Dry suit
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Wes,
1) What is your certification level?
2) How many dives do you have this year?
3) Do you have a regular buddy?
4) Does your buddy dive wet or dry?
5) Where are you located in Oregon?
6) What type/brand suit did you buy?
7) What tank are you going to be using?
Kaffphine
Guest
Wes, you live in Oregan, where I assume a large portion of divers go dry, and there's a dive shop you use (I'm assuming you don't have your own personal compressor) and there's no instructor you can find to teach you about dry suits? This sounds a little odd to me.
Do you need the class to dive dry, no. Am I writing this post to try to convince you that you should take the class, yes! There's considerations for diving dry that you really wouldn't think about if you've only been diving wet: maintance, weight, inverted ascents, ever use baby power on your wetsuit?, some form of 'fin keeper' (fixed palms for the older crowd). The class isn't that big of an ordeal and you learn how to do it right.
Do you need the class to dive dry, no. Am I writing this post to try to convince you that you should take the class, yes! There's considerations for diving dry that you really wouldn't think about if you've only been diving wet: maintance, weight, inverted ascents, ever use baby power on your wetsuit?, some form of 'fin keeper' (fixed palms for the older crowd). The class isn't that big of an ordeal and you learn how to do it right.
I have had over 100 drysuit dives without being "drysuit certified".
I think it is very dangerous unless you can educate your self or get training. You can become upside down and have a uncontrolled assent. Scott;-0
I think it is very dangerous unless you can educate your self or get training. You can become upside down and have a uncontrolled assent. Scott;-0
I have about thirty dives since getting my ow certification in february I have a buddy but he dives wet as I have up until this point. I am located in central oregon the suit is a 7mm harvey with aluminum tank. I plan to take a class but was hoping to do some training in the pool first or maybe some shallow dives.
Wes
Wes
Wes, it is a good idea to get proper training from an Instructor acredited in the Drysuit Specialty; a drysuit is NOT just a passive piece of equipment you put on & use like a pair of fins. You need to learn to use it safely and effectively.
Most drysuit courses consist of at least one confined water session where you learn weighting, techniques for avoiding problems and how to handle any that do, etc.. Then there are a couple of open water dives.
In the Northwest it is not uncommon for divers to learn to dive dry during their OW course. All it takes is a little extra pool time and some additional training in Open Water.
DSDO,
~SubMariner~
Most drysuit courses consist of at least one confined water session where you learn weighting, techniques for avoiding problems and how to handle any that do, etc.. Then there are a couple of open water dives.
In the Northwest it is not uncommon for divers to learn to dive dry during their OW course. All it takes is a little extra pool time and some additional training in Open Water.
DSDO,
~SubMariner~
Make sure the valves work.
Take it to the pool... or very shallow dive <20 ffw with only 500 psi in your tank and find out what kind of weight you will need to stay neutral at 10 ffw. Then see if you can control (still with low air) ascents from 20 ffw to the surface with enough air in the suit at depth to take all squeeze off ~ then try it with more air in the suit ~ then try it with no air in the suit.
The 7mm in a wetsuit is plenty with out it being dry... adding dry only adds in an exta buoyancy problem... gas will need to be added to the suit on descent to keep from being squeezed and that gas will expand on ascent Plus the suit itself is expanding and you will need to be able to control that ascent.
As for feet first ascents... these are a problem because the dump valve will be the lowest point and you can't dump... but at least your fins will be pointing the right direction to correct the inversion... at least for a little while... but if you don't kick down and dump gas you will find that at a certain point your feet will balloon and blow your fins off... at this point you are in missle launch mode.
Tip... keep as much air out of the suit as possible... just avoid excessive squeeze and once you start your ascent make sure you dump gas from the suit before it gets away from you.
Mnemonic: "dump early ~ dump often"
Take it to the pool... or very shallow dive <20 ffw with only 500 psi in your tank and find out what kind of weight you will need to stay neutral at 10 ffw. Then see if you can control (still with low air) ascents from 20 ffw to the surface with enough air in the suit at depth to take all squeeze off ~ then try it with more air in the suit ~ then try it with no air in the suit.
The 7mm in a wetsuit is plenty with out it being dry... adding dry only adds in an exta buoyancy problem... gas will need to be added to the suit on descent to keep from being squeezed and that gas will expand on ascent Plus the suit itself is expanding and you will need to be able to control that ascent.
As for feet first ascents... these are a problem because the dump valve will be the lowest point and you can't dump... but at least your fins will be pointing the right direction to correct the inversion... at least for a little while... but if you don't kick down and dump gas you will find that at a certain point your feet will balloon and blow your fins off... at this point you are in missle launch mode.
Tip... keep as much air out of the suit as possible... just avoid excessive squeeze and once you start your ascent make sure you dump gas from the suit before it gets away from you.
Mnemonic: "dump early ~ dump often"
Submariner said:
If you were PADI trained I believe you are not actually allowed to do that unless just using it for thermal protection. i.e. no inflation, plenty squeeze......
Don't get me wrong, I think it should be allowed - just don't believe it is?
Jonathan
If you were PADI trained I believe you are not actually allowed to do that unless just using it for thermal protection. i.e. no inflation, plenty squeeze......
Don't get me wrong, I think it should be allowed - just don't believe it is?
Jonathan
that sounds strange. why would instructors have their students be intentionally uncomfortable in a new and sometimes scary environment
Unfortunately, you left off part of the quote when you were quoting me:
"In the Northwest it is not uncommon for divers to learn to dive dry during their OW course. All it takes is a little extra pool time and some additional training in Open Water."
Note that I mentioned extra training was involved in learning to dive in a drysuit during the OW course. This is consistent with PADI training standards, especially in climates where a drysuit is a must like the Pacific Northwest (and other parts of Canada & the US), the UK, Europe, Sweden, etc.
In most cases, the suit itself provides little, if any, thermal protection. It's the undergarments & the AIR inside the suit that keep you warm. So having a suit squeeze all the time would pretty much defeat the whole purpose of wearing the suit. Not to mention making it a very uncomfortable dive.
~SubMariner~
"In the Northwest it is not uncommon for divers to learn to dive dry during their OW course. All it takes is a little extra pool time and some additional training in Open Water."
Note that I mentioned extra training was involved in learning to dive in a drysuit during the OW course. This is consistent with PADI training standards, especially in climates where a drysuit is a must like the Pacific Northwest (and other parts of Canada & the US), the UK, Europe, Sweden, etc.
In most cases, the suit itself provides little, if any, thermal protection. It's the undergarments & the AIR inside the suit that keep you warm. So having a suit squeeze all the time would pretty much defeat the whole purpose of wearing the suit. Not to mention making it a very uncomfortable dive.
~SubMariner~
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