It is February in Wyoming. We are leaving the cold and snow for the warmth of the Bahamas. Nine days of sailing and diving the Bahamas, what could be better?

Let me say I have done my share of cold water diving and the Bahamian waters will be welcomed. I used to be a rather corpulent person and have shed over 100 pounds. With the weight loss I get cold much easier. In February of 2005 we made this same trip and I used a 5/4/3 wetsuit. The water temperatures were in the mid 70ºs. I found I was darned chilled after the third dive of the day. Unable to re-warm before the fourth dive I would end my diving for the day.

I own and love a DUI CF300X drysuit. It has always kept we warm, even on –20ºF days. With this in mind my quest was on for a tropical drysuit.

I spoke with several drysuit manufactures to see what they offered for a tropical drysuit. As before, I kept coming back to DUI and their great products. One thing I have learned in life is you get what you pay for. The DUI 30/30 was my choice.

I received my 30/30 and gave it a test dive in the pool. This suit dons easily, and is amazingly light in weight with its quality material. The waistband supports the suit when preparing for my dive. I would like to see ZipSeals™ offered on this model. My first impression was how streamline the suit was while swimming. Freedom of movement was not a problem. Some of the other tropical drysuits I looked at did not have a zipper guard, nor did they have any protective covering of wrist and ankle seals. These are great features on the 30/30 and this drysuit will last a long time because of this.

With my 30/30 in tow we arrived on Grand Bahamas, and headed to the Lucaya Marina where we met the Lost Island Voyages, Avalon. Our first day of diving greeted us with overcast weather and rain. The air temperature was only 59ºF and the water temp was 73ºF.

I slipped into the 30/30 and was very comfortable being well protected from the wind and sea spray. We hit the water and it felt warm compared to the air. Using a current line we pulled ourselves to the mooring line to make our decent. A 31-minute dive to a depth of 102’ and the 30/30 was flawless.

The freedom of movement in the 30/30 is great; I am amazed at how trim the 30/30 feels. No excess bulk to cause drag. One of the best parts of the dive was getting out. No cold breeze to greet me, and best yet when the 30/30 was doffed I was dry. This made it easy for me to toss on my foul weather gear and I was warm and comfortable topside. Drysuit diving in the tropics, who would have thought.

The week has come and gone, the diving was great, the weather did turn warm, and the water stayed at about 74º. My after thoughts are rather simple; any winter trip to the Caribbean will include the DUI 30/30. It was great to get in several dives and not be affected by the cumulative chill that occurs when diving in “warm water”. Others on the trip sure felt the water temperatures drain them after the second or third dive. I was comfortable even after four dives. I never had to put on a cold wetsuit. I just slipped on my dry thermals. I was also very impressed as to how fast the 30/30 dried in between dives. Another plus was the ease of putting the suit on. I had injured my shoulder two weeks before this trip and my range of motion was severely limited. With a little help from my wife the suit was a breeze to put on. Others on the trip commented that a tropical dry suit would be on their wish list.

Thanks,

Scott Hughes
Soggy Moose Diving
PADI MSDT 161292

After receiving numerous requests DUI ZipSeals™are now an available option on the 30/30.