Gaiters

[burna]

I have only got 5 dives in on my new drysuit, all in less than 5 metres of water and have been suffering from floaty feet. I extract as much air from my suit before entering but still seem to have some in my feet.

I thought I'd try a pair of gaiters and after looking at Halcyon and Dive Rite I decided to go for the Dive Rite ones as with the buckles they looked easier to put on. The advertised picture looked like this,

4 large buckles, easy to tighten/adjust with a flap over the top. Looked the biz, so I ordered a pair.

The ones that turned up looked nothing like it, they are like this,
SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - Gaiters (sorry can't post picture)

The flap doesn't open up as it does in the second photo as they are stitched at top and bottom.

This design doesn't look anywhere near as good or as easy to don/doff. I don't whether to send them back or give them a try.

Just looking for some feedback on what they are like.

Thanks

BTW Drysuit is evo 2 with rock boots if that makes any diff.

 

[Kingmob3]

have you tried ankle weights yet? commercial are around $30/pair, DIY around $20.
Allen

 

[Belmont]

Are your fins negatively buoyant?

 

[IceBergSlim]

I would suggest you work for a while on the DS and re-evaluate after a dozen or so dives.

The gators seem like a solution now but with time and experience you may think them unnecessary. (and jeez, that's a lot of snaps, buckels and velcro)

 

[dave4868]

I have only got 5 dives in on my new drysuit, all in less than 5 metres of water and have been suffering from floaty feet. I extract as much air from my suit before entering but still seem to have some in my feet.

I thought I'd try a pair of gaiters and after looking at Halcyon and Dive Rite I decided to go for the Dive Rite ones as with the buckles they looked easier to put on. The advertised picture looked like this,

4 large buckles, easy to tighten/adjust with a flap over the top. Looked the biz, so I ordered a pair.

The ones that turned up looked nothing like it, they are like this,
SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - Gaiters (sorry can't post picture)

The flap doesn't open up as it does in the second photo as they are stitched at top and bottom.

This design doesn't look anywhere near as good or as easy to don/doff. I don't whether to send them back or give them a try.

Just looking for some feedback on what they are like.

Do these two pics show the version you received instead of the 5-buckle version you ordered?

Are you saying the manufacturer has further changed their design by sewing the protective flap down at the sides? Might it possibly be a "second quality" item with defective sewing?

Both look pretty easy to don, but I'd agree, the 4-buckle version shown in your pic may be easier and might even be more effective, too.

But first, is your issue of "floaty feet" a constant trim issue or is it just when the air bubble moves into the legs?

If it's constant, you may find, as others have suggested, that more experience in the suit may show you other solutions. Those might include purging more air from your suit while in the water, moving your tank lower on your body, wearing heavier fins and/or ankle weights, shifting some weight from integrated pockets to a weight belt, or even wearing more insulation in the chest area, etc.

If it's an intermittent trim issue from the shifting of air to your legs, the gaiters will probably help, especially if your suit's legs are somewhat baggy over your current insulation. Purging more from the suit will also help, but you'll be colder as a result and your range of mobility may be restricted by the squeezed suit.

If it were me, I'd experiment a bit more before committing to the gaiters. There are often multiple factors and solutions to drysuit trim problems and, in a few more dives, you may find simpler solutions you like better.

Dave C

 

[hollywood703]

I also had the floaty feet feel when i first started DS diving, I love my fins, and come to find out they are positively bouyant which causes my feet to float up, allowing more air into the legs. which compounded things. What i did to find out how bouyant my fins where (which might be the case if yours float too) is tie a small bag of weight to fins, slowly adding more weight until i found what it took to sink it just slightly. I then made ankle weights just a bit heavier than the counter weight of the fins. I also use rock boots (which may float also depending on brands and size) All of these little things will compound into feet up position, moving air into the legs more. I am thinking of trying a piece of 3" velcro and wrapping the calf after i walk into water forcing the air into upper suit, while the legs are under water, just wrapping the single piece of velcro around the upper calf and testing it. I mainly need this more for when i use the thicker thermals. Just some food for thought

 

[RJP]

have you tried ankle weights yet? commercial are around $30/pair, DIY around $20.
Allen

IMHO, ankle weights should be avoided at all cost. If the problem is too much air getting in your legs, use gaiters to solve the problem by not allowing air to get there. Why allow the problem to continue and treat the symptom.

The Halcyon gaiters are superior to the DR ones. When DR had the four-strap version they were sort of OK, but when they switched to the newer design they fell way behind. The Halcyon are easy to don/doff and very comfortable.

Halcyon Gators at www.DiveSeekers.com - Free Shipping!

 

[masterof0]

A problem I had when I first went to my drysuit was actually not a problem of floaty feet, but a problem of weight distribution. I had been diving HP80s which centralized a lot of the weight high on my back. This, along with the air bubble moving into my feet gave me the feeling of floaty feet, but it was actually the weight putting me in a face down situation. I tried everything incluing gaitors, ankle weights, fins, etc I could think of to help resolve the issue. It wasn't until I went to a HP100 or taller tank, which redistributed the weight and moved it further down, was I able to eliminate my "floaty feet" syndrome. Doing this also eliminated the need for gaitors or ankle weights.

 

[a22shady]

I am new to diving But my girlfriend had the same problem but for our checkout dives she used ankle weights but quite tiring during the dives so We are to goin Buy the Halcyon ones just from holding them and looking at them and researching them You can see a difference in the two and it just looks as the Halcyon ones are made better

 

[mikerault]

I used gaiters for a while, but now don't/ They were helpful initially.