Diving suit

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.