BASIC SCUBA GEAR
 

Suits

As water conducts heat from your body twenty-five times faster than air the purpose of wearing a suit whilst diving is to keep your body warmer for longer. There are three main categories of diving suit, each of which have advantages and disadvantages. These categories of suit are:
 

Wet Suit - Wet suits are the cheapest type of suit and may be purchased for less than £100. They are not watertight but allow a quantity of water to pass into the suit. This water warms and keeps your body warmer. The movement of water (the flushing effect) is kept to a minimum but they are only suitable for water temperatures above 15°C and as such, are not normally suitable for diving in UK waters.

Semi-Dry Suit - these are a huge improvement on wetsuits as the movement of water (the flushing effect) is highly restrict by the built in hood and the close fitting wrist & ankle seal. Semi-dry suits often come in two parts (long johns & a jacket) and are suitable for much cooler waters than Wet suits (typically as low as 5°C). Semi-dry suits cost more than wetsuits and may normally be purchased at around £150.

Dry Suit - (membrane and neoprene types) these keep your body completely dry. They do not allow water penetration as they have built in boots, a watertight zip & seals on the neck and wrists. As the water is not in direct contact with your body it can't cool you as quickly. To prevent heat being conducted through a membrane dry suit a under suit is worn. As neoprene suits have inherent insulating qualities they require less in the way of under suits, Dry suits are the best type of thermal insulation but require extra training to use and are considerably more expensive often-costing more than £400.

* My opinion, Many new students borrow or hire a suit till they are sure the sport is for them, alternatively you may consider buying a new or 2nd hand suit, As you need to be a competent diver with additional training before you can use a dry suit your first 5/10 open water divers will probably be in a semi dry suit, to limit the "flushing effect" it is essential that wet and semi dry suits are a close fit.

 

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