Neoprene vs. Trilaminate: A Guide to Drysuit Types

HERODIVER
Back to Articles

Leave a comment

Bottom line: A neoprene drysuit provides thermal insulation on its own, allowing you to dive with thin layers underneath. However, it's heavier, less flexible, and loses buoyancy and warmth the deeper you go. A trilaminate drysuit is lighter, relatively flexible, packs down to a smaller volume than neoprene, and maintains constant buoyancy at any depth. It also provides no insulation at all—warmth is based on the thermal undergarments you wear beneath it. For most divers, and especially for those who travel abroad with their gear or dive in variable conditions, trilaminate is the more worthwhile choice.

Moving to a drysuit is one of the most significant investments a diver can make—and one of the first decisions to make is which material. The two main types on the market are neoprene and trilaminate (also called a membrane or shell suit). Both keep you dry, but they behave completely differently in the water. Here's everything you need to know to choose correctly.

What is a neoprene drysuit?

A neoprene drysuit is made from neoprene, which is a type of foamed rubber. In fact, it's the same material used to make regular wetsuits, but the suit's construction is different. As a drysuit, it has neck seals, wrist seals, and watertight seams and a zipper. The neoprene contains air bubbles that provide built-in thermal insulation, meaning the suit itself insulates against the cold, and you can dive with only thin undergarments when the water isn't especially cold.

The diving market also offers compressed neoprene—neoprene that has been pre-compressed to remove most of the bubbles. Compressed neoprene reduces buoyancy changes as you descend and increases the material's durability—at the cost of less insulation compared to regular neoprene.

Caption

Row

Pair text with an image to focus on your chosen product, collection, or blog post. Add details on availability, style, or even provide a review.

Button label

  • Advantages of a neoprene suit:

    • Built-in insulation—you can dive with fewer thermal layers underneath.
    • Lower initial price.
    • Low repair cost.
    • A neoprene drysuit fits more snugly to the body and creates a hydrodynamic profile.
    • Requires less air to operate during the dive.
    • Very durable over time.

  • Column

    Pair text with an image to focus on your chosen product, collection, or blog post. Add details on availability, style, or even provide a review.

  • Disadvantages of a neoprene suit:

    • Heavier and bulkier—less convenient for travel and storage.
    • Less flexible—restricts movement, especially noticeable in technical diving (reaching valves).
    • Insulation and buoyancy change with depth: at depth the bubbles compress, and the suit loses a significant portion of its thermal value and buoyancy.
    • Longer drying time.

What is a trilaminate drysuit?

A trilaminate suit is made of three layers of material bonded together:

  1. A durable, abrasion-resistant outer layer (usually nylon or Cordura)
  2. A middle membrane layer that is watertight
  3. An inner reinforcing layer

The result is a lightweight, flexible "membrane" suit with minimal inherent buoyancy. This suit has no thermal insulation at all; warmth is maintained by the thermal undergarments worn beneath it. You can usually choose between several trilaminate models that combine different fabrics. ROFOS, whose products we import from Italy, offers three models:

  • Model RS360

    has an outer protective layer of polyester. It saves weight, but polyester is a less durable material than others. A model suited to divers who want to save weight when flying abroad

  • Model RS450K

    has an outer layer of Cordura, a strong and durable fabric that protects the watertight layer from abrasion. This model is heavier than the first, but more durable.

  • Model Cave

    a model with an outer layer of Kevlar, a very strong material that protects against penetration by sharp objects or abrasion. Suited to divers who perform dives in shipwrecks, where they are more likely to encounter such objects during the dive. The Kevlar makes this suit the heaviest of the three options.

  • Advantages of a trilaminate suit:

    • Lighter.
    • More compact.
    • Dries quickly—ideal for traveling divers.
    • High flexibility and free range of motion—a major advantage in technical diving.
    • Constant buoyancy at any depth—the material the suit is made from contains no air bubbles, so buoyancy doesn't change as you descend.
    • Versatile: you add or remove thermal layers according to the temperature, so the same suit is suitable for both cold and warm water.

  • Disadvantages of a trilaminate suit:

    • Not insulating—you must use appropriate thermal undergarments.
    • Higher initial price.
    • Requires more routine maintenance, as the material is more delicate than neoprene.
    • Requires more air during the dive to operate insulation and buoyancy control.

What about diving in Israel?

In Israel, diving conditions differ from those in Northern Europe: in Eilat and the Mediterranean in summer, the water is considered relatively warm. In winter and spring the water temperature is colder and drops below 22°C (72°F), and at the peak of winter the temperature can reach 15°C (59°F) in the Mediterranean.

In recent years, the use of drysuits in Israel has been growing. Divers are discovering that with a drysuit, neither the water temperature nor the temperature above the surface is any longer a factor in whether to dive. For some divers this is an essential solution for several months of the year, while others switch to a drysuit and prefer to dive with it most of the year—saving themselves the stress involved in dealing with cold underwater.


The attached graph is based on sea surface temperature data from Copernicus, a reliable satellite-oceanographic source that provides continuous SST time series. The graph represents the monthly average temperature over the past five years in the Mediterranean off the coast of Israel (blue) and in the Gulf of Eilat (orange), so you can see the temperature changes according to the seasons as well as the consistent difference between the two regions.


Looking at the graph highlights the advantage of the trilaminate suit: the same suit, by changing only the thermal undergarments, is suitable for the full range of seasons—both when temperatures drop in winter and when they warm up—without buying and maintaining two suits.

How to choose? Three guiding questions

  • Where and when do I dive?


    A fixed location and relatively cold water temperature—neoprene is preferable. Variable conditions or frequent travel—trilaminate is preferable.

  • How important is freedom of movement to me?


    When it comes to technical diving or the need to reach valves easily—a clear advantage for trilaminate.

  • What is the total budget?


    Limited budget—preference for neoprene. Remember to include thermal undergarments in the calculation—with trilaminate it's essential, and with neoprene it's optional. There are thermal garments specifically designed for drysuits that enhance the experience, but regular thermal wear will also do a good job.

A final tip: there's no substitute for trying it on.

If possible, try both types at the dive center before you decide—how the suit feels out of and in the water is sometimes the deciding factor.

And of course—safety first. Using a drysuit requires drysuit certification. This is a two-dive certification day that can be completed both in Israel and abroad. We at HERODIVER are the only ones in Israel who allow you to rent a drysuit for the course, so that you can experience diving with a drysuit before deciding whether to purchase one for yourself.

The author is a sea lover with 18 years of diving experience. A mechanical engineer, a diving instructor in Israel and abroad, and the founder of HERODIVER.