first dive "dry"

[DavidInNH]

I can suggest other reasons that you might be wet. (Having experienced them myself.)

When you gear up, you are trapping warm, moist air in the suit. This air will cool and condense as soon as you hit the cold water. Also, since you are, like me, still a DS-newbie - you might be exerting yourself a lot (especially with 39# - sounds like a lot to me) and the moisture may be coming from inside the suit (sweat) rather than from leakage.

In any event, some moisture is to be expected. If you've got good wicking fabric on (I use Bergolene as an underlayer), the moisture should not cool you. I frequently end a dive with the outside of my polartec jumpsuit soaking wet to the touch but the inside totally dry.

Hope this helps.

- Dave

 

[oly5050user]

could have been all the suggestions claimed.Could also have been the suit "weeps".You said it was a used neoprene suit.As the neoprene ages it leaks through the material itself and the seams also..

 

[Hawkeyegregg]

The suit brand is whites with less than 30 dives on it. I hope it is not weeping but if it was would it only weep from the waist up? There was a great deal of water - I was not exagerating when I said dripping/wringing wet and there was a very sharp wet - totally dry line just above my waist line. If I sweat that much in an hour I would probably be dead. My lower body had a very slight damp feel that I associated with perspiration.

I agree that 39lbs is a lot. I dive my wet suit with 29lbs and that is probably 4-5lbs too much so I figured I was good with an extra 10lbs for dry diving but I had to fully exhale and fight to get down. In addition to the extra 10lbs I also added a pony tank.