Drysuits: Take a class or learn from a buddy
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JeffG
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No, I gave him a "drysuit class"Diver0001:Don't tell me you forgot....
gene1340
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Hi,
My wife and I were recently in the same dilemna. After contacting several LDS about a class and being put on a list and having their instructors contacted I decided to go with buddies that had them and it went just fine. The took the ankle weights off of me on the second dive and I do still use gaiters, but I love drysuit diving. Got home the first time after diving and asked my wife, but she wanted to wait for the class. Called the shops for a third time and one unnamed owner simply asked me why I would wasted my money on the class, as he had seen both my wife and I dive? He said hook up withh so and so and try it out in shallow water first. Long story short, I took my wife a couple of weeks ago, with gaiters and ankle weights and she did just fine. She has done a total of six drysuit dive now and no longer even uses gaiters! Save your money, be cautious and safe and have a good time!
Gene
My wife and I were recently in the same dilemna. After contacting several LDS about a class and being put on a list and having their instructors contacted I decided to go with buddies that had them and it went just fine. The took the ankle weights off of me on the second dive and I do still use gaiters, but I love drysuit diving. Got home the first time after diving and asked my wife, but she wanted to wait for the class. Called the shops for a third time and one unnamed owner simply asked me why I would wasted my money on the class, as he had seen both my wife and I dive? He said hook up withh so and so and try it out in shallow water first. Long story short, I took my wife a couple of weeks ago, with gaiters and ankle weights and she did just fine. She has done a total of six drysuit dive now and no longer even uses gaiters! Save your money, be cautious and safe and have a good time!
Gene
The point is there are some kind of key things that you'll proably get in the DS class that your buddy won't show you...
For example, everyone seems to worry about an uncontrolled inflator but with the valves set right the suit can't really fill up any faster than it vents. Your buddy might not think to show you that.
He might also not show you that getting inverted isn't problematic in the least unless you don't know how to get out of it.
Or that if you do happen to get inverted and end up on the surface what to do to get out of that. Of course this is a theoretical impossiblility if you paid attention about the part where you get get out of it.... but OK, it's in the course.
There's also the bit about propulsion. Not everyone diving dry knows how to frog kick. Not everyone sees the advantages of detailed review and attention for trimming out and how that affects propulsion and so forth.
Jeff does. But how sure are you that your buddy does....?
Your buddy probably won't open your zipper under water either to give you an idea of what a flooded suit acts like....
and so on, just for examples.
That's not to say that all DS courses will give you this. You'll need to shop around to avoid getting a clown who thinks that 1/2 hour swimming in circle in a pool makes a DS course, but there are some courses out there that won't leave you thinking you pissed your money away.
YMMV
R..
For example, everyone seems to worry about an uncontrolled inflator but with the valves set right the suit can't really fill up any faster than it vents. Your buddy might not think to show you that.
He might also not show you that getting inverted isn't problematic in the least unless you don't know how to get out of it.
Or that if you do happen to get inverted and end up on the surface what to do to get out of that. Of course this is a theoretical impossiblility if you paid attention about the part where you get get out of it.... but OK, it's in the course.
There's also the bit about propulsion. Not everyone diving dry knows how to frog kick. Not everyone sees the advantages of detailed review and attention for trimming out and how that affects propulsion and so forth.
Jeff does. But how sure are you that your buddy does....?
Your buddy probably won't open your zipper under water either to give you an idea of what a flooded suit acts like....
and so on, just for examples.
That's not to say that all DS courses will give you this. You'll need to shop around to avoid getting a clown who thinks that 1/2 hour swimming in circle in a pool makes a DS course, but there are some courses out there that won't leave you thinking you pissed your money away.
YMMV
R..
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Diver0001:
Were you in one of my dry suit courses?
I will pull "surprises" on my DS students to show them that a stuck inflator, suit flood, you can go feet first, etc. can happen at any time. It reinforces what was taught instead of just doing skills for the sake of doing skills.
depend on the buddy and the instructor in question. If it is a instructor that doen't dive dry all the time and is following the drysuit specialty course outline skip it (they teach using BCD and jsut enough air to keep squeeze away, which sucks as a method)
1_T_Submariner
Contributor
I purchased a drysuit about a month ago. I chose the buddy mentor route. Got rid of leg weights on the 3rd dive (a week later).
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