Dry suit top three pieces of advice

[stuartv]

Why not answer the question Doby45 instead of providing a dig at PADI?

FYI, I am self taught in the drysuit. My point was that I find that after I take off the squeeze, I have no need for adding air to the wing. So my question to you is that you must be adding more weight in order to now start using your wing for buoyancy.

If he also is neutral after taking off the squeeze, then why would he be adding air to his wing? And thus, why would he have to carry extra weight?

If he happens to still be negative after taking off the squeeze, that doesn't necessarily mean he is over weighted (even though he then adds air to his wing to get neutral).

 

[Doby45]

Why not answer the question Doby45 instead of providing a dig at PADI?

FYI, I am self taught in the drysuit. My point was that I find that after I take off the squeeze, I have no need for adding air to the wing. So my question to you is that you must be adding more weight in order to now start using your wing for buoyancy.

That was not a "dig" at PADI, that was simply stating a fact.

The weighting I use for my drysuit and undies is what most would consider minimal. Double 100s =s no additional weight. A single AL80 SS BPW, I need 12lb, with that weight I can hold a 15' SS with no air in my wing and my suit with zero to very little air (squeeze) and be comfortable. That is with a thin base layer and a 200g undies. Would I roll that way if I was doing deco, nope. I would then have a bit more air in my suit for comfort on my stop. All of that being said has nothing at all to do with the logic of using your suit or your BCD for buoyancy choirs. When I do a "deep" dive at the local quarry it is pretty cold there. I am talking about 43ish degrees and 140+FFW. I can easily remove the squeeze at 140 and be warm, but still need air in my BCD to maintain neutral buoyancy. That extra air I need for buoyancy goes in the wing, not my suit. Is that enough of an answer for ya?

 

[Doby45]

And to add. I am weighted to hold a safety stop at the end of my dive. At the beginning of my dive I am over weighted with my breathing gas, so I do infact need more air to remain neutral than I will at the end of my dive. That extra air goes in my wing.

 

[Keith.M]

Yes, I am weighted for no air in suit or wing at my safety stop.

I am not diving doubles, single steel HP 100.

I can definitely understand needing the wing with doubles.

My whole point was that what I have found is that the amount of air I add to my suit is enough that I do not need to use my wing. In fact, depending on the water temp, I may at times prefer to be able to add a little more, but I would not be able to if I did not carry more weight.

 

[Storker]

I feel that I am properly weighted as I have no issue holding my safety stops at the end of my dives, but if I was to look at using my wing for buoyancy I would have to add additional weight in order to do that. The amount of air I add to my suit to take off the squeeze and allow some loft to my undergarment, is enough air for my buoyancy.

I'm pretty much agreeing with you. The bulk of the air I add during the dive goes into my suit, and if my undergarments are properly lofted I don't need much air in my wing. I add a little at the beginning of the dive, basically to offset the weight of my gas, but I get the main portion of my buoyancy control quite automatically as I add air to the suit to alleviate squeeze.

I dive steel 10L 300 bar single tanks, between 90 and 100 cuf in 'murrican units.

 

[FinnMom]

#1 Heavy fins yes, leg weights no. You will learn to do w/o the leg weights. In the meantime they get forgotten, get lost, and worst of all get left on when you hand over your BCD next to a zodiac.

#2 Be religious about not wearing anything larger than boxer/briefs (bras allowed for the women) that is not a moisture-wicking fabric. The chilling effects from a cotton t-shirt are amazing. I've had this battle with too many modest types (typically women, and young persons in general) that insisted on not getting properly undressed on-site, then time and again come out of the water with throughly needless chills beacuse they wore sweatpants, or a T-shirt, etc. under their proper undersuit. Save yourself the grief and be a believer from the start. By my experience hunting or even XC-ski underwear isn't as warm as merino wool products, and merino wool tends to dry fast and absorb very few odors (dive longjohns can be a stunningly powerful odor).


# 3 and bonus points
Become and remain religious about taking care of your suit's zipper too.

Before getting up from wherever you sit to fasten straps: check that air definetly goes into the suit (this catches a not-attached inflator hose and hopefully an open zipper too). Next check that air also exits the vent of the suit. Listen too to try and hear if the air hose is constantly bleeding in air. BTW some suits (mostly older ones) leak from the air-out vent whenever it is fully open.

Its really nice to have an undersuit that is a little loose, one that will never restrict your movements even if you add a few pounds. You should be able to do a few deep squats with no danger of stressing the seams. I read that you dive a BCD and single tank, but nonetheless check if you could reach to open doubles valves, even close the isolator (center) valve while wearing your undersuit and suit. I've also learned that a super fluffy Weezle looks like the Michelin man but crunches down more completely and more softly than blanket-like undersuits: a blanket-like suit can bind painfully at the elbows and knees.

Everyone thinks their their new dry glove system is the best in the world when they just switched to it, equally many hate the same system once they are tired of its faults. They all have plusses and minuses. Carry extra glove liners. I usually carry 3-finger 8mm wetmitts as another backup.

If you have a dryglove hole that threatens to end your dive before it starts, if there are no better solutions avilable, sometimes you get great milage out of duct tape.

People can get very upset about how you should always use the suit or (more commonly) never use the suit for bouyancy. Someday it might be nice to be fully capable of using either one; I've had one inflator hose go problematic (usually constantly, very slightly inflating) on maybe 1-2 % of my dives, not so bad if you are also OK with just the suit.

As a female I'm distinctly less thrilled abou a pee valve. Nature's call is vastly less when you are both warm and dry. If it's a slight problem a small bag of chips before a dive can keep your blood volume up while still reducing the need to go. A tip I learned from Scubaboard!

 

[_Ralph]

My doubled LP95 (15L) tanks are marvellous in shallow freshwater. Just enough gas in the suit and nothing in the wing for the whole dive. And I dive my suit tight.

Now for my HP tanks, no way!


_R

 

[FinnMom]

1. Don't waste your money on a class. If you have a suit, just go dive it in 15ft of water and practice your somersaults.

2. See #1.

3. See #2.

Be careful about ever being in the water w/o fins. Once you have too much air in your legs getting upright w/o fins is darn near impossible. Practise and see. I had to climb up the leg of a buddy to get upright when I tested it :-D

 

[KevinNM]

I know people who did an out of control feet first ascent, and the expanding gas popped their fins off. That was early in their dry suit diving experience.

 

[stuartv]

Everyone thinks their their new dry glove system is the best in the world when they just switched to it, equally many hate the same system once they are tired of its faults.

I got my Kubi dry glove system from DRiS over a year ago. I'm still using the original rubber gloves that came with them. I've never had a leak. I still love 'em!