dry suit and buoyancy

[mempilot]

No one is advocating 'staying squeezed'. Getting cold in a drysuit goes way beyond putting air into it. Undergarmets are sold in differenct materials and thicknesses for a purpose. I can wear my trilam in tropical to cold and stay warm without filling the suit with too much air. The point is bouyancy control anyway, not why you are cold for not wearing the proper insulation.

 

[seniorweeb]

I'm sure you are overloaded on all the advice that everyone is giving you. Relax and have fun. Drysuit diving isn't all that different from a wet suit. I have had a dry suit for over seven years now and the only negative is the additional drag. Buoyancy is actually easier in a dry suit. You can stay horizontal with little effort. I have never heard of using a BCD for buoyancy instead of the suit. I was taught that BCD was for the surface and the suit itself for at depth. But you should do what you are taught. Are you taking a dry suit class? If not you might consider it. That would certainly increase your comfort zone. Good luck and stay warm. Being cold is highly over rated!!

 

[MonkSeal]

I have never heard of using a BCD for buoyancy instead of the suit. I was taught that BCD was for the surface and the suit itself for at depth.

Imagine using doubles (not to mention stage tanks). You would be highly instable if using DS for bouyancy. DS should be used for bouyancy only in case of BC failure.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Doubles and stage bottles are an excellent reason for using the wing for bouyncy rather than the suit.

But that rerason is not always applicable to a single tank recreational diver.

So it is a situation of using the appropriate technique for the appropriate situation, not a situation of one or the other being catagorically wrong. There are times when one or the other approach to bouyancy control is most appropriate.

 

[Woden]

I have never heard of using a BCD for buoyancy instead of the suit. I was taught that BCD was for the surface and the suit itself for at depth.

I was also taught to use the Dry Suit for buoyancy (PADI course). When I first started diving dry I always used the dry suit. After a while I started using my BCD.

I found, when I started, that it was difficult to manage everything so only dealing with my dry suit helped. As I got more comfortable I found it easier to manage everything and started to experiment using a combination (BCD for buoyancy and dry suit to prevent squeeze and to a lesser extent for warmth). This is when I switched to using my BCD as I found it helped my trim (no big floating air bubble) and buoyancy characteristics (of course proper weighting helped too).

Bottom line is I have always felt in control diving dry. When I started the task loading was minimized by only using the suit and I felt in control. As I became more comfortable I was able to experiment and deal with more issues without feeling overwhelmed and I still felt in control.

For this reason I don't see the problem with teaching people to use the dry suit for buoyancy. What I think is wrong is telling people "there is only one way to do it (regardless of which method you use) and if you don't do it my way you don't have a clue".

I would suggest that it is more important to be in control in the water. While I now use my BCD because it gives me more control, when I started, the increased task loading would have negated the benefit of this increased control. Do what makes you feel comfortable and always remember that it is OK to experiment with new techniques (in a safe controlled environment of course).

Just my opinion

 

[mania]

OK, the first dry suit dive is done. It was not great but it was not that bad as I feared. I didn’t ascend in the total uncontrolled way with my legs up. But it was pushing me up, so I ascended with the proper speed but couldn’t stop myself. ON the first half of the dive on a bit deeper water (10 meters) I had problems with buoyancy. I was using my BC for this but I also had to add some air to the suit because it was squeezing. So all together was too much and I started ascending. Then I deflated the jacket and hit the bottom. Gee, it was horrible. The second part of the dive was a bit better but was also shallower and I didn’t have to add any air to the dry suit.
As always – practice makes perfect, so I simply have to practice. Anyway it was great because it was warm and the water temperature was 4 Centigrade.
Now another thing to buy – dry suit!!!!
Mania

 

[MonkSeal]

I was using my BC for this but I also had to add some air to the suit because it was squeezing. So all together was too much and I started ascending. Then I deflated the jacket and hit the bottom.

The solution for this problem is anticipation: you have to react before thing happens. Of course, this comes only with training and experiance.

 

[MonkSeal]

Doubles and stage bottles are an excellent reason for using the wing for bouyncy rather than the suit.

But that rerason is not always applicable to a single tank recreational diver.

So it is a situation of using the appropriate technique for the appropriate situation, not a situation of one or the other being catagorically wrong. There are times when one or the other approach to bouyancy control is most appropriate.

Isn't it easier to always follow the same procedure and avoid thinking like "Now I have single tank, I'll use this for that and this for that and ..." ?

As you always use your primary light for it's purpose and you use backup light if primary fails. You don't use backup light for small holes and caverns (although it maybe can provide enough light) and primary for night dive and real caves.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Mania, glad to see the dive wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, it actually sounds pretty normal for a first dive. You will get better the more time you spend diving in the suit. Make sure when you buy one that you get one that fits well even if it has to be custom made my guess is the expense is well worth it. I dive a suit that doesn't fit well and it's a pain sometimes but I do get enough good dives out of it to encourage me to keep at it. The buoyancy adjustments will come with practice, I've noticed that there is a moment when the air in the suit expands and you do get a short window to dump something (bc or suit) before it takes off with you. The trick is learning to feel that moment and instead of thinking "what the heck is happening?" (by then the thing is headed for the surface) you simply dump some air. It's a lot like driving a car with a manual transmission, there is a "sweet spot" where you need to dump air in order to make things happen smoothly. You learn to feel that spot with your body much like your foot feels that spot on the clutch and I'm guessing that like a manual transmission auto every suit has that sweet spot in a slightly different place.

Just my .02
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Web Monkey]

I use my BC for buoyancy, and just add enough air to the drysuit to get rid of most of the suit squeeze. Aiir I put in the BC stays there, unlike the drysuit, which has an automatic vent.

Also, if you have very little air in the drysuit, you can't have problems like having your legs fill up with air.

That said, no matter what you do, your first drysuit dive probably will be quite stressful, since it's a really big bag of air to manage, until you get your weighting properly adjusted.

It took me most of a summer to get really comfortable with my drysuit, but now I like it so much, I only dive wet in the tropics.

Terry

Tomorrow for the first time in my life I’ll try diving in the dry suit. I’ve got to learn this because otherwise the diving season would be over for me – it’s already rather cold, water temp 4 – 7 Centigrade.
In Poland we have now a debate what should be used for buoyancy – dry suit or BCD. Some of the very experienced divers say – dry suit, others – BCD. I would like to know your opinion and maybe some tips? To be honest I’m a bit scared hearing in the past stories about air trapped in legs and so on….
Mania