Drysuit - how squeezy is too squeezy?

[Gombessa]

Is this mostly a matter of personal preference, or (within reason) are there issues of physiology/safety involved? I know some people who use their drysuits as their primary BC, and other who say they like to keep it just short of being so tight they pass out.

Obviously, the Michelin-man guys have more to worry about in terms of slow venting and runaway ascents, but for the ones who prefer squeeze, are there issues to consider other than lack of loft? Does having a tight drysuit affect breathing effort or circulation that would make a difference on a 40-60min dive?

 

[TSandM]

Well, there are two things I can think of offhand.

One is warmth. If you don't put enough gas in the drysuit to loft your undergarment, you lose a lot of its insulating qualities. I actually carry a couple of extra pounds to be able to run the suit a little loose and stay warmer.

The second thing is something that happened to me in my last attempt at passing Rec Triox. We were doing descent drills (descending 10 feet and holding, then 10 more feet and holding, etc.) At about 30 feet, my instructor threw a left post failure at me, and I discovered my suit was too shrink-wrapped to allow me to manipulate my valve. The ensuing struggle wasn't pretty. You need to carry enough air in the suit at al times, under all conditions, to allow you the mobility to deal with any emergencies.

 

[mania]

TSM
What I do is when I descend at the depth of 3 meters, before s drills, I add air to my dry suit and strech myself out. So the undergarment can be "placed properly". Then I deflate dry suit and check whether I can reach all valves and start the s drill. Once this is done even if you are to squeezed you still can reach all the posts.

Mania

 

[spectrum]

In my neoprene drysuit it really comes down to comfort and comfort.

Let's face it if we could dive in a drysuit without added air it would be great. In my suit the squeeze goes from feeling like a close fit to restricting just before 30 feet. 1 or 2 shots of air makes it all good.

As the water gets colder and the dive deeper warmth becomes a concern. Again it's a perception thing add I add it as desired. I use my BC for buoyancy control so there is a limit to how much bubble I want to deal with in my suit. At some point you consider it to be as good as it will get and recognize that's what you have for insulation. I have never found myself lacking adequate warmth. I have had the inescapable perception that my suit was surrounded by frigid water but I was not cold, if you know what I mean.

Pete

 

[eelpout]

Our group has learned to descend to 6-10 feet add air and readjust the position of our suit over our undwerwear like Mania was mentioning. We do this before our S drills. Even with a custom suit if the suit is squeezed on descent it can be put into a position where you cannot reach your valves.

I was always told to mimic the feeling you get after you "burp"your suit. I kno that this ir a personal preference thing. I have been diving a drysuit for 28 years and I just know when to add air.


Jim

 

[piikki]

Considering that I admit being too obedient victim of the "don't keep too much air in the suit - you are supposed to dive with as much squeeze as you can tolerate" preachers, I'd be interested in hearing at what point people usually start feeling really-really uncomfortable or even painful if they do not add air? Like at what depth with some medium weight undies? Is there some huge tolerance differences here or do people start with way less burped suits when they say they wait till 40 ft to shoot a mellow one shot into the suit?

I start feeling the pressure at 8-10ft, and at 15-18ft I am dying to put air into the suit. If I don't I am sure to come up with bruises - and I wear pretty heavy undies on all my dives. I don't purge my suit into oblivion before dives because I dive doubles and I start dives pretty heavy.

I do not like to dive with "as much squeeze as I can tolerate" because it feels disgusting, and I will come up with all the seams of my undies pressed and bruised onto my skin. That, to me, is too much squeeze even if I can reach valves with shrinkwrapped arms.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Uncle Pug made a post years ago about something he called the "20 foot squeeze". The basic premise is the squeeze you feel at 20 feet without adding air is the squeeze level you try to maintain throughout the dive. The concept was a great starting point and it helped me a lot when I was learning how much air to add to the suit.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[xiSkiGuy]

Uncle Pug made a post years ago about something he called the "20 foot squeeze". The basic premise is the squeeze you feel at 20 feet without adding air is the squeeze level you try to maintain throughout the dive. The concept was a great starting point and it helped me a lot when I was learning how much air to add to the suit.
Ber :lilbunny:

UP's 20ft squeeze is what I try to use, too.

 

[Uncle Pug]

UP's 20ft squeeze is what I try to use, too.

20' is just a reference point... it depends on how much air you do or don't burp out of the suit at the surface.

Since I keep my exhaust valve wide open all the time the only extra air in my suit at the surface before descent is from the shoulders up... and that is important as it keeps my neoprene neck seal semi-dry. That amount of air seems to give me a snug suit at 20'.

I dive what feels comfortable to me. Since I like to assume different attitudes UW including head down or supine I don't like to have a bubble of gas rushing to and fro. A slightly snug suit feels right to me.

Additionally I like to extend my arms above my head and stretch from side to side a couple of times while descending to stretch any extra suit material from the waist up toward the chest.

If I wait until the suit gets snug it is too late to get the wrinkles out and gain flexibility.