Drysuit Diving What do you need...

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Completely disagree with the "go all synthetic" sentiment. This is absolute madness!
Go wool! Wool is the only fibre that will insulate and retain warmth while wet. It is naturally odour resistant, and it will last you a lifetime. Layer thin wool garments closest to your body and have a decent undersuit on top, and you'll be a happy chap. And please don't listen to Storker. P-valve is the way to go!
 
A lot of good advice. A few points

1. Get some training, (by someone who dives in a drysuit regularly,) it will make the whole experience better and ensure you get off to a good start.

2. Be correctly weighted . - Additional weight = additional air, which is not a good mix with a drysuit.

3. ONLY CHANGE on a mat. If you want to put holes in the suit, don't use a mat.
People stand on the legs and back when getting out of a suit. ONLY do this on a mat, or you will eventually have lots of little holes in the suit.
If you talk to anyone who repairs drysuits, the holes are often in the back, or back of the legs!!!
If you have rock boots, put them on before you step off the mat!
(This mostly relates to changing on dry land, rather than on a boat.)

4. Silicon seals fail with little warning. If you have user replaceable silicon seals (Kubi etc), have spares!

5. Latex seals tend to go tacky/ craze as they get ready to fail

6. Neoprene seals are really hard wearing


My current primary suit has Silicon seals, my back up Latex, my favourite is Neoprene, due to the hardwearing nature.
You will not my comments about a mat, please take them to heart.
 
The only thing not yet mentioned is a changing mat. The plastic-y beach towel sized roll up carpets are good. Shake off the sand and grit. Change on the mat to keep it out of your suit, and the sand off your suit and out of your car.
 
I have nothing to add except for hose length. It will totally depend on how you route them and where you tank and inflator sits.
I started with 12” but I found out that I can use 9” and be more streamline. You want it to stick near the inflator when you disconnect so that it’s easy to find. Stiffer is better for SM configuration.
 
Well my drysuit should be coming in the next month, and I am gathering together all the rest of the stuff I need.

I have a pile of undergarments, I ordered the condom cath trail pack with the gauge. What else do I need?

Wow this is a part of diving in a Drysuit that I have never heard mentioned on TV or any videos. I never even thought about it before! It all makes perfect sense and adds another layer of complexity to something that already seemed daunting.
 
Wow this is a part of diving in a Drysuit that I have never heard mentioned on TV or any videos. I never even thought about it before! It all makes perfect sense and adds another layer of complexity to something that already seemed daunting.

@Robbyg

Dude! The guys have it MUCH easier than the gals! Daunting? Hardly, for the guys... Look up the She-P, if you want to see how easy you’ll have it! We need to do lots of landscaping and the amount of glue is epic! Kinesiology tape (rock tape) can also be involved. It’s pretty much arts and crafts time in the nether regions. :rofl3::outtahere:
 
Wow this is a part of diving in a Drysuit that I have never heard mentioned on TV or any videos. I never even thought about it before! It all makes perfect sense and adds another layer of complexity to something that already seemed daunting.

You can always wear astronaut panties.
 
Wow this is a part of diving in a Drysuit that I have never heard mentioned on TV or any videos. I never even thought about it before! It all makes perfect sense and adds another layer of complexity to something that already seemed daunting.

Not at all daunting.
 
Completely disagree with the "go all synthetic" sentiment. This is absolute madness!
Go wool! Wool is the only fibre that will insulate and retain warmth while wet. It is naturally odour resistant, and it will last you a lifetime. Layer thin wool garments closest to your body and have a decent undersuit on top, and you'll be a happy chap. And please don't listen to Storker. P-valve is the way to go!
You had me in the first half, not gonna lie.

But srsly, immersion diuresis is generally much less of an issue if you dive dry. If you normally can hold it for an hour or so, you may well cope quite nicely without a pee valve on normal no-stop dives. At least if you can take a leak just before zipping up (which I usually make sure to do). I can comfortably count on one hand the times I've felt the yellow rising in my eyeballs before I was on shore or aboard and could zip down to take a leak again. Even if I usually get the urge rather dramatically about 45 minutes into a wetsuit dive. Almost no-one I know who dive exclusively no-stop has installed a pee-valve on their drysuit. And they don't seem to miss it.

If you do extended dives with long(ish) deco stops, that of course changes the equation quite fundamentally.
 

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