While warm water scuba diving in the Caribbean dominates travel brochures, many experienced recreational divers and technical divers prefer the challenge found in cold-water diving locales.
If you’ve never considered cold water diving, we’ll review some of the differences in gear and recommend some of the best dry suits for cold water diving.
What’s The Difference Between Scuba Diving and Cold Water Diving?
While scuba divers in warm locations can get away with wearing bathing suits, or thin, low coverage wetsuits, scuba divers who prefer cold water diving require more advanced, watertight suiting.
Cold water temperatures rapidly impede flexibility, strength, and stamina. If you plan to explore colder waters, you should invest in a dedicated dry suit.
What Is a Dry Suit?
The goal of any wetsuit or dry suit is to retain body heat. Wetsuits keep warm-water divers comfortable with neoprene and a thin layer of water trapped between the skin and the wetsuit. But in cold water temperatures of about 60°F or below, a heavy-duty dry suit is more effective diving gear for retaining body temperature.
Dry suits rely on trapped air and insulating undergarments to keep scuba divers warm in cold water. They also provide more consistent buoyancy control thanks to the trapped layer of air and lack of compression during deeper dives.
What Features Should Scuba Divers Look for in a Dry Suit?
When shopping for a dry suit, you’ll encounter a few different configurations and features. Some dry suits use neoprene for thermal protection while others rely on trilaminate.
Neoprene
Neoprene is a thicker material and insulates more effectively without bulky undergarments. Because neoprene suits offer a low-profile snug fit, they preserve range of motion. Traditionally, neoprene dry suits feature neoprene seals for both the neck seals and wrist seals.
Trilaminate
Membrane-style trilaminate dry suits are worn as a looser outer layer to accommodate thicker undergarments. Laminate suits typically feature latex seals. While latex seals are effective for keeping water out, they’re problematic for scuba divers with a latex allergy.
Top Scuba Diving Dry Suits To Consider
Here are some of the best dry suits available for cold-water diving, including offerings from top makers like Scubapro, Seac, and Waterproof.
1. Waterproof D10 Pro ISS Neoprene Dry Suit
Waterproof’s D10 Pro features 3.5mm high-density neoprene for impressive flexibility and range of motion. The included angled boots are reinforced with Kevlar for added protection, while padded, reinforced shoulders make tank harnesses more comfortable and secure.
Among the most high-tech dry suits on the market, the D10 is packed with safety and comfort features and represents a great investment for serious cold water divers.
2. Scubapro Everdry 4mm Dry Suit
Scubapro offers the Everdry Dry Suit in both men’s models and women’s models to match and complement the contours of a diver’s body.
This 4mm compressed-neoprene dry suit offers smooth wrist seals, compression resistance, and triple-glued, double-threaded reinforced seams. The attached neoprene soft socks and blue suspender system help enhance fit and functionality during and in between dives.
Helpful safety features like secure mounting locations for wrist instruments, utility thigh pockets with zippered closures, and heavy-duty valves and inlets make this an ideal dry suit for recreational and technical divers alike.
3. Scubapro Exodry Men’s Dry Suit
The Scubapro Exodry men’s dry suit offers a hybrid design featuring a neoprene body with latex wrist and neck seals. This delivers a helpful combination of impressive watertight seals and maximized range of motion.
This dry suit includes semi-rigid dive boots with fin-strap retainers, which are ideal for diving in the heads down position. A neoprene warm collar surrounds the suit’s latex neck seal for increased comfort during dives.
In extreme cold, you can wear the Exodry suit with undergarments. However, the plush lining adds warmth and increased comfort when diving without undergarments. That way, you can adjust to match any environmental conditions.
4. Seac Warm Dry Suit
Divers on a budget who don’t want to sacrifice features or safety will love the Seac Warm Dry Suit. With both men’s and women’s editions available, this model features an external coating of heavy-duty poly PK and Powertex over 4mm of neoprene. The nylon lining makes donning and doffing the suit much more manageable, while also helping to prevent water from seeping into the suit.
Reinforced padding on the shoulders, knees, elbows, and lower back provide comfort and protection. Plus, the expandable 1000D Cordura thigh pocket makes it easy to carry important dive and safety accessories.
