dry suit dir-ishness

[Blargh]

Greetings

I am (finally) getting to grips with buying a dry suit, thus the question...

Are there any DIR considerations in choosing/configuring a dry suit ? I recall a discussion (on this board I *think*) about pocket config/placements... is there anything else I should be aware of ?
Any and all input will be greatly appreciated - what with the prices, I'd really like to get it right the first time

TIA

 

[Green_Manelishi]

pockets should be on your thighs and placed where they can
be reached with no problems (I know, sounds obvious but if
you have short arms they might need to be a bit higher than
normal)

material for the suit is another consideration. neoprene is NOT
considered "DIR" but I know and respect some divers that
use neoprene (Terrence Tysall of the Cambrian Foundation is
one). If you are willing to accept the variable bouyancy and slow
drying of a neoprene suit it might work for you.

There are many other considerations to take into account and
I'm sure you'll read more input.

 

[roakey]

The DUI site doesn't appear to be up, when it comes back up I'll give you pointers to specific products/options...

Ok, here's full "Church of DIR" dry suit configuration

TriLam so buoyancy and insulation properties don't change at depth.

If you're going to do any cave or night diving, dark colors so you don't ruin other diver's night vision (my mistake -- don't get the neon yellow like I did on my DUI TLS350). I'd suggest going all black, that's what I'd do if I had to do it all over again.

Bellows pocket on the left thigh and put bungee loops in it (http://www.wkpp.org/images/pina_equip/pocket_bungee_r.jpeg).

Utility pocket on the right. Both pockest secured with velcro, not a zipper.

More later...

Roak

 

[Kane(adian)]

Roak, I'd never heard anything like that night vision thing before. Thanks. Yellow is the most 'seeable' color for we humans. Won't your light wreck your night vision though, unless it is red or something?

 

[roakey]

You don't go around shining you light in your buddy’s eyes, so that shouldn’t be a problem! Shining the light on a wall or something remote from a diver doesn’t destroy your night vision any more than using a flashlight at night (correctly, not Blair Witch style )

The problem, and let me talk caving at the moment, is when I’m diver #1 so #2 and #3 are behind me. They’re usually to the side too. If they shine their lights on me (I’m facing away, so it doesn’t bother me), the bright yellow can knock down their night vision a little and, according to them, sometimes it hurts their eyes if they’re close enough to me that they illuminate a large swath of the yellow.

I jokingly got yellow “to help the recovery team” because I never thought that DIR would extend to color for gods sake, but sure enough it did, and, like everything else DIR, it has a reason behind it. The real reason is that I really like the black and yellow color combination.

This kinda jogs my memory about “light doubling” I think I’ll start a base note in the cave section on that…

Roak

 

[WetDane]

Hey Blargh -
I think you got the idea on the suit - girl pink is also available from some places - but is not recommended...

As far as the pockets go - I have bellows on both sides - and so does all the "DIR" sivers I know - I'm not sure what the other pockets are, but basically you need something with a couple or three holes in the bottom so water will drain out, bungee under the flap so you can clip all contents off (so you don't loose things when you pull stuff out of the pocket).

You can get the pockets from your favorite DIR outlet - if you have followed the threads here you will know where that is. They are about $30 a piece - when you order your suit, make sure they know what the rigt pockets are like - I personally find that the DUI pockets are a bit small.

Roak -
What has Pina done with the double bungee cord? (I heard someone mention this - but this is the first time I have seen a picture - what is the thought behind it?)

Cheers,
Big T

 

[Lost Yooper]

WD,

Roak is on vacation for a while. They clip stuff off to the bungies with bolt snaps and put the items in their pockets. This way, when they pull an item out, nothing else will accidentally fall out. This required you to be very deliberate in taking something out of the pockets which is a good thing.

Take care.

Mike

Here's a pic of the stuff clipped off to the bungies:

http://www.wkpp.org/images/pina_equip/left_pocket_contents_r.jpeg

 

[WetDane]

Hey Mike -
I understand that - I have bungies myself - but it looks int hat image like Pina has setup a double cord across - I was just wondering what that was about...

Big T

 

[Lost Yooper]

The double loop is for carrying multiple items in a less cluttered manner. Having too many bolt snaps on a loop makes figuring it out underwater with gloves on more difficult.

Is this what you're wondering?

Mike

 

[WetDane]

Yeah -
That's it - that makes sense - I'll have to go home and re-sling that tonight and see how it works -
I know I get annoyed at that spare double ender getting in the way...

Thanks,
Big T