Basic drysuit use questions

[lexvil]

First thing is to check trim as has been hit on several times but it would if you provided some other info like;

Are you cold?

What is the water temp?

What under garments are you using?

What b/c type?

Total weight you are using?

I use the suit for buoyancy because I use it for no squeeze and warmth, once I have the squeeze adjusted the warmth comes next, to much weight will make you feel cold at the lower end which could be your feet if trim is bad the whole front of your body if trim is good (to big of a bubble on top causes over compression of the insulation at the bottom, to see an example seal a plastic bag on your wrist, hand in the bag, and push it down into a column of water and you’ll see bubble on top and all the pressure on the bottom.) lead equals warmth until it doesn’t.

Once you have trim right and weight right you’ll love the suit until it leaks and than the next round of trouble shooting starts.

Once all of this is worked out you will probably need to change the neck seal, don’t trim the new one until you have a few dozen dives on it.

 

[Stoo]

I use the suit for buoyancy because I use it for no squeeze and warmth...

There's a few things that come to mind, although diagnosing someone's drysuit challenges without seeing them is a little like a mechanic diagnosing a problem with you car when you call them and say your car is making a funny noise.

First of all, and as others have mentioned, how is your trim? If you aren't essentially horizontal, you're going to have problems getting air where you want it. If you have a friend who is an experienced drysuit diver, they may be able to help you tweak that.

Second, I kinda think your neck seal might be a little lose. If you trim a seal when it's new, this can happen since most "give" a little as you get a few times. Many of us will stretch a new seal over a tank for a night, suffer through a few dives, then trim it if it's still snug. Generally you should be able to slip a couple of fingers under the seal and have it snug to tight over your fingers. If it's sloppy, your seal is to lose. If it's a neoprene seal, you should be tucking it in on itself.

And finally, have a more experienced drysuit diver/Instructor help you with a buoyancy check. My guess is that you're overweighted.

Most people get the hang of a drysuit in a few dives, but most also take a lot of dives to really become proficient. I like to think of the suit as a bubble, and you're in the middle of it. Too much air in it (the result of too much lead) means that you'll have large pockets of air shifting around inside which will create all kinds of problems.

As for using your suit or BC/wing for buoyancy, I think you'll get an even split on this in any group of divers. I use my suit, unless I need additional lift for something, but that's rare.

 

[W W Meixner]

My drysuit continues to confound me. I'm trying to get used to it, instead of going back to a wetsuit. Yes, I took the class, and had a fine instructor. The thing molds tightly onto me, which is what drysuits do when in the water. That bugs me because I don't like any constriction on my chest, as it set me off. Also, the pee valve pushing into me when I'm not wearing thick insulation is far from comfortable. But adding air just seems to cause burping out the neck, rather than air going further into it. I would think that unless I was overweighted heavily, I'll never be able to puff it up enough so it's comfortable. What am I missing?

Paul...

My common question is to ask what is your weight and dimensions...and what is the size of the suit...it sounds to me from the little you have posted that the suit is too large...you've got air trapped in the over-bulk...and you're trying to over-compensate for the positive buoyancy with far too much ballast...if you've inflated the suit to a point where your exhausting through the neck...my guess is ...the suit is far too large...and you're wearing far too much ballast...

As an example...if you're personal dimensions/weight are large/tall...your suit should be a large/tall...if the inseam was too short on a large size suit and you opted for an XL to gain the extra suit inseam length...the XL suit will be far too large for you...as it was designed for a body dimension that is 30/50 pounds heavier than you are...

A properly fitting dry-suit and under-garment combo should require no more ballast than a properly fitting 7 mm wet suit...

A suit that is too large will trap air...making it difficult...and often near impossible to get and stay neutral...plus all the wrinkles created when the suit is exhausting during descent...makes suit ''squeeze'' all that more uncomfortable...I'll bet post dive...your body looks like a purple road map...covered in ''pinch bruises''...

I dive cold water throughout the season...dry-suit full time...no ballast at all with small doubles...HP 80's/HP 100's...26 pounds of ballast with rebreather...16 pounds of ballast with large HP 117 cu ft singles/19 cu ft bailout...

Practice your buoyancy in the shallows/pool with assistance...start with the smallest weight ballast first...

If the suit is too large...it's too large...and should be changed for a suit that fits properly...

Of all the ''first dry-suit'' pitfalls...too large a suit...too much ballast...are at the top of the list...

Hope I've helped...

Best...

Warren

 

[JackD342]

Regarding the chest constriction you are feeling: Does your BCD have a sternum strap? If so, be sure that is not too tight. I had a few dives where I thought my regulator was underperforming until I realized it was the strap.