There are two different kinds of dry-suits, which are found on the market.

On one hand there are dry-suits made of neoprene and on the other hand there are so-called membrane-suits. Neoprene suits do have the advantage of the already mentioned insulation related to the gas bubbles within the neoprene.

They have proven themselves over many years, are said to be robust against outside influences but usually require the diver to carry additional lead to compensate their high buoyancy.

Membrane-suits made of rubber, nylon or trilaminate material are light and easy to wear but do require the use of an additional under-suit when diving in cold water temperatures. Due to the environmental pressure the air within this under-suit is compressed and therefore affects the magnitude of insulation.

In contrast to neoprene suits where the insulation starts decreasing when reaching a certain depth, this already happens to occur in relatively shallow waters when wearing a membrane-suit.

Generally it can be stated that the use of membrane suits requires smaller amounts of lead.