Drysuit and BCD question

[traumadiver]

Hey SCUBA fanatics!

I am going to Washington State soon and figured while I am there I should try to dive. I am normally a warm water diver and I hate cold weather. I am definetly going to have to do this in a drysuit. I do not have my drysuit certification yet. I have a few questions to ask.

1) Are you supposed to dive with a BCD while diving dry? If so is it a special BCD or can I use the one I already own, an Oceanic Probe?

2) How cold will I actually feel in a drysuit? I understand that water cools the body at a much higher rate than air does but to me 40 degree air is still 40 degree air and I still get cold in 40 degree air. How will the drysuit keep me warm? Will I still be cold, even with the undergarment?

Thanks everyone

 

[fisheater]

Not a drysuit diver, but I dive with them all the time. (NorCal is about 50/50 wetsuit/drysuit.)

Your normal BC should work just fine, assuming that there's enough room for you and a thick drysuit.

How cold you'll feel underwater depends upon the thickness of the undergarment you're wearing (and the quality of the seals).

 

[Pitchblack]

Yes, drysuitdiving is done with a regular bcd and should not be done without one! And yes you can use you'r own!

Your drysuit will keep you warm by the isolating layer of air between your body and the suit, in other means air put into the suit combined with the proper undergarments. Depending on the thickness of the undergarments you will be warm, but not for an eternity, but still alot warmer than in a semidry wetsuit.

 

[themagni]

You'll enjoy yourself.

I dive in Victoria, BC, just north of Washington state. If you're from here, you wear a drysuit in June. A few months ago, a drop-in dive ended up with three divers who were used to tropical locales.

Renting the right gear from a LDS is probably your best best. For a few dives, you should be able to go for a thick wetsuit. It won't be as pleasant as a drysuit, but then you won't have to worry about the extra control that you'd have to consider with drysuit diving. In a drysuit with the right undergarments, you can dive for a long time in near-freezing water.

So, your BC should be fine. Your regs may not be, but if not then you'll just get a bit of free-flow. Your fins may not fit the thicker boots and the finicky controls on your computer and compass may be hard to manipulate with the gloves you'll be wearing. You'll have to pick up some more lead - I dive with 30# in a neoprene drysuit. (I'm 5'11", 165.)

Make sure you have a local guide. There's got to be a shop that would love to rent you some gear while you're there and would have a drop-in dive with a local divemaster.

As for the three tropical divers, they all did great. They were a little surprised by the cold but got used to it. The worst part was the waves on the exit - if they hadn't had a local nearby, one of them would have been swept back in without all her gear.

 

[traumadiver]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Looks like I am going to be getting a new cert in drysuit diving soon. WOOHOO!

 

[mikerault]

Having dove both BCD and BP/W with dry suits I will say I prefer a BP/W rather than a BCD as a BP/W is less restrictive and helps limit air trapping in the dry suit. I was diving in 47 degree water two weeks ago and was very warm (in fact, my undergarment was damp from sweat). I dive a Bare NexGen Bilaminate and other than the rear entry zipper, love it.

Mike

 

[String]

1) Are you supposed to dive with a BCD while diving dry? If so is it a special BCD or can I use the one I already own, an Oceanic Probe?

Any BC/Wing will work fine. The course will tell you to use the suit only. If you're on a single tank and weighted correctly this will work just fine. My suggestion:- after the course experiment with both methds and use the one you're happiest with. Don't let anyone else decide for you.

2) How cold will I actually feel in a drysuit? I understand that water cools the body at a much higher rate than air does but to me 40 degree air is still 40 degree air and I still get cold in 40 degree air. How will the drysuit keep me warm? Will I still be cold, even with the undergarment?

Thanks everyone

Depends on your undersuit(s). If its a membrane suit you can add layers if you get chilled. Chances are you're face will feel cold before going number and hands will feel cold. The rest of it can be countered by wearing thicker suits. You'll be aware you're in cold water but may not actually be cold as such.

Ive been colder in wetsuits in warm water than i have been in much cooler waters in a drysuit.

 

[TSandM]

To echo what others have said, you definitely use a BC with a drysuit, and if your BC is adjustable enough to fit the extra thickness of a drysuit and undergarments, it will work fine.

A drysuit is better insulation, I think, than a thick wetsuit, but you do eventually get cold in 45 degree water. How fast that happens depends mostly on the undergarments you use, and how much air you keep in your suit. If you are a brand new dry suit diver, it often works better to keep very little air in the suit, and most of your buoyancy compensation in your BC. It makes buoyancy control much easier, but does lead to getting cold faster.

When you get in the water, you will feel some degree of coolness (depending, again, on suit and undergarments). What will really strike you is when you put your face in the water -- that's when you realize that water's COLD! But you get used to it very quickly. And it's well worth it, because the waters here are LOADED with life.

I would very, very highly recommend you get some experience in a drysuit before coming, though, even if it's just doing a dry suit orientation session in a pool at home. Trying to cope with the dry suit in cold water and limited viz, when you are not used to either, would be a lot of stress. I think you would enjoy diving here much more if at least the suit were familiar to you.

When are you coming and where are you going to be? I'd be happy to meet up for a dive while you're here, if you need a buddy.

 

[Pitchblack]

To echo what others have said, you definitely use a BC with a drysuit, and if your BC is adjustable enough to fit the extra thickness of a drysuit and undergarments, it will work fine.

A drysuit is better insulation, I think, than a thick wetsuit, but you do eventually get cold in 45 degree water. How fast that happens depends mostly on the undergarments you use, and how much air you keep in your suit. If you are a brand new dry suit diver, it often works better to keep very little air in the suit, and most of your buoyancy compensation in your BC. It makes buoyancy control much easier, but does lead to getting cold faster.

Sorry SandM but i'd say a big NONO to keeping air in both the bc and the suit. For someone new to diving dry it is hard enough to be proactive with releasing air from the suit alone. And with air on both the bc and the suit it will be more things to keep in mind to avoid an uncontrolled ascend!

Thats how I look at it, but if you've got the proper training for using both bc and suit, then fine but it's still one more thing to keep track off.

 

[calwolf]

I understand that water cools the body at a much higher rate than air does but to me 40 degree air is still 40 degree air and I still get cold in 40 degree air.

Keep in mind that while the water around you is that temperature, the air in your suit isn't. Your body warms it up... and while you will lose heat slowly through the suit via the normal conduction/convection, with the proper undergarment, the air in your suit (and therefore your comfort level) will be as warm as you want it to be (or pretty close, anyway).

Similar thing with wetsuits... water gets in, but gets warmed by your body temp so it's not the same temperature as the water you're diving in.