Dry Suits For Cold Water Environments

Ironically from the sound of its name, dry suits are a type of underwater wear. Dry suits serve the same objectives as wetsuits do but the former have more specialized function.

The primary difference between a wetsuit and a drysuit is the water-entry prevention feature that comes standard with dry suits. This feature allows for better insulation and more suitable for use in colder environments.

Just like wetsuits, dry suits keep the body thermal conditions comfortable to the wearer when under the water. Unlike the wetsuits though, they are capable of providing better insulation that makes them suitable for wear in extreme cold conditions.

Ideally, a drysuit is suitable for use when the water temperature is below 15°C or 60°F and for extended time of immersion in water above this temperature.

Dry suits are worn by divers, individuals who are into water sports and boaters. The suit keeps the body insulated and protected.

A dry suit can protect the whole body except the hands, the head and the feet. But if you want an over-all protection that includes these boy parts, all you need to do is purchase the additional gears available in stores like boots, hoods, helmets, gloves, etc.

A dry suit has two main parts: a shell and the seals. The shell composes more than 97% of the suit. It is either made of rubber foam, neoprene or a combination of both.

Dry suits have important differences attributed to material composition. If the suit is made out of the rubber foam, expect a thinner layer and thus a lower level of thermal insulation. The common materials for foam rubber drysuits include vulcanized rubber, butyl rubber or laminated nylon.

When it comes to comfort, rubber foam dry suits rank higher over the hybrid and neoprene-made dry suits. Wearers do not have to stretch the material over their bodies, making the suit easier to wear and remove. The non-stretchable feature of rubber foam dry suits makes this comfort possible. Because you cannot stretch rubber foam suits, you have to make them extra spacious for the wearer which also enables the user to move more freely. And for better insulation, you will have to wear thicker undersuit when you opt for rubber foam dry suits.

The traditional and most common material used in dry suits is the neoprene, a kind of polymer Neoprene provides more insulation than the rubber foam material but it gets to shrink overtime because it outgases, unless the material used is the crushed or rolled-type neoprene. By wearing a neoprene-made dry suit, you increase your thermal insulation and will not need to wear thick under suits.

A better option comes with the hybrid, which combines the total benefits of pure rubber foam and neoprene. Typically, the arms of the suit are made with the rubber foam while the chest part and torso are made with neoprene.

You can buy dry suits from local and online stores. Interestingly, some stores allow the do-it-yourself dry suits where you get to choose from the different design templates they have and incorporate the factors that you want to make it more specialized according to your needs.