Do Drysuits have the Same Smell as Wetsuits?

[kelemvor]

I didn't read what type of diving you do? Fresh or salt? I'm usually diving fresh, so a little easier to "rinse" gear. I just make sure it's hung near a dehumidifier. If I dove salt I would imagine cleaning would be more of a pain.

I do a bit of both. It's about the same drive (2.5 hours) for me to get to cave country as it is for me to get to the east coast or keys for good salt dives. There's some local diving in the gulf, but it's not nearly as good as you get on the east coast so I generally do the drive.

I thought chlorine breaks down some gear?

So some say. However, tap water around here has about 2ppm in it anyway to make it safe for human consumption. I've been doing it for about 6 years now and I haven't had any of my gear get "bleached/lightened" or prematurely fail in a way that I think could be caused by chlorine.

Now, instructors who spend several hours every day seven days a week in a dive shop pool get a lot more chlorine exposure. In a group pool like that typically you'd use a lot more chlorine than what I use in my pool, not to mention all the combined chlorine and unconsumed ammonia from urine in those pools. Those guys do tend to have gear that is faded from the chlorine removing dyes from the fabric. Not sure if it does anything other than change the appearance.

Also I do not like to fold my (neo) drysuit in the bag, it puts a little strain on the zipper (at least in my head it does) and I'd like to avoid "folding" the zipper at all costs. I just keep min hung up upside down from the boots.

And what's the point of rinsing gear off with fresh water after a fresh water dive? I just hang it up...looks clean to me.

I'm not picking on you, just a different perspective. If anything I'm open to learn.

There's a lot of stuff in water other than just water and (maybe) salt. Lots of biological stuff and bacteria, not to mention what bacteria comes off your body while the gear is in contact with you. Some of that bacteria can continue to reproduce even after you take it out of the water, some of it will die when the gear dries out. Either way the bacteria can smell as it decomposes. There's lots of microscopic stuff growing in "fresh" spring water.

It will be eye opening if you fill a plastic water bottle with a sample next time you go diving, then look at it in a microscope.

You should consider rinsing your gear with something, even after a fresh water dive, unless it just doesn't ever get smelly or the smell doesn't bother you. My gear reeks on the way home after diving Ginnie or Peacock or Blue Grotto or other fresh water dives. The pool always fixes me right up.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I do a bit of both. It's about the same drive (2.5 hours) for me to get to cave country as it is for me to get to the east coast or keys for good salt dives. There's some local diving in the gulf, but it's not nearly as good as you get on the east coast so I generally do the drive.


So some say. However, tap water around here has about 2ppm in it anyway to make it safe for human consumption. I've been doing it for about 6 years now and I haven't had any of my gear get "bleached/lightened" or prematurely fail in a way that I think could be caused by chlorine.

Now, instructors who spend several hours every day seven days a week in a dive shop pool get a lot more chlorine exposure. In a group pool like that typically you'd use a lot more chlorine than what I use in my pool, not to mention all the combined chlorine and unconsumed ammonia from urine in those pools. Those guys do tend to have gear that is faded from the chlorine removing dyes from the fabric. Not sure if it does anything other than change the appearance.


There's a lot of stuff in water other than just water and (maybe) salt. Lots of biological stuff and bacteria, not to mention what bacteria comes off your body while the gear is in contact with you. Some of that bacteria can continue to reproduce even after you take it out of the water, some of it will die when the gear dries out. Either way the bacteria can smell as it decomposes. There's lots of microscopic stuff growing in "fresh" spring water.

It will be eye opening if you fill a plastic water bottle with a sample next time you go diving, then look at it in a microscope.

You should consider rinsing your gear with something, even after a fresh water dive, unless it just doesn't ever get smelly or the smell doesn't bother you. My gear reeks on the way home after diving Ginnie or Peacock or Blue Grotto or other fresh water dives. The pool always fixes me right up.

Thanks for taking the time to write that up. I have not experienced any bad smells after a day of diving in my local hole. I'm sure there are some stuff growing, but I would imagine less than the springs in FL where it's 70f. Here it's in the low 40f's anything below ~ 30', above that changes with the season.