Dry suit for freediving?

[Adi das]

Hi to everyone open to any suggestions on a light weight dry suit for cold water freediving,neo or trilam?

 

[BRT]

How are you going to get back up after you go down?

 

[JPEG]

I love my drysuit for scuba, but I can’t imagine using it for freediving.

Without an inflation source (tank) I can imagine some real dangerous buoyancy problems.

 

[BRT]

Not to mention suit squeeze.

 

[David Wilson]

I suppose it depends on how deep you intend to freedive. I've happily snorkelled on or near the surface of the sea using an old-school valveless light drysuit, venting the suit by letting trapped air escape at the face or wrist seals. Until recently, many Russian spearfishermen swam in light drysuits when braving the freezing waters of their country's lakes and rivers.

 

[Adi das]

Thanks David. Im researching if i can do up to 100 feet deep freediving in dry suite most likely neoprene with safety vest like oceanic safety system freediving vest. Want to find out if someone has real expirence doing that also the question is mostly for freedivers than scuba divers. Maybe its wrong tread to ask?

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Unlike scuba where a diver is often relatively still or moving slowly, freediving is often more athletic. Even if you think you are resting a lot, the nature of the two activities is different. I tried freediving in drysuits just for fun using an argon bottle on the belt when young and interested in experimenting. A cold water freediving wetsuit is the way to go. You want a slick suit that fits well with as little drag as possible with correct weighting.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks David. Im researching if i can do up to 100 feet deep freediving in dry suite most likely neoprene with safety vest like oceanic safety system freediving vest. Want to find out if someone has real expirence doing that also the question is mostly for freedivers than scuba divers. Maybe its wrong tread to ask?

If you're seeking advice from other freedivers in particular, consider reposting on the SB snorkelling/freediving subforum or on a freediving-specific forum such as DeeperBlue.com Forums.

In the mid twentieth century, simple drysuits were used by many breathhold divers for shallow water diving. Back then, drysuits were also much cheaper than wetsuits. The diving manuals of the 1950s and early 1960s (e.g. Fred Roberts' Basic Scuba) contained plenty of advice about using such drysuits. I suspect, however, that the modern incarnation of the drysuit is much less suited to breathhold use other than on- and near-surface swimming. I am aware of modern drysuits being used by snorkellers when swimming with seals off the Farne Islands further up from me on the North East England coast.

 

[EireDiver606]

Yeah it would be really dangerous to do it without an argon bottle. I know people who’ve tried it and they sank with their feet floating upwards, so they had to let out the air through the wrist seals and could then go back up.

They said it was scary... I can imagine. I definitely wouldn’t go freediving in a Drysuit. It’s just not practical in any way shape or form. You would have lots of drag and be extremely slow, it wouldn’t be as warm as a wetsuit is and the suit squeeze and no redundant air source are problems that CANNOT be overlooked.

If you sink in a Drysuit it can be hard to let the air out sometimes....

 

[Stoo]

I kinda think that this is a flawed concept, but if you were going to try, I wonder if a drysuit that is used for kayaking or sailing, might be a better choice. Most don't have attached boots and are generally much lighter duty...

But ya, anyone who has ever worn a drysuit will tell you about the excitement which ensues if your feet get higher than the rest of you...