Why Dive a Dry Suit | ScubaShea.com

ell the quarries are open here in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area.  Haigh Quarry is open for visitors and water is nice and clear. About 40 foot of visibility last time I was diving there. Problem is that the water was less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. So as you can tell, without some sort of thermal protection those dives would not last long. So one of the more important features of diving with a dry suit is that it extends your diving season. I am not asking you to dive through the ice, but it is nice to go on a dive with the bright sunshine of a spring day. You can come up out of the water and strip the top down and enjoy the gorgeous weather. Even in a wet suit, you would have to strip out of the suit or you would just continue to get cold because of the water evaporating out of the suit which makes you cold. You don’t have to bring gallon jugs of warm/hot water. Some divers will take and dump “hot”water down their wet suit to be able to stay underwater longer this time of year. You would not have to go through that chore. You would bring hot liquids because you want to drink them. Might even bring a little stove to heat up some water for instant soup…. Not the suit itself. New suit construction makes diving in a dry suit more comfortable then diving in a wet suit. Some of these materials allow you to move around with more flexibility and keeps you warm and dry. You don’t have to dive an old neoprene or vulcanized rubber suit. I have dove both of those and I can tell you that even when my current suit restricts me it is not the same as those previously mentioned suit. Then if you dive one like LeeAnn’s, your mobility is even better. So hopefully these couple of items make you think about taking another look at diving a dry suit. No reason to wait till after the summer solstice to think about diving here in the Chicago area. There are more opportunities then that. Mike Shea www.ScubaShea.com

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