A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit may also incorporate a breathing gas supply (such as for a standard diving dress or atmospheric diving suit), but in most cases the term applies only to the environmental protective covering worn by the diver. The breathing gas supply is usually referred to separately. There is no generic term for the combination of suit and breathing apparatus alone. It is generally referred to as diving equipment or dive gear along with any other equipment necessary for the dive. Diving suits can be divided into two classes: "soft" or ambient pressure diving suits – examples are wetsuits, dry suits, semi-dry suits and dive skins – and "hard" or atmospheric pressure diving suits, armored suits that keep the diver at atmospheric pressure at any depth within the operating range of the suit. The diving suit is worn as protection from the diving environment. This has several aspects, the importance of which may vary depending on the specific environment of the dive. Atmospheric diving suits primarily isolate the diver from the ambient pressure, and all the complications it brings as consequences of breathing gas under pressure. Ambient pressure suits – dive skins, wetsuits and dry suits – have no pressure isolation effect, and are usually primarily worn for thermal protection. Thermal protection can also influence decompression. A common secondary purpose of dive skins, wetsuits and dry suits is protection from abrasion, stings from sea animals and minor cuts and impact injury. In some environments containing hazardous materials or microorganisms, the dry suit has the primary function of isolating the diver from the hazardous materials or microorganisms. This type of suit relies on full watertight coverage for effective protection. These additional functions are inherently available from the atmospheric diving suit. Underwater diving#HistoryDry suit#History and Wetsuit#History Charles C.-J.

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Related concepts (18)
Underwater diving
Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context. Immersion in water and exposure to high ambient pressure have physiological effects that limit the depths and duration possible in ambient pressure diving.
Breathing gas
A breathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration. Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas, but other mixtures of gases, or pure oxygen, are also used in breathing equipment and enclosed habitats such as scuba equipment, surface supplied diving equipment, recompression chambers, high-altitude mountaineering, high-flying aircraft, submarines, space suits, spacecraft, medical life support and first aid equipment, and anaesthetic machines.
Dry suit
A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated water. A dry suit normally protects the whole body except the head, hands, and possibly the feet. In hazmat configurations, however, all of these are covered as well. The main difference between dry suits and wetsuits is that dry suits are designed to prevent water from entering.
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