Drysuit hose question

[Andy_HFC]

I am considering some dry suit diving, and picked up a seriously cheap dry suit off ebay. Fits really well and appears watertight - time will tell i guess.

However i need a hose for it. It was sold to me as an OTTER suit, but i can't find any branding on it, but it does have Apex valves.

Do i need to get a specific hose?

Also, it didn't come with a hood. Any advice on what thickness /brand etc. Currently i use oceanic shadow 5mm semi and my head is fine. Don't what thickness the hood is though.

Any advice much appreciated.

 

[D_B]

Hood thickness will depend on what makes you comfortable, looks like 5mm or 7mm hood would do .. I got a Henderson Hyperstretch one because its more flexible and comfortable then regular hoods
Drysuit hose is short and has a quick disconnect on it, may want to get one of Tobin's (Deep Sea Supply) "hose hat" for the coupler, it makes disconnecting the hose easier if you have to in a hurry ... https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=45

About diving the drysuit ... drysuits have some potentially dangerous failure modes (inflator sticking on) and I suggest getting good training , by an instructor, or by a very good mentor before diving one ... this will give you an idea what my class was like ... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/advanced-scuba-discussions/260824-dry-suit-class.html

... you dont know, what you dont know

 

[Andy_HFC]

So, any short LP hose will do the trick then, cool. I'll get one of those top hats too, seeing as they're so cheap. I'll look online for that hood. Sounds like what i'm after. A little stretch would work for me as i have long hair, which makes donning a hood painful sometimes!

I will be getting training from my PADI instructor, dry suit course. I wouldn't dream of entering the water without proper training, far too many variables with a dry suit, that's why i have avoided them to date, until i got my diving to a level where i feel i am ready for an upgrade.

They scare me, that whole stuck upside down thing doesn't sound pleasant!

 

[Cave Diver]

So, any short LP hose will do the trick then, cool. I'll get one of those top hats too, seeing as they're so cheap. I'll look online for that hood. Sounds like what i'm after. A little stretch would work for me as i have long hair, which makes donning a hood painful sometimes!

I will be getting training from my PADI instructor, dry suit course. I wouldn't dream of entering the water without proper training, far too many variables with a dry suit, that's why i have avoided them to date, until i got my diving to a level where i feel i am ready for an upgrade.

They scare me, that whole stuck upside down thing doesn't sound pleasant!

IIRC, there are a few drysuits that have some sort of proprietary inflator, but they are the exception, not the norm. Try the inflator for your BC on it and that will let you know real quick if it's an oddball, but odds are that it's not.

 

[Andy_HFC]

Good call, i'll do that.