gotten tougher san diego i did not complain once i was cold i layered up when i got back in i'm proud of myself but it's also out of necessity because i can't buy a dry suit any time soon subscribe to her channel yeah we can get me to a dry suit ah one day i forgot one big pro about the dry suit yeah is not only does it keep you warm underwater but between your dives it is one fastest recovery yeah compared to being wet and throwing a towel over yourself or throwing hot water down your shirt well thanks for sitting on the ground and getting covered in dog hair yeah thanks for having me and abby and uh we need to go diving again soon okay let me know okay i'll bring my suit yeah do you want to join me what's our outro your outro so i watch your videos i swear i know it it's okay it's hashtag dives in the ocean she's one of my best friends she doesn't watch my videos don't forget to subscribe and hit that little bell let's check out our sponsor you guys know by now that we are big fans of sustainability here at assol unlimited that's why we work with brands like ecoroots ecoroots focuses on sustainably made products that can replace your everyday household items here you can see me using their bamboo toothbrush and tablet toothpaste at first it's a little strange getting used to toothpaste and tablet form but this stuff is so good it foams and cleans just like your standard paste that comes in a plastic tube and everything is made from natural ingredients make sure to check out their products with the link in the description below and use the code asul unlimited for a discount at checkout that's about it from us today if you like this video give it a big old thumbs up and hit the subscribe button so you don't miss any of our future videos we'll see you next time you really need a trendy sign off like what like something zulu as wooly oh my gosh look at this i have a lint roller yes do you do you see yourself look at that you're ashamed no she does not care no shame hello why do you have south park stickers all over okay i mean that makes sense i guess i get them hydro inspected every year every year yeah i have to be otherwise this drops don't fill your tanks hydro yeah stop it's insane there's a little sticker sorry no it's visual every year you're right okay i was like oh my god yeah visually inspected every year and then hydro is every five no i wonder when i got hydro i should have a date on here probably oh it would be the last one was 9 19. yeah they really stamp it here yeah 9 19. wow okay up today yeah so you're good for what another three years yeah i'm gonna look there i'll talk to you uh if you happen to look at the camera just try and look at the black like nothingness over there because otherwise when you just like look at yourself you look a little busy i look so dumb yeah i notice when the influencers do this but they're like yeah i shouldn't talk bad about the influence you shouldn't your life is based on that too yeah i i pretend to be an influencer i don't really know what that lifestyle is actually [Music] daddy

Channel: Azul Unlimited

Views: 21,598

Keywords: cold water scuba diving, keep warm diving, ice diving, cold water diving gear, cold water diving, becoming a cold water diver, diving in ice cold water, cold water diving suit, drysuit diving, drysuit diving basics, drysuit diving tips, scuba diving training, scuba diving lessons, scuba diving gear, tips for beginner divers, scuba divers beginner diver, beginner diver equipment, drysuit for beginners, drysuit basics, drysuit vs wetsuit, azul unlimited

Id: z7KC4R2Y8Ao

Length: 18min 22sec (1102 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 23 2021