Interesting reads.
I sell and rode both styles a lot and went from crappy neo style stiff dry suit, to top of the line OR baggy dry suit years ago and then last year I thought I'd try a neoprene style 6/5/4 hooded NPX Zealot. Wow...what a difference. I wasn't expecting much, but was surprised.
Loved the OR dry suit, but when it was cold, the layering made me feel like the Michelin man and flexibility suffered. Newer 6/5/4's are very flexible and just as warm with much less layering needed.
Also, no matter what, I was soaked in my dry suit after every session and it's no fun taking off layers and layers of wet cloths when it's cold.
So I would have to get naked in the cold no matter what suit i wore. You can't just take the suit off and get in the car unless you didn't work at all while on the water.
If just standing around in the wind, both suits would get cold, so wearing winter jackets were often the answers or sitting in the truck with the heat blasting.
The first day I rode the 6/5/4 hooded was in water where ice was still on the lakes, so the water was COLD. I purposely sat in the water for over 5 minutes to see if I would get cold and did not.
Plus, the cost is much less.
Side note. Newer baggy styles might have better cuts for better flexibility and my layering may not have been as good as it could be at times, but getting wet inside my dry suits drove me nuts. I tried many ways of making sure the seals were tight so water would not seep in. I think they are great suits, but just want to make sure facts are known.
One advantage of a good baggy style dry is it might be easier to use one suit and layer appropriate compared to 2 or 3 wet suits to fill the same temps.
Hope this helps,
bob
www.kiteridersllc.com