Air in Feet

[Firediver]

I am wearing 2lbs ankle weights and I am still having a problem keeping my feet down at 15ft for my safety stop. Yesterday was my first time out and had to fight to get down past 15feet and fight to stay at 15 with my dive buddy holding my feet.... I had 36lbs of weight when in a wet suit I only need 25. I also vented as I came up from 60ft and had no problems while I was at depth. What can I do to keep my feet down?? Should I add more weight to my BC or add more around my ankles??????

 

[BradJ]

First time out?...

Drysuit diving is a whole new animal; I felt and continue to feel many dives later like a beginner in my drysuit.

Without knowing the details, if it's a matter of being feet-up, you're in trouble before you've even gotten started.

Why would you have a lot of air in the suit at 15' anyway? If you're properly weighted, at that depth squeeze isn't an issue and virtually all of the air should be vented. I would start with weighting (lose the ankle weights to begin).

I've found that I have to be a lot more careful with my trim in the suit, anticipating movements to avoid air shifts.

But at 15', that's a weighting issue... :54:

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

It doesn't sound to me like your problem is with weighting.

How well do your drysuit boots fit? How well does your suit fit in the waist and legs?

Sounds to me like you're trapping air somewhere that isn't being given a chance to reach your vent valve.

If your boots are too big, or fit your feet loosely, you may benefit from using fin-keepers rather than ankle weights. These are Y-shaped pieces of rubber that tighten your boots around your feet to keep them from filling with air.

If your suit's loose in the legs (i.e. too long or too wide around the forelegs), the extra fabric will form air pockets that may get trapped as you dive, providing buoyancy you don't want.

If the suit's too tight around the thighs or waist, air that migrates to the lower extremities may be getting trapped in your lower body, rather than being able to vent as your rise and the air expands.

I would look at how well your suit actually fits before thinking about adding any more weight.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Firediver]

I have my suit custom fit. When I put it on yesterday at the shop, the boots were snug with one pair of wool socks but I wore two when I dove.. The legs were fine no extra space<but at the shop I had my polar fleece pants and my track pants on when I tried it on.. when I dove I just had the fleece> and I did sqeeze all the air I could out of the suit before I got into the water and again in the water to force air out of my boots. It was my first time out and only used four quick shots of air enough to get rid of the squeeze of the valve off my chest when I was at 60' I didn't add any air into the suit until I hit 35'. When returning to 15' from 60' I made sure to vent as I went up and keep my feet down.. but once I hit 15' my feet went up... I managed to stay down for a minute or so while holding onto a rock.. my dive buddy went to hand me another and I lost my grip and waved Bye bye to him.. while laughing and up I went feet first.... it's funny to me because I knew I would be ok... but I know it's not a good thing for that to happen.... my buddy tried to hold me down to and I was laughing under water he didn't know what to think.....

Should I add like 10lbs more to my belt and see if that will help??.. I am comfortable with the suit after one dive had neutral bouyancy at 50' and no issues....but I still have a lot to learn about it...

 

[Firediver]

But I also had a problem with the Fins I had on.. made me feel as though I would loose my boots.. too much space in the foot pocket. I have a size 7 boot....and was using a Cressi Frog S-M fin.. I didn't like them at all couldn't move any water with them.. I guess is the foot pocket was a tad to big..

Would it be a good idea to add another set of ankle weights to my ankles?? I do have elastic boot straps I could put around my ankle to make it more snug and not allow air to pass.. but when the suit compresses these will loosen.

 

[Laser]

What kind of suit ? I hated the rockboots because they made me feel just as you describe. I tossed them and went to a wetsuit booty and all is well.
Don't start adding ankle weights. There is never a need for ankle weights, let alone more.

 

[Firediver]

What kind of suit ? I hated the rockboots because they made me feel just as you describe. I tossed them and went to a wetsuit booty and all is well.
Don't start adding ankle weights. There is never a need for ankle weights, let alone more.

It's an Abyss Explorer. 7mm compressed to 4mm neoprene suit. http://www.abyssdivingsuits.com/ I like the boots.. keep my feet warm and dry.. I am not sure but I think I will add more weight to my belt or BC and see if that makes any sort of difference. But I will keep the ankle weights I have.

 

[Snowbear]

It doesn't sound like you need to add more weight. If you add more weight, you may find you compound the problem, especially if you're using the DS for buoyancy and have to add more air to compensate.

It sounds like you need to practice using your suit. I've found I need to anticipate a bit when I need to vent it - gas in my boots or legs (I don't use ankle weights and dive with my feet above the rest of me) takes a second or two to get to the vent on my arm, then the effect of the gas release on my buoyancy takes another moment to catch up.

 

[bridgediver]

I'll echo the others as well with "loose the ankle weights". You're better off without them.
One thing to consider is that fleece is very bouyant and doesn't compress very well so you may need alot more weight than other underwear.
I'd go ahead and add a bit more weight (maybe not 10lbs but start with 5). Once you get used to the suit you'll probably end up dropping back down again

 

[NEWreckDiver]

I would look at your weight belt. If it is a little too tight then it will not let the air move to the top of your suit to reach the exhaust valve. Try loosing it just a little. You may also simply just try to wiggle a little if you feel yourself getting a little light.

Make sure that you have your exhaust valve all the way open when you start your ascent and remember to try and keep your exhaust valve the highest point while ascending.

For now, keep the angle weights. They may help you until you get more comfortable with the suit.

Oh, one question, did you take a dry suit course first? If not, take one. They will help get things straightened out.

Good Luck to you