Dry Suit Diving

I took the Dry suit course last weekend and had a familiarisation session in the pool followed by 2 ocean dives at Oak Park

Sam was the instructor and Ben and Chris were the other participants on the course.

Sam, Chris, Me and Ben

Overall the drysuit was good but I don't know that Sydney shore diving warrants the expense and trouble of a dry suit. Sure it gets cold in July and August but a good 7mm semi-dry with a hood is really all that is needed to keep diving.

Chris, Sam, Ben and Me in the dry suits

I found that my kicking action under the water had to be adapted as I tended to pull my legs in towards my body due to the air and extra buoyancy in my legs in a dry suit.

 The extra weight required for a dry suit is quite something. I usually dive with a 7/5mm wetsuit with 8lb but with the dry suit I needed 24lb which makes the walk from the shore to the car a chiropractors nightmare.

Sydney put on a typical sunny winters day for the course that lessened the value of the dry suit. On the day If it had of been 12 degrees and windy the dry suit would have offered so much more value, but it was 20 degrees and sunny with factor 30 sun protection needed more than a dry suit.


The "Onesy" (1'sy) underneath the drysuit  is a great piece of clothing and caused great amusement at times.

Sam, Colin & Ben in the "Onesy"

If I were to regularly go diving further south on a boat in the winter or take up Cave Diving then I would consider owning a dry suit. but for Sydney shore diving a good 7mm Vulcan wetsuit seems to offer me better value for my needs.
I know that I could moderate the temperature for year round diving with a dry suit by selecting different undergarments but my back just would not cope with all the extra weight required.
I recommend trying a dry suit in a course if you want to find out more or if you find it too cold in the winter to continue diving it would be a great solution as they are most definitely warmer than wetsuits. But for a rugged old Pom like me the water just doesn't get that cold in winter.