Dry Suit - Learning to dive dry

[Squalus]

You should try it sometime, very invigorating diving a 1mm/skin in the middle of summer and still being warm We do need DS's for caves and the gulf in the winter time though! I am really enjoying mine after the earlier frustration, just need to actually get out diving more often than a couple every weekend, then i would be happier.

Yeah but what happens in the winter with you guys/gals? :11:
Nothing like diving in 48F in a 5mm

 

[Squalus]

Vis... please define that? Oh yeah, that is when I can see 10 ft. in front of me!

Oh and drysuit optional? Not up here. The last shore diving I went on involved 3-4 inches of snow and two inches of ice on the ground!

more like 3' Brian...LMAO

 

[jviehe]

I just had a similar experience. I borrowed a neoprene drysuit that someone was selling, and have never dove a drysuit, but I have a lot of experience, so I figured I could handle it. My buddy for the day did not have drysuit experience.

Once I got in the water, I was not so sure. It was easy to adjust bouyancy, but swimming was difficult, my feet kept floating up. I did everything I had read, discussed with drysuit divers, but it was an unpleasant experience. I also got a bit wet, as I dont think I did the seals correctly.

What I learned was that I need to have a mentor around and get more practice. Its not as easy as it looks. I could probably benefit from a class, but it would depend on the instructor. It was nice being dry though.

 

[SubMariner]

While it's all well & good to scoff at a drysuit course as a "waste of money" and "only if you're into collecting cards", the fact remains that a drysuit is not just another passive piece of equipment that you can just put on & use. It requires training & practice to use a drysuit safely & effectively.

Likewise, the "my buddy can teach me how to use it" spiel. Frankly, unless the buddy happens to be an Instructor who is used to anticipating & handling training situations/problems, then that one is not exactly a stellar idea either. Many shops offer the course for free when you buy a drysuit from them, or give you a good price on the course. Is it REALLY worth your life to save a measly $150 or so that a drysuit specialty course costs?

Last but not least: BC for bouyancy vs drysuit for buoyancy. It's a matter of training, practice, and personal preference. Enough already!

 

[jbd]

Last but not least: BC for bouyancy vs drysuit for buoyancy. It's a matter of training, practice, and personal preference. Enough already!

Are you sure we have discussed this issue enough on scubaboard?

 

[jbisjim]

Makes you sick, they call warm water cold and actually get something called "vis" as well.

Disgusting!

LOL

 

[simbrooks]

Last but not least: BC for bouyancy vs drysuit for buoyancy. It's a matter of training, practice, and personal preference. Enough already!

Arent there more considerations like ankle weights and floaty feet

It is true that the DS course is only $100-150, if not free at some very nice places. After you drop a large chunk of change on a DS and undies (even mine at barely half MSRP still totalled ~$1500), its only another 10% or so for a bit of help to get you over the tough learning curve you'd get if you did it alone (as i found to my futility) or out of a book, possibly even with an experienced buddy as well. The guy who showed me the tips and things to practice on my first set of DS dives was also my instructor, but he was doing cave stuff while i was in shallow OW - got around to training in the end though after i had proved myself wrong about doing it my way

 

[OneBrightGator]

Likewise, the "my buddy can teach me how to use it" spiel. Frankly, unless the buddy happens to be an Instructor who is used to anticipating & handling training situations/problems, then that one is not exactly a stellar idea either. Many shops offer the course for free when you buy a drysuit from them, or give you a good price on the course. Is it REALLY worth your life to save a measly $150 or so that a drysuit specialty course costs?

Considering the requirements for becoming a DS Instructor I think my buddies that have been diving them for years are heads and shoulders above what some instructors can offer. It may not be a passive piece of equipment, but you keep your reg in your mouth and in less then 15 feet of water you are going to have a hard time killing yourself, especially if you're with someone who's already done all of this before.

I'm tired of the spiel that the solution for everything is an instructor, the bottom line is if you want to progress your diving you have to learn, but there's a lot of good information out there outside the sheltered realm of instruction.

 

[String]

Considering the requirements for becoming a DS Instructor I think my buddies that have been diving them for years are heads and shoulders above what some instructors can offer. It may not be a passive piece of equipment, but you keep your reg in your mouth and in less then 15 feet of water you are going to have a hard time killing yourself, especially if you're with someone who's already done all of this before.

I'm tired of the spiel that the solution for everything is an instructor, the bottom line is if you want to progress your diving you have to learn, but there's a lot of good information out there outside the sheltered realm of instruction.

Agree totally with that.

Theres a huge cry "get an instructor" for simple and mundane tasks these days. Some things can quite happily be taught by someone experienced in using the device without paying through the nose for yet another speciality.

 

[Squalus]

Excuse my morbid sense here, which one of you is willing to accept the blame for a fatality? Johnny takes OW class gets certified. Johnny sees dry suit and has read that all he has to do is watch the video and read the book and waahla he can dive it. Johnny gets some friends who say they know what they are doing diving a dry suit. Johnny does a couple dives and thinks...."ok I can go deeper now", goes deeper has a problem and shoots up and gets bent and passes away. We the community read it in the accidents forum and begin to specualte and throw inuendo's (he should have taken a dry suit class). Is it just me, or are we not suppossed to foster safe diving????


Just my .02