Drysuit cert?

[Darian Dunn]

Since I am PADI certified I figure the cert should be with PADI unless there is a better option.
Has anyone taken/taught the Padi dry suit cert lately?
If so, what did you think?

It appears from the dry suit divers I have talked to that Dry suit diving is mostly common sense, but I want to be safe. Is there a better option that I am not aware of?

I don’t mind spending the money to take the course if it is the best way to learn. It probably doesn’t hurt to restate the obvious I want to be safe.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

"specialty" certs have been taken to the lunatic fringe.

better idea is to receive training from an accomplished dry suit
diver (insrtuctor or not) that you feel can educate and train
you in dry-suit diving.

you start in a pool and then move to a sheltered and shallow
OW environment. when that is comfy then dive deeper.

I would NOT recommend buying the suit and "going diving"
in it but I would recommend reading the "Guide to Dry Suit
Diving" by Mr DUI ...

 

[TexasMike]

I'll speak in favor of going through training. In my case, the training was with an SDI instructor and was just $100 for the class and a dive at the lake.

Drysuits can add a signifacnt amount of task loading to the diver who is not familiar with them. Taking the class from an accredited instructor will make sure that you have the skills and some experience in dealing with all the new stuff that comes with a drysuit.

I agree that another diver can demonstrate, but it's worth my dollars (and life) to have an accredited and experienced instructor teach me the new skills I need to accomplish the task I desire to learn.

 

[Lost Yooper]

Like so many things, PADI will teach you bad habits that you'll have to unlearn down the road . They'll teach you to use the suit for buoyancy control which is wrong. The moral of the story is poor or improper training can be worse than no training at all. This is just one good example of that.

Spend the $60, or whatever, on air and get in the water with someone. Stay relatively shallow and take it easy. You can expect it to take several dives before you get really good with a drysuit (20+dives easy). It's a matter of practice.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[jetblast00]

Bottom line is, you have to be taught how to use a drysuit. You shouldn't figure it out for yourself. If you can find people around you who dive with them all the time, know that you don't know how to use one, and will spend time showing you, great. If not, take a class from an accredited instructor.

EDIT:
Just read LY post. Yea, agency's don't mean shinola for a drysuit cert... and of course, avoid anyone (Instructor or not) who tells you to use the drysuit for bouyancy control. It's a common practice which is bad.

 

[Darian Dunn]

Is there a problem with mix and matching Instruction agencies?

I can only think of a few people locally who use dry suits enough to be, IMHO, competent, to teach the class and they are Search and Rescue guys. One of them happens to be a YMCA/LEARN instructor.

Don't you normally have to produce a cert card to rent a Dry suit?

 

[Arduous]

I have to agree with TexasMike. Get proper training from a qualified professional. The saying that dry suit diving is mostly common sense may be partially true. I think most of what we do in diving is common sense, but it’s common sense backed by a knowledge base we have built through our instructors. Having another dry suit diver teach you how to use your suit may or may not work out well for you. He may be very competent and knowledgeable, but with out a structured lessen plan to follow, he may omit certain information that may or may not be vital to you someday. Seek proper training, it’s worth a few extra bucks.

Dive Safe …………………Arduous

 

[Lost Yooper]

I began using a drysuit when I had about 15 dives under my belt. I had a buddy take about a half hour to discuss a few things while drinking a few brews in his basement. We went diving, played around a bit, and that was it. The rest was up to me to practice. I haven't even seen a "How To Dive A Drysuit" book .

Get in the water and swim around. Ascend and descend controllably and learn how move the bubble in the suit. Learn how to get from a feet up to a feet down position. I once had an experienced drysuit instructor dive tell me that you should never intentionally go feet up while diving. I just laughed . It will all come with practice, just take it easy and add just enough air to the suit to prevent a squeeze.

Mike

If you don't feel comfortable learning a drysuit on your own, then don't. Go ahead and get the instruction.

 

[wheezy]

well if you've read around this board you should know I support training 100%.

I seem to see a lot of

"Hey, I JUST STARTED DIVING, what's a good WETsuit"

to which a lot of people seem to reply

"ohh you dive in cold water get a drysuit" without taking into account WHERE the person dives - just because it gets a little cold is not a very good reason to steer a newbie in the direction of a drysuit.

Back to topic.... yes I think training from a qualified instructor is a good thing, if you value your life anyway.

and PADI training... well that's a different story all together

NAUI certified and proud of it

That's just my opinion and you know what they say about those...

 

[TexasMike]

Originally posted by Darian Dunn
Is there a problem with mix and matching Instruction agencies?

I can only think of a few people locally who use dry suits enough to be, IMHO, competent, to teach the class and they are Search and Rescue guys. One of them happens to be a YMCA/LEARN instructor.

Don't you normally have to produce a cert card to rent a Dry suit?

Mix/Match agencies: No, there is not a problem. This is done quite a lot depending on the learning path of the diver.

Show c-card to rent Drysuit: Can depend on the shop/dive park doing the renting. In my experince I did get "carded" more often than not when I was renting.