All I can say is I hate drysuits!

[doole]

And this is the suit's fault HOW?

If you mistreat ANY piece of equipment, it will "bite you"; a drysuit is no exception. The same thing could have happened with sand & your BC LPI.

No offense, but a tarp or similar ground cover goes a long way to solving many similar shore diving hazards.

As for the sommersaults, various venting techniques, etc., only PRACTICE makes them useful. In the end you were probably saved by the one you have the most distain for: the flare. It slowed you down enough so that you didn't embolize (or worse).

Drysuits RULE!!!

Absolutely no offense taken. As a diver, I long ago realized that absolutely everything is my fault.

I have no disdain for the flare. In fact, it was the only even remotely useful skill in that scenario. Tarp - absolutely. Nobody teaches that, though. And these days, I check the dump valve six different ways from sunday before I splash.

Nobody teaches that either, that I know of.

No amount of practice makes a technique useful if there isn't enough time to do it in real life anyway, however.

 

[darylm74]

I have a Viking Xtreme and just ordered a new TLS350. It took me a little while to get used to my drysuit, probably about 10 dives and from time to time I still have problems with it. I had a very good teacher and he helped me fix out my general problems, but let me fumble some too. Just have to learn from our mistakes. I wear the ankle weights all the time. They help me balance out but I never found they were great at keeping air out. I'll have to see what happens when I get my TLS350 in (5 weeks and counting).

Perhaps with many issues adults tend to despise anything that has a learning curve. We often give up to easily, where as a kid we were always up for a learning challenge. Just think about how many times you fell off your bicycle before you got the hang of it, or better yet, rollerskates/blades. Mom always said, be patient and never give up.......I think that is the key here.

 

[SubMariner]

Absolutely no offense taken. As a diver, I long ago realized that absolutely everything is my fault.

I have no disdain for the flare. In fact, it was the only even remotely useful skill in that scenario. Tarp - absolutely. Nobody teaches that, though. And these days, I check the dump valve six different ways from sunday before I splash.

Nobody teaches that either, that I know of.

Unfortunately, it sounds like your drysuit Instruction was lacking a bit. On behalf of good drysuit Instructors, I apologize.

As for the tarp...good grief, any self-respecting Canuck has one in their garage from Canadian Tire. Don't they have any out in The Peg?

No amount of practice makes a technique useful if there isn't enough time to do it in real life anyway, however.

Sad, but true. But as I said before, the same could have happened with a stuck LPI.

Bonne chance,

 

[doole]

Unfortunately, it sounds like your drysuit Instruction was lacking a bit. On behalf of good drysuit Instructors, I apologize.

As for the tarp...good grief, any self-respecting Canuck has one in their garage from Canadian Tire. Don't they have any out in The Peg?

Sad, but true. But as I said before, the same could have happened with a stuck LPI.

Bonne chance,

I had actually been advised not to bother taking the course.

Tarps became redundant after the advent of my beloved 4runner. I just sit on its beloved tailgate and the birds are singing and God is in his/her/whatever place.

The 'sad but true' point is really the one I was trying to make. What's the point of teaching people to vent through a seal if it probably isn't going to work?

 

[radinator]

Perhaps taking the course would have helped.

I took a course, and one of my practice skills was to hang on to a heavy weight belt at the bottom of the 12' pool and overinflate my suit to the point where I was almost lifting the 16 (or so) pound belt (this was in addition to my normal weighting). Then I had to let go and invert and vent before hitting the surface. We also did "valve failure" drills, where the venting had to be from the neck or wrist seal. It was all doable, and the flips and somersaults are not just theory - they work.

 

[jonnythan]

Perhaps taking the course would have helped.

I took a course, and one of my practice skills was to hang on to a heavy weight belt at the bottom of the 12' pool and overinflate my suit to the point where I was almost lifting the 16 (or so) pound belt (this was in addition to my normal weighting). Then I had to let go and invert and vent before hitting the surface. We also did "valve failure" drills, where the venting had to be from the neck or wrist seal. It was all doable, and the flips and somersaults are not just theory - they work.

Did you try this with a thick hood and drygloves?

 

[radinator]

I have never worn drygloves, just wet gloves. It was mentioned in class that drygloves would interfere with the wrist seals. I guess I missed your mentioning drygloves in your story.

As for a hood, I wasn't wearing one, but that's how I normally dive anyway. I wear a "dive beanie" which doesn't cover the neck. (This is for SoCal Pacific diving)

With those additions to the setup, I can see how it would be difficult and that the class conditions might not match the real world.

An Aside on that:: I recently tried to hold neutral buoyancy in the water column while removing my mask (unlike the class sessions, where they generally teach it while kneeling on the bottom). I recommend this "closer to real world" skill to people. It's harder than you think. Yet, when you actually need the skill, that's probably how it will happen.

 

[doole]

With those additions to the setup, I can see how it would be difficult and that the class conditions might not match the real world.

An Aside on that:: I recently tried to hold neutral buoyancy in the water column while removing my mask (unlike the class sessions, where they generally teach it while kneeling on the bottom). I recommend this skill to people. It's harder than you think. Yet, when you actually need the skill, that's probably how it will happen.

Finally - somebody who sees the point. :dazzler1:

"The real world" - thanks for speaking my language. I like the mask excercise, too.

As for the rest of you, try venting through a neoprene neck seal covered by a DUI 'warm neck' hood while wearing 3mm gloves. I think it would be an order of magnitude faster to simply dismantle the seized dump valve. (Or knife the suit.)

Of course, the best training would address proper drysuit bouyancy techniques in the first place; rendering the need for desperate measures fairly minimal. Only the desperate take desperate measures.

 

[radinator]

Of course, the best training would address proper drysuit bouyancy techniques in the first place; rendering the need for desperate measures fairly minimal. Only the desperate take desperate measures.

Reminds me of a quote about pilots, which I will modify slightly:

"A superior diver uses his superior judgement so he doesn't have to rely on his superior skills."

Yet another:

"Practice the emergency so that it doesn't happen."

 

[doole]

Well, yeah. And I certainly don't mean to minimalize the need to know the desperate measures. They're quite appropriate, once you get desperate.