|
What a diver wears on a dive plays a huge role in their bodies temperature control. Remember that the thrill and excitement of scuba diving stops when the diver starts to experience chill from the freezing water temperatures of certain depths. This loss of body heat can be life threatening depending on the circumstances. Some wear scuba diving apparel such as nylon bathing suit, or either a wet or dry suit. Scuba diving apparel such as diving suits are designed and padded to keep a diver as warm as possible.
Scuba diving suits can be classified into three different types: body suit, wet suit, and dry suit. A body suit is usually made from Lycra or nylon, which provide full-length abrasion protection, but only a smallest insulation. This type of scuba diving apparel is best appropriate for tropical waters.
|
|
A wet suit is the most common form of diving suits, and has wide array of thickness suitable for insulation in water temperatures as cold as 50°F to as warm as 86°F. They are designed to trap in thin layer of water between the rubber suit and the skin and are usually constructed of neoprene. The body heats the water trapped in between, providing the needed warmth.
A dry suit is a full-length suit that is made of double-walled fabric with insulating air space between the layers. Air is much more effective than water, so for insulating purposes, the dry suits are way warmer than wet suits, and provides insulation through keeping the diver dry; this is the warmest diving suit protection especially in waters that are colder than 50°F.
Diving Unlimited International of San Diego is re-entering the vulcanized dry suit product with their RS1500 and RS1050 models. The dry suit is made up of 1,050gm/m2 or 1,500gm/ms vulcanized rubber coated dry suit shell in colors of red/black or all black, that features reinforced pads on the knees, hips, waist, seat, and shoulders; heavy duty neck seals and latex wrist; hood with hood liner; suspenders and wrist rings. They also have a complete line of hoods, gloves, and dams. This industrial-grade scuba diving apparel is already available at competitive prices through DUI's network of authorized dealers.
The type of scuba diving apparel selected will depend on the environment that one intends to dive in. The most important factor to consider in choosing is the warmth, comfort, and fit of the scuba diving apparel. One choice should consider the temperature of the water in the diving site. For warm water diving places, one can either go bare-skinned with regular bathing suit, or a simple nylon diving suit; however, for the coldest water temperature, the most excellent choice of scuba diving apparel would be the full-length dry suit.
