DUI Dry Suits

So we had to move out of the Hydro Lodge in High Springs, and web reports were indicating that the diving conditions at Peacock Springs had improved to the point where there were some areas of 20-30 feet visibility (6-10m). The area around Peacock Springs is riddled with springs and cave systems, so this was the most logical next step for our diving holiday.

High Springs to Luraville with some of the cave systems along the Suwanee River

Dive locations around Luraville

We had made a reservation at the Dive Outpost which is less than a 5min drive away from Peacock Springs. First though we headed to Gainesville to collect our Otter dry suits from Steve Gamble who had leak tested them (still no leaks after 5 years of diving) and then fitted them with new wrist and neck seals.

And then we got the call to let us know that our new DUI dry suits had arrived at Extreme Exposure in High Springs. Kev and I had measured up for the new DUI suits back in South Africa, but they take 6-8 weeks to get made. We were really excited to receive these suits. We've seen our friends wearing these crushed neoprene suits, and compared to our Otters which are trilam and feel like you're wearing a large non-stretchy bulky plastic bag, the crushed neoprene suits seem to be more fitting and stretchy and far more comfortable. Because the suits are crushed neoprene, they also offer more insulation than a trilam suit.

Do to the additional insulation we assumed that these suits would be warmer than the Otters. We are also not currently diving in the coldest water, after all we've made it for 6 weeks of diving wet. So a couple of days before, we had gone to get ourselves some thin close-fitting quick-wicking garments to use instead of our thick dry suit inners. Kev managed to find pants and a shirt in the quick-wick material, but I only managed to get a shirt and some normal thin tracksuit pants.

Me in my new quick-wick "inners"

Kev in his new quick-wick "inners"

We got to Extreme Exposure and they kindly handed over their shop floor, allowing us to open the DUI boxes and try on our suits and cut our seals right there. Kev also bought a new DUI inner from them which he'll use in colder waters back in SA. The suits were like silk! We'd heard that they would be heavy out of the water, but compared to the Otter suits they were light, stretchy, form-fitting and soft. Wow! I always felt like the Michelin Man in my Otter. The DUI felt amazing, almost as comfortable as my wetsuit, and not really any more restrictive! Wow!

Kev getting into the new DUI dry suit at Extreme Exposure

Kev almost has his new DUI on

Suave

Happy with our purchases and the prospect of some dry, warm diving, we headed up to Peacock Springs State Park and the Dive Outpost. It was already about 2pm when we got settled in and we needed time to re-adjust our machine harnesses for dry suits and to check all our configs, so instead of diving we drove 30miles to Live Oak to the Brown Lantern for a yummy huge steak dinner before returning to set up for the next day (thanks Wayne from Amigos for the restaurant tip). That's only our 5th dinner out since we came to America,and it was delicious)!