Drysuits, backplates & bouyancy

[FishDiver]

I have read a few old threads discussing the use of the drysuit vs. BC for buoyancy control. Opinions were pretty well split.

FOR THE PEOPLE THAT PREFER TO USE THEIR DRYSUIT FOR BUOYANCY CONTROL, I would like to ask "why carry a wing at all?"

I don't own a drysuit yet, although I have taken an introductory drysuit class. The instructor insisted that I use the suit rather than the BC for buoyancy control. I hardly mastered drysuit buoyancy, but between my instruction and the opinions of numerous board members it can be done.

In the spirit of minimalism I like to leave unnecessary gear on shore. I would think a backplate and hog harness with no wing would be a nice trim package and offset somewhat the extra drag caused by the drysuit.

Thoughts?

 

[Dive-aholic]

I don't intentionally use my drysuit for buoyancy control, it just works out that way.

What if your dry suit floods? The wing is there to compensate for buoyancy with depth changes. The dry suit is inflated to prevent squeeze. If you are weighted correctly then inflating your dry suit to offset squeeze should be enough to compensate for the depth changes. Your wing should also be streamlined enough that it doesn't create much drag and still be trim. Besides being there for buoyancy compensation, the wing's purpose is to float your rig on the surface.

 

[Diver0001]

I have read a few old threads discussing the use of the drysuit vs. BC for buoyancy control. Opinions were pretty well split.

FOR THE PEOPLE THAT PREFER TO USE THEIR DRYSUIT FOR BUOYANCY CONTROL, I would like to ask "why carry a wing at all?"

The answer to this questions is safety. You really should have some form of redundant buoyancy. Drysuits can and do flood. If that should happen then you really should have some options. Deliberately choosing to limit your options may be minimalist but it's not wise in my opinion.

Secondly, if you happen to choose a neoprene drysuit then you'll want to be able to put some of your air in the wing. The stability of the drysuit gets worse and worse and you go deeper and the size of the air bubble in the suit grows.

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In the spirit of minimalism I like to leave unnecessary gear on shore. I would think a backplate and hog harness with no wing would be a nice trim package and offset somewhat the extra drag caused by the drysuit.

Thoughts?

I used something very similar throughout the 80's. However, instead of a wing, I used a horse-collar (bib) for redunant buoyancy (which --knock on wood-- I never needed to inflate). AT the time, however, the choice was BCD or backpack/bib and BP/Wings were scary tek stuff that wasn't main stream. I can say from experience that if you're trimming with your drysuit that there is little difference in how it feels to use a bp/wing or backpack/bib. The difference, however, comes when you have to inflate it. A horse-collar rides up and gets very uncomfortable if you inflate it. A wing doesn't.

R..