Dry suit diving is one of the most popular speciatlies taught by all of PADI. Why? Well your diving season is extended by at least four months. As a matter of fact we dive year round in dry suits. The comfort and warmth offered by a dry suit makes diving more enjoyable for many. As many of you know in our area we have thermoclines. Thermoclines in our area can drop the water temperature several degress. The difference between surface temperature and bottom temperature can be twenty degress or more. This again is ideal diving in dry suits.

Remember, there is also a safety factor in diving in dry suits. If you remember from your Open Water Dive Course we have to increase our depth by ten feet in cold water when calculating our no decompression limit. Dry suits help to elimanate decompression sickness by keeping you warm.

How do Dry suits work? Well there to basic types  of dry suits. First we have the neopreme dry suit. The neopreme dry suit is a dry wet suit basicaly. The insulation comes from the suits thickness and the ability to lock out the cold. The second type of suit is the shell suit. This is more popular suit and the type we sell at J&T. The shell suit is a waterproff outer shell that simply keeps the water out. The warmth comes from the insulation you wear underneath. We offer the OS brand of suit. OS offers the PolarTech underwear with there suits. These come in different layers.  First there is a thin layer that is ideal for warmer waters down to about seventy degrees. Second they offer a heavy layer which is good down about fifty-five degrees. The nice thing about having two layers is you can combine them for even more warmth. We often dive in water forty degrees or colder in both layers.

What is the life expectance of a dry suit. If a suit is well maintianed and serviced as recommended by the manufacture you can get years of use from your suit. We often see suits that are twenty years old or older. So is it worth less than a hundred dollars a year to be more comfortable and increase your diving season. We certianly think so.

Come on by the store and let us show you how a dry suit works. We can show you the styles colors and choices availabe.