Dialing in my weight with a Farmer John-tips please

[MaxBottomtime]

I've heard the same thing, but never any actual evidence. As long as you use your BC for buoyancy and drysuit for warmth you will never have the problem of too much air in your suit. If you actually do have too much in your suit you will notice it before it becomes a problem. Most drysuit divers leave their dump valves open so that any excess air escapes.
You might also look on Ebay for cheap drysuits. I've had a couple of good experiences with them. One suit I bought for around $300 included thick undergarments. I made about 100 dives in that suit before giving it to Jeff Shaw. He's used it for the past couple of years. It's a bilam suit, so it tears easily, but can be repaired with tape or bicycle patches. I'm still using the undergarments after three years.
Oh, and there is a saying in the dive retail biz. A semi-dry wetsuit is like being semi-pregnant.

 

[SPKelpDiver]

Haha, for sure. I will look into it, being cold sucks! Thanks for the help.

 

[ligersandtions]

If you can hook up with an experienced drysuit diver, they can give you an unofficial drysuit class. I went out with a friend of mine and she showed me the ropes....I'm sure I got more out of the unofficial class than I would have for a crappy class through an LDS. It definitely takes a while to get used to, and it's still not auto-pilot for me....but the feet-first ascent is an urban legend that I've yet to hear anyone actually experience, unless they are purposely doing it to work on arresting the foot-first ascent.

If you get into a drysuit sometime in the near future and need someone to take you out, I would be more than willing to do so

 

[SPKelpDiver]

Awesome, I will take you up on that offer. I am saving up currently. any suggestions on brands?

 

[ligersandtions]

I don't necessarily have a brand suggestion, but I would say if you want to continue diving in socal (over rocky terrain and surf entry), you need to get a durable suit. Crushed neoprene or cordura work well for this kind of diving. I dive a DUI CF200, crushed neoprene suit and I love it.

A trilam suit, although light weight and quick drying, will not hold up well if you get knocked into rocks and stuff. It is definitely not the most durable material you can get.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Pacific Wilderness sells Diving Concepts. I have the Duraflex. It's bullet proof, great for Marineland, but very expensive. I made over 800 dives in wetsuits before I finally cracked the seal on my piggy bank and got a drysuit. I've made a total of two wetsuit dives in the past seven years and have no plans to dive wet again. I'm such a wuss.
You could go very cheap and get a used one on Ebay, but plan to patch it or get very lucky as Nicole did. You could get a moderately (we're talking dive gear here) priced drysuit and make boat dives or beach dives in Laguna or Vet's. You could spend too much, but be able to dive Marineland, Christmas Tree Cove or any other P.V. site involving goat trails and be able to drive home later in dry clothes.

 

[drdaddy]

I dive a 7mm farmer john w/7mm hood and a steel hp/3442 100 (& 13 cf pony). I am 5'10" 200 lbs (bit of a belly). I use 20 lbs of weight.

I dive regularly (last Friday & and tomorrow/Friday) in about 48 degree Fahrenheit ocean/bay water.

My procedure is to attach to my dive flag a large crab-net float and snap four 2 pounders to it. That way my extra weights are right beside me when I'm adjusting them. I'd start with 20 lbs and add 2 lbs, 2 lbs, 2 lbs, & 2 lbs - if necessary.

drdaddy

 

[FrankPro1]

Pacific Wilderness sells Diving Concepts.

Elena showed SpKelpdiver and I a Diving Concepts dry suit this morning. The material looked incredibly durable compared with the other dry suits I've seen at other stores. It definitely is pricey but if your gonna go dry, I guess you better get the best the first time. Rather then having to buy another one in a couple years. Long Point was quite chilly at depth today and it was really the first time I've been COLD COLD all winter. But all it took was to ascend into the 35-40ft range and I warmed right back up. I'll post a dive report later tonight.

My procedure is to attach to my dive flag a large crab-net float and snap four 2 pounders to it.

I've heard some horror stories about divers being caught around commercial traps. Be careful