Water conducts heat away from the body 25 times faster than air – so it is quite easy to see that we are likely to get cold quite quickly if we don’t wear insulation!

Wetsuits are usually made of neoprene, which has loads of little bubbles of nitrogen trapped in the material.  It is these bubbles that give the suit thermal insulation, but also give the suit positive buoyancy, or in other words; it floats.

Semi-dry suits are just wetsuits with seals at the ankles, wrists and neck, which helps prevent the water escaping from your wetsuit once your body has warmed it up!  If you are buying a new wetsuit, I would advise finding a semi-dry suit as this will keep you more insulated than a normal wetsuit.

The thicker the wetsuit, the more positively buoyant you will be, so bear that in mind if you dive with a thicker suit.  You might need to add some extra weight to counter the extra buoyancy, but also remember that as you go deeper, gases compress, so your suit will lose some of it’s buoyancy and thermal properties.

Wetsuits need to be quite snug in order to work effectively, so although it would be tempting to go a size bigger in order to make it easier to get on, make sure there aren’t too many “baggy bits” – you will just get cold.  You’ll know when you get the right size for you as you will have found the balance between being not too difficult to get on, but still quite snug around most body parts.

I would highly recommend finding a big dive shop or water sports shop that has plenty of choice of wetsuits, try different brands and different sizes – and don’t be afraid to ask the guys in the shop for help.  I bought mine off the internet, and although I was incredibly lucky getting the suit I did because it fits so well, it wasn’t actually the suit I ordered!  First time they sent me the wrong size, then I sent it back asking for the right size, and they said they didn’t have one left in stock – but they did have another one in my size.  It was a slightly more expensive one that they were planning on replacing mine with – bonus!!  I was lucky – but next time I will definitely go to a shop!

A little tip for getting into wetsuits a little easier is to use talcum powder – sprinkle some on the wrists and ankles and your skin will just glide through!  Of course this only works if the suit isn’t wet!!  Another tip I’ve heard that might benefit the ladies more than gents (well the gents can try it if you want…) is to put a pair of pop socks on before slipping into your wetsuit.  Not personally tried it, but might be worth a try!

Right, so I think we’ve covered everything of importance regarding wetsuits, probably not a huge amount there that was completely foreign to you…but what about dry suits?

There are two types of drysuit, Neoprene drysuit and Membrane drysuit.  You can see from the pictures below how they differ:

So you can see here that the neoprene drysuit has a layout very similar to the neoprene wetsuit, in that there is 1 layer of foam neoprene as protection.  This big difference is that with the wetsuit, it keeps a layer of water next to your body.  In a drysuit, the neoprene is waterproof, so instead a layer of air is next to your body.  The drysuit will have waterproof seals on the  wrists and neck to stop the water getting in, and most drysuits have built in boots.

The membrane drysuit works in a slightly different way.  For insulation, you use a thermal under-suit, or just normal clothes – any tracksuit – or depending on the water temperature just a T-shirt and trousers will be fine!  The membrane layer acts only as the waterproof layer, to stop the water getting in.  Obviously on the rare occasion the water does get in – you will probably want to get out the water ASAP, because you will have lost all your thermal protection!

The biggest thing though, when it comes to diving in a drysuit, compared with a wetsuit, is the extra bag of air you are swimming around with.  As we know, the more air in the suit, the more positively buoyant you are, so you need to take that into account when you first dive with a drysuit.  The other thing is making sure there is some air in your suit at the surface, or that you put some in as you go down because the air that is in there will compress and can cause pinching.

It is a bit of a skill to dive with a drysuit, not difficult to acquire, but it is definitely worth getting an instructor, or someone who has dived with drysuits a lot to talk you through what to expect and to give you tips etc.

When it comes to buying a drysuit – again there is no better way that getting people’s opinions – instructor, club members or the guys in the shop – and making your own decision.  If you can try one before you buy, then great – but that isn’t possible for everyone – so you will just have to make the most informed decision you can!

Have fun!

About the Author: Elyse hopes to be an instructor soon, but until then she will write articles and visit as many different dive destinations in the world as possible. She is currently living in Malta, and loving the new diving on offer.

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