Run the shoulder vent wide open so it will auto-dump more easily. If that feels much too constricting, maybe a few clicks from fully open.
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By minimizing the amount of air in the suit, you greatly reduce the chance of a feet-first ascent. Good luck.We started off using the drysuit for buoyancy, but it seems it might be easier to handle both the drysuit dump and bc dump instead of risking a feet first ascent.
So true. Advice to use the BC for buoyancy and not use the suit for buoyancy may be contrary to what the instructor teaches. So, my advice would be to follow what the instructor tells you to do, learn to dive the drysuit that way, and then later if you want to learn more or differently you certainly can.Now that your head is full of far too much information go do what your instructor wants you to do and chill
This is extremely useful information, thank you so much for your reply!Using the suit for buoyancy is possible in some situations. However, in the real world, time is not taken to properly weight new drysuit divers, and as a result, they end up overweighted and have to use so much air in the suit that managing the bubble in the first atmosphere is hard as hell.
I always spent a minimum of two pool sessions in the drysuit class, with the first session almost exclusively focused on getting the students' weighting as close as possible. The rest of that session was spent managing the bubble and using the BC and suit in conjunction. We worried about skills in the second pool session.
The idea that managing two buoyancy sources is too much for a new diver is complete BS if the instructor knows what they are doing, is not lazy, and doesn't try to rush the student through.
I also insisted that drysuit students have good buoyancy control and trim to begin with so they knew how they were supposed to feel in the water.
When using heavy steels or tech diving using the suit only can be very dangerous.
New dry divers only need enough air to offset squeeze in the suit. The BC should be used for primary buoyancy.
That's not just my opinion. When I was authoring the new SDI Drysuit course, a number of suit manufacturers were contacted by myself and my editors at SDI and none would endorse using the suit as the primary means of buoyancy control.
The suits are exposure protection. The BC is for buoyancy along with proper weighting and breathing control.
New dry divers only need enough air to offset squeeze in the suit. The BC should be used for primary buoyancy.
That's not just my opinion. When I was authoring the new SDI Drysuit course, a number of suit manufacturers were contacted by myself and my editors at SDI and none would endorse using the suit as the primary means of buoyancy control.
The suits are exposure protection. The BC is for buoyancy along with proper weighting and breathing control.