Drysuit Experience Development

[DHGPJ]

So, I just got my Ocean Vendors drysuit with 50 degree undergarments. Most of my cold-water diving will be around New England, and I plan to dive year-round. This is my first drysuit.

After taking the drysuit class and reading online, I have the following questions:

1) DS vs. BCD for buoyancy control

My DS instructor recommended using the DS for primary BC. However, I've read many online who state that the "right" approach is to use the BC for buoyancy control, and the DS simply to stay warm and unpinched. What is your view?

2) DS exhaust valve strategy

Seems to me that leaving the valve open all the time would cause the suit to lose air quite quickly, even from a "normal" 5-10 foot vertical range of motion commonly found "at depth". Should you...

a) Leave the valve 90% shut for descent and bottom-time, open it to 50% or so for ascent only?

b) Leave it at 50% all the time?

c) Or what??

3) Correcting "air in the feet"

In the pool, I was not wearing undergarments, so the bubble was unimpeded, and ran to my legs easily. However, I found that when I felt this happen, it was easy to correct by simply lifting my left (exhaust valve) arm - with or without venting. The air rushed to my arm, out of my legs - end of problem. As an early corrective to the "air in the feet" issue, this seemed to work very well, yet I haven't seen this "tip" spoken of instruction-ally, as it were.

I'd appreciate any informed comment.

 

[jepuskar]

Hey there,

I am a big advocate of using the DS to keep you dry only. Add small amounts of air to your suit just to offset squeeze. Your drysuit should feel like its snugly around you, but it shouldnt hurt or restrict breathing. Use your BC for buoyancy. This will leave you with a minimal amount of air in your DS and will help with air in the feet problem. Anytime you feel you have too much air in your lower half, either from diving or eating taco bell, just get vertical briefly and the air will rise and you should feel your feet get snug.

As far as your exhaust valve, I leave mine open fully all the way and all the time. Again, not having alot of air in your DS will help with this.

If you decide to take my advice, please practice in less than 30 feet of water getting use to venting air from two sources. Between 20 feet and the surface will be the most change in pressure and this is were you need to be careful. The deeper you go the more forgiving it will be, but if you practice shallow where it is harder to control when your new at this, you will become proficient.

Jason

 

[TSandM]

There are a lot of threads about dry suit versus BC for buoyancy control, and there was a recent one on the Deco Stop as well.

Regarding the valve, you should not lose air from the dry suit with the valve fully open UNLESS the valve is the highest point of your body (or you have a LOT of pressure in your suit ) Diving in horizontal trim allows you to keep pretty much as much air as you would reasonably want in the suit without unwanted venting. I had a dive, early in my career, where my tank slipped and I didn't realize it, but as a result, I was darned near vertical through the whole dive, and couldn't figure out WHY I couldn't keep air in my suit . . . Duuuuuh.

Lifting your arm will only cause the air to run there if, when you do so, there is an uphill path from your feet to your arm. Air will not run down out of your feet and along your body and up into your arm. (I wish it would.) Getting air out of your feet, in general, involves getting your feet below the rest of you.

 

[darylm74]

I use the drysuit and BC together, but my BC primarily. I just offset the squeeze of the drysuit but sometimes if I need to fine-tune a bit I use the drysuit. The bursts into a drysuit seems to be more subtle than that from the BC. Getting your weighting right to begin with will minimize having to do much with your BC and by offsetting the squeeze from the drysuit will often add enough air/argon to keep you neutral. It just takes practice and you will find out what works best for you.