Hi everybody, welcome to scuba diver mag and welcome to top10, you wonderful divers out
there voted for this, probably because it’s getting cold out there in the northern hemisphere.
So, where I’m from drysuits are pretty much a staple for diving year round and they’re
a fantastic tool for a scuba diver for both insulation but also buoyancy control.
And while the name drysuit can be optimistic at times I spend most of my time underwater
inside one so, lets dive straight into my top10 scuba drysuits for 2022.
Budget If you’re on a budget but you still want
to stay dry, or mostly dry lets be honest, I really like the Seac WarmDry.
Now, I could have just searched for scuba drysuit and chosen the very cheapest option
out there.
But, I’m after the best budget drysuit and for what you pay, the WarmDry does give you
a lot of drysuit.
It’s neoprene so it’s tough and insulating and a great feature that you don’t always
see on cheaper suits is a thigh pocket.
It’s not an amazing pocket but, it’s still somewhere to store some gear.
Both Mens and Womens cuts with forgiving neoprene and the neoprene boots are flexible around
the ankles for great freedom of movement for whatever fin kick.
You don’t get a lot of fancy accessories that you often get with other drysuits, you
get the bag, the suit a hose and I think a hood, but, if all you want is a drysuit for
diving in colder waters the WarmDry will do the job.
Premium The Waterproof D1X.
The way that most scuba drysuits work is you have the drysuit as a waterproof shell and
wear an undersuit under that that actually provides the insulation.
Waterproof turned to one another and said “why don’t we just make a drysuit with
a built in undersuit” I mean it was probably in Swedish and I wasn’t there.
But, they made the D1X that alone is a beautiful, tough drysuit with great thigh pockets.
But, add inside of that an internal mesh undersuit layer that is crush resistant, meaning that
your bodyweight doesn’t squeeze the insulating air out of key areas and you have the perfect
insulating drysuit.
And the suit, as I said earlier, is made from really tough material so you don’t have
to worry about ruining your new investment because you brushed against something.
It is a buoyant suit, more so than a neoprene and it does weigh a fair bit but, if you want
a really fancy drysuit, you want the D1X.
Front Santi had to find it’s way onto this list
somewhere and their top drysuit is the E.Lite Plus.
E.Lite is made to be tough and the E.Lite Plus is made to be tough where it needs to
be and flexible everywhere else.
Made with two different exclusive materials the E.Lite Plus is the best of both worlds
and resists abrasions in the classic areas for a long lifespan and demanding dives.
You also get a choice of the colour of certain panels to customize your drysuit and personalize
it a bit more than a lot of off the rack drysuits.
It may take a little longer but you know that the drysuit has been made specifically for
you and you do get that new drysuit smell.
Which is quite potent adhesives, don’t breathe it in too deeply.
Back For a
back entry drysuit I like the Exodry from Scubapro.
The Exodry is very similar to the Everdry which was always a popular drysuit.
But, the Exodry has latex seals which most divers tend to get on better with and it’s
made with Scubapro’s X-Foam 4mm Neoprene which is limestone-based neoprene so it’s
soft and flexible and better for the environment.
Single thigh pocket, soft tech boots and scubapro’s computer wrist straps that you can tuck the
computer’s wrist strap underneath so your computer stays in place and won’t slip off
your wrist or around your arm.
Scubapro has always been good at making neoprene with a premium feel so, if you want a good
neoprene drysuit that feels more like a wetsuit look at the exodry.
Custom If you have a particular look in mind that
you can’t find off the rack.
Then DUI should probably be on your list.
DUI has long been known for allowing you to choose what colour your drysuit is and you
can build some funky drysuits with pattered material if you want to stand out on the dive
boat.
The drysuit itself, is part of DUI’s premium range and is used by professional divers in
all sorts of underwater professions because it has a great mix of durability and flexibility
so that you can swim wearing the suit and it can take a lot of abuse.
But, for the best choice of colours and patterns, it’s hard to beat DUI.
Flex One thing that a lot of scuba divers find
with exposure suits is that they’re restrictive.
The Fusion Bullet from AquaLung is a clever design previously from Whites and similar
to the D1X in that you effectively have two suits on one.
The internal suit is your dry layer and it’s purposely made a bit big for the size so that
you have some room to bend and stretch.
But that would be a nightmare for a dive as the baggy suit would trap air pockets in weird
places and catch on things in the water.
And that’s where the external suit comes in.
The external suit is more form fitted and holds the excess material in to keep it streamlined
but still allowing you to move.
It’s a bit of a faff to actually don but once you’re in, it feels like no other drysuit
you’ve worn before.
It also has a brass U zipper which can be a little tricky to do by yourself but once
you’re in, you’re very comfortable.
Commercial Commercial diving is very different to recreational
diving and as a commercial diver your needs skew more towards protection than flexibility.
Now, if you’re diving in nasty water then you’ll want something like an Viking but
for non-toxic waters where you want a warm suit to protect you from long stationary dives.
And the O’Three Port10 was specifically made with commercial dives in mind.
It’s made to be worn for long periods of time with reliability built in so that you
never miss out on a dive.
And O’Three have a great reputation for looking after their divers.
And it’s not bonkers expensive.
Normally with a lot of really tough gear you just add a zero to the price tag but, not
with O’three, they’re great value for money.
Breathable One thing that a lot of divers find when they
spend a lot of time inside a drysuit is that their sweat has nowhere to go inside the suit
so things can get quite fragrant.
Today, we now have breathable materials and you can find them on the Fourth Element Argonaut.
And the clever thing about the Argonaut is that you can either have the entire suit made
from this breathable material.
Or you can have it half and half.
So, your top half is breathable and keeps you in a more pleasant environment inside
your suit and the lower half of the suit is made from their flex material, best of both
worlds, and with Fourth Element’s drysuit builder you can spend your time at home choosing
parts and building the perfect drysuit for you and then send the specs to your dive centre,
very modern.
Travel For the travelling diver who needs a drysuit
you can now buy travel drysuits.
The Otter Ultralite, as you can probably imagine by the name, is made to be as light weight
as possible.
Instead of heavy and bulky membrane they use thinner and flexible Rip Skin material and
tailored on the Brittanic 2 drysuit design which is one of their most popular all-rounder
suits.
The Ultralight still has everything that you’d expect to see on a drysuit from a telescopic
front entry so you can get in and out of it all by yourself, reflective strips to help
you be seen in the water and thigh pockets to store your essentials.
And Otter have a great reputation for build quality and you’ll see a lot of advanced
divers wearing their brand.
Be Seen With most drysuits being dark colours, other
than that DUI, Being seen in the water can be tricky.
But, one suit that you will never be missed in is the Ursuit Softdura Orange.
Dayglo Orange basically head to toe will help your buddy find you in the water and boats
see you on the surface.
And the suit itself is top notch as far as features and build quality.
Telescopic torso like most front entry suits makes it easy to don and doff as well as stretch
when you need to and it has a pair of great pockets where you can store and organize your
gear.
If you want to take a look at some drysuits then there’ll be a link in the description
below as well as popping up in the top corner throughout the video and of course remember
to subscribe to the channel for more scuba diving content.
I’m also starting up the podcast again for those who are interested.
For ease it will probably start with Q&As but, if there’s anything that you’d like
from the podcast by all means let me know down in the comments, thanks for watching
everybody and safe diving.