All I can say is I hate drysuits!

[WreckedDiver]

My neoprene wrist seals used to deteriorate and either get holes, rip or unravel. The latex I love, but I usually don't have a problem with cold water.

 

[mickytwo]

OTOH I've had two drysuits with neo wrist seals and haven't had a problem there - yet. The current one has like 300 dives on it.

Why did you have to replace yours? My friends with latex often complain that they're cold.

Wrist seals will last longer if you use ky jelly on the seal and around the wrist on the neck seal talc non purfumed, ive a nortern diver suit and the seals are still fine after a lot of dives and most being sea dives.

regards mickytwo

 

[WreckedDiver]

Wrist seals will last longer if you use ky jelly on the seal and around the wrist on the neck seal talc non purfumed, ive a nortern diver suit and the seals are still fine after a lot of dives and most being sea dives.

regards mickytwo

Yet another use for ky jelly! Are you saying use this on neoprene seals?

 

[mickytwo]

yes you can use ky on both types of seals as it does not rot the rubber when putting the suit on and taking it off the wrists will slip in and out without little effoft,

 

[Panners]

Are you saying use this on neoprene seals?

Indeed, after all it's the only lubricant recommended (or your equivalent) for use with latex condoms!

 

[ScubaSarus]

My wrist seals are very loose on my suit. They take on a very minor amount of water but on the upside they don't get subjected to a lot of stress putting them on or taking them off.

115 posts for this thread. Congrads

 

[WreckedDiver]

Indeed, after all it's the only lubricant recommended (or your equivalent) for use with latex condoms!

My equivalent? Shucks! Is Ky antibacterial as well?

 

[String]

That's a snug hood! Cool! My hood is somewhat looser.

My old one was -- and colder. The only issue is traffic-cone head with trapped air (i havent stuck holes in this one yet. Occasionally i have to open the hood seal a bit to let water in to clear but as im so much warmer its the lesser of 2 evils. Only problem is i nearly suffocate trying to take the thing off post dive.

I wear Bare 5mil gloves that go up well over my wrists and have that velco strap tightener. But I have found that it's super easy to ditch and don gloves underwater especially easier than trying to don gloves for a second dive on shore when there wet and seem to develope into a cat's tongue for putting them on. Of course smart people use a little bit of soapy water on there gloves and hood for the second dive.

My gloves actually take longer to don than my BC as theyre tight fitting, takes a lots of stretching, banging and often pulling the final few cm with my teeth to get them on. Again though, once on theyre warm

Why do some people turn stuff 1/4 turn back? It seems like a bad idea to me. I turn everything either all the way on or totally off. Tank valves, dump valves and light switches! That way there is no doubt as to if it's on or off in a crisis.

Older tank valves could stick if full on. My one tank has a very old valve on it and when its on 100% it does tend to stick requiring a pliars or spanner to turn off after a dive. This became a problem recently when i had an uncontrolled freeflow on my main reg and neither myself nor buddy could physically turn it off underwater. Result was instead of turning it off, waiting for thaw then continuing dive i had to abort the dive on my pony entirely as i became OOA in a matter of seconds. From now on its always 1/4-1/2 a turn off for me on that one tank anyway.

 

[SeanQ]

My old one was -- and colder. The only issue is traffic-cone head with trapped air (i havent stuck holes in this one yet. Occasionally i have to open the hood seal a bit to let water in to clear but as im so much warmer its the lesser of 2 evils. Only problem is i nearly suffocate trying to take the thing off post dive.

My gloves actually take longer to don than my BC as theyre tight fitting, takes a lots of stretching, banging and often pulling the final few cm with my teeth to get them on. Again though, once on theyre warm

Hey, that sounds like me. Luckily my hood has a zipper on the back so I only suffocate during a hike to the entry point or parking lot.

My gloves are the same too. I can manage to put them on easily when they are dry; I might as well dive without them if they're wet.

 

[slowhands]

Like the title states, I hate drysuits. Got mine today and I wore it for the first and last time! The most uncomfortable, bouyant, irratating, thing I have ever tried to swim in. And I mean tried. Wasn't much swimming to it. Just alot of floating around with my damn feet straight up over my head with air pockets in the feet so big they knock my fins off.

OK, so there is more to using a dry suit than just putting it on and jumping in the water. Like many skills in diving, using a dry suit requires education, training, and experience to achieve competence.

First, go back to why you wanted a dry suit: because the water is too cold for a wetsuit dive. That has not changed. So get serious about learning about dry suit diving. Read a book or two about using a dry suit. The PADI specialty course book is OK for a start. You must learn how to achieve neutral buoyancy, just as you did without the dry suit (and didn't that take a few dives?). Take the PADI specialty course on dry suit diving, it's well worth the time and money.

In the course you should learn about exhausting the excess air from your suit before entering the water, establishing buoyancy at the surface, and maintaining just the right amount of air in your suit as you dive to avoid suit squeeze, but not too much so as to cause feet up ascents. Once you get that down, you should be much more comfortable.

You will also learn to deal with new types of incidents unique to drysuit diving, such as feet up ascent, runaway inflator, and suit flooding. As with all diving, having the knowledge and some practical training will enable you to stay calm and deal with these events if they occur.

If you still have problems with feet up ascent, you may need to change weight distribution by using a different weight system with a lower center of gravity, or even using ankle weights. You can also buy strap-on gators that constrict air near your ankles. But I have a feeling you may find that just entering with less air, staying feet down, and getting buoyancy correct at the surface will solve most of your problems.