I finally was able to get the DUI CF300 I bought from scubaboard into open water on Saturday. Up until that time I had only used it in a few pool dives when the air temp was much cooler. I will explain the day of diving if it helps with the question.
Is it normal to sweat so much in your undergarments that they can be wrung out or is that a sign of a leak?
The air temp was just below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Putting on my undergarments seemed insane in such hot temperatures but I knew the water temp would be in the low 50's below the first thermocline. I put on my light polartec baselayer I picked up from an army surplus store along with the used Fourth element Arctic top and bottom I bought from scubaboard.
The first dive was 52 minutes with a bottom temp of 52 degrees Fahrenheit I felt cool but not cold except for my I hands. I had forgotten to put on my glove liners which I will blame on not using them while in the pool. Getting out of the water I felt comfortable. I had thought the water was in the suit because my feet were sloshing but it turned out to just be water sitting in the boots over my neoprene socks.
For the surface interval, I did not really see the need to fully doff the drysuit. I removed the top leaving the suspenders in place. I removed my artic top which was quite damp. I hung it on our canopy. My base layer was soaked. Durning the surface internal several spectators stopped to ask about the stories they heard about the quarry we were diving. We were also stopped by a brand new diver asking questions about where things were since none of the platforms were marked.
The second dive I felt a bit cooler in the drysuit compared to the first dive. The computer recorded 53 degrees Fahrenheit. I felt wet/damp. We cut this dive a bit short. I was worried about the single diver plus we had been working on descending and ascending to get practice venting our drysuits. With a bottom time of 31 minutes we surfaced and saw the new diver we met had his BCD floating in the water. We asked him if he wanted to dive with us. We waited about 15 minutes for him to get his kit on while we floated near our dive flag which was tied off on the 30 foot platform. It was warm floating there. The dive computer logged 100-degree surface temp, but obviously that was just the sun heating the computer up while on the surface.
I was cooler on the third dive, especially at the beginning. I could feel the dampness of my undergarments. Once again I was cool but not cold. It felt about the same as diving our 7mm wetsuit which is what I used last year. After 33 minutes, we surfaced again and chatted with the new diver before swimming to shore.
Once again, I felt comfortable during the surface interval even though it was hot outside however this time I needed to use the bathroom/porta potty, so fully doffed my drysuit and the artic undergarments. I was also going to make lunch so it just felt better to get out of the drysuit. My artic top was pretty wet but my pants seemed soaked. I hung the undergarments up and they were dripping. I was able to wring out my wool socks.
On our final dive, I put the damp undergarments back on. I left the wool socks behind and used the artic socks I had with me instead. The bottom temp was 51 degrees Fahrenheit. As with past dives, I was cool but not cold. After the dive the artic undergarments seemed to be about the same dampness as when I started.
Throughout all of the dives, I did not feel any water moving through the suit. Sometimes an area would feel colder than another, but it was never in the same place. I know that while in the pool that my left arm would get a little wet from the low profile apeks dump valve. I did not feel any water come through the valve but I wonder if I was so sweaty I just didn't notice it.
Is it normal to sweat so much in thicker undergarments or is it more likely I had a small leak somewhere? In the PADI drysuit DVD, they talk about feeling aleak. I think the example they gave was a zipper that was not shut all the way. At no point did I feel water pouring into the suit. I was convinced there was likely a small leak until my wife fully doffed her drysuit. While she removed her upper artics between each dive she kept on the bottoms. At the end of the day her bottoms were quite wet as well, but maybe not as wet as mine.
If it was likely just sweat, should I be fully doffing the drysuit between dives? I guess I just don't know what is normal. As I said in the beginning, it was weird putting on such thick undergarments in the middle of the summer.
Is it normal to sweat so much in your undergarments that they can be wrung out or is that a sign of a leak?
The air temp was just below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Putting on my undergarments seemed insane in such hot temperatures but I knew the water temp would be in the low 50's below the first thermocline. I put on my light polartec baselayer I picked up from an army surplus store along with the used Fourth element Arctic top and bottom I bought from scubaboard.
The first dive was 52 minutes with a bottom temp of 52 degrees Fahrenheit I felt cool but not cold except for my I hands. I had forgotten to put on my glove liners which I will blame on not using them while in the pool. Getting out of the water I felt comfortable. I had thought the water was in the suit because my feet were sloshing but it turned out to just be water sitting in the boots over my neoprene socks.
For the surface interval, I did not really see the need to fully doff the drysuit. I removed the top leaving the suspenders in place. I removed my artic top which was quite damp. I hung it on our canopy. My base layer was soaked. Durning the surface internal several spectators stopped to ask about the stories they heard about the quarry we were diving. We were also stopped by a brand new diver asking questions about where things were since none of the platforms were marked.
The second dive I felt a bit cooler in the drysuit compared to the first dive. The computer recorded 53 degrees Fahrenheit. I felt wet/damp. We cut this dive a bit short. I was worried about the single diver plus we had been working on descending and ascending to get practice venting our drysuits. With a bottom time of 31 minutes we surfaced and saw the new diver we met had his BCD floating in the water. We asked him if he wanted to dive with us. We waited about 15 minutes for him to get his kit on while we floated near our dive flag which was tied off on the 30 foot platform. It was warm floating there. The dive computer logged 100-degree surface temp, but obviously that was just the sun heating the computer up while on the surface.
I was cooler on the third dive, especially at the beginning. I could feel the dampness of my undergarments. Once again I was cool but not cold. It felt about the same as diving our 7mm wetsuit which is what I used last year. After 33 minutes, we surfaced again and chatted with the new diver before swimming to shore.
Once again, I felt comfortable during the surface interval even though it was hot outside however this time I needed to use the bathroom/porta potty, so fully doffed my drysuit and the artic undergarments. I was also going to make lunch so it just felt better to get out of the drysuit. My artic top was pretty wet but my pants seemed soaked. I hung the undergarments up and they were dripping. I was able to wring out my wool socks.
On our final dive, I put the damp undergarments back on. I left the wool socks behind and used the artic socks I had with me instead. The bottom temp was 51 degrees Fahrenheit. As with past dives, I was cool but not cold. After the dive the artic undergarments seemed to be about the same dampness as when I started.
Throughout all of the dives, I did not feel any water moving through the suit. Sometimes an area would feel colder than another, but it was never in the same place. I know that while in the pool that my left arm would get a little wet from the low profile apeks dump valve. I did not feel any water come through the valve but I wonder if I was so sweaty I just didn't notice it.
Is it normal to sweat so much in thicker undergarments or is it more likely I had a small leak somewhere? In the PADI drysuit DVD, they talk about feeling aleak. I think the example they gave was a zipper that was not shut all the way. At no point did I feel water pouring into the suit. I was convinced there was likely a small leak until my wife fully doffed her drysuit. While she removed her upper artics between each dive she kept on the bottoms. At the end of the day her bottoms were quite wet as well, but maybe not as wet as mine.
If it was likely just sweat, should I be fully doffing the drysuit between dives? I guess I just don't know what is normal. As I said in the beginning, it was weird putting on such thick undergarments in the middle of the summer.
like happened to me last week, POP full of water
