First drysuit dive... Mixed impressions

[igoRluse]

Hi All,

I just went out for my first drysuit dive this weekend using my new Pinnacle Evo 2. Must admit I have mixed feelings about it at this point as I really didn't enjoy the dive all that much. Yes, coming back up dry was very nice, but the following much less enjoyable things make me think I would have far more enjoyed the dive using my faithful wetsuit:

First donning and doffing. VERY awkward. With time and practice, I am quite sure I could manage to get the suit on alone. Getting it off on the other hand, no way. I am a tall guy with very wide shoulders, and the zip (front) just doesn't seem to open far enough. I followed recommendations and pulled out the right hand first, but there is no way I will ever be able to get the suit off my shoulders without assistance or wriggling along the deck on my back.

Next, weight. With a 12lt steel and my 5mm full length wetsuit, I use 12 lbs of lead. That's usually enough to be comfortable all the way through the dive. If I am a little light during the wetsuit dive, moving a little deeper gives relief as the wetsuit compresses. If I am a tiny bit light during my safety stop, I can just swim around and slighty down gently for 3 minutes, no trouble at all. With the dry suit, I took 30 lbs of lead and was too light all the way through the dive. I kept the suit bubble to the minimum. (Any tighter, and my partner and I would never need to worry about contraception again if you get my gist). As you have to add a little air to the drysuit as you decend, there is no relief to being a little light by descending a little. As for the safety stop... I wasn't able to do it. I had the dump valve all the way open, but it would not dump automatically. To be able to dump during ascent, I had to raise my shoulder to the highest point making it impossible to gently swim down during the safety stop. Maybe the dump valve is malfunctionning... Unsure at this point. When I manually depress it, it dumps VERY slowly with just a trickle of bubbles coming out.

And now finally, comfort. Yes, it is nice to be dry after the dive, and not have that cold rush when you first hit the water. But the dry suit squeezes very tight during the dive, nothing unbearable, but certainly not as comfortable as a wetsuit. This is probably due me having to keep the bubble too small due to being underweighted... but how much weight am I going to need? I have already added 18lbs to my normal amout of weight. My feeling is that I am going to need another 6 to be comfortable. That's getting a bit excessive IMO.

Anyway, I'll give myself a few more dives before I make an opinion, but at this point, not overly impressed.

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Keep with it mate - the first few dives are always awkward in a drysuit, and it takes around a dozen dives to get the hang of it. I think everyone blows a safety stop at least once when learning to use a dry suit. However - after a couple of dozen dives you won't want to dive in anything else.

Add a bit more weight to start off with - once you have gotten comfortable with the suit I think you'll drop some lead. I use around 26-30 lb with my crushed neoprene suit and thick undergarments.

A light squeeze is about right. If you are shrink wrapped then dumping air from the suit won't result in much apart from a wet shoulder. It also takes a few second for air to migrate from your legs to the upper arm and even then the suit vents slower than a bc – so make the ascents slow, vertical and with pauses to vent air: especially as you near the surface. One method to get the air out is the 'chicken wing': roll onto your vent side, raise your shoulder, press dump and as you do so squeeze your arm in and down : this can really help vent excess air.

What sort of undergarments did you have? A good under suit is just as important as a good drysuit in my opinion, and a thick padded one will limit the squeeze and assure your future reproductive success.

Where are you diving dry - in Queensland? I’ve been praying the water gets cold enough up here that I can wear my drysuit again. I’d wear it now but am afraid all the local divers will point and laugh.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[Gombessa]

Nobody likes the first few dives in a drysuit; to me it felt like the first time I was floundering around in open water class. But when you dive a lot in cold water, you get used to it and really begin to rely on it very quickly.

 

[Tigerman]

Keep with it mate - the first few dives are always awkward in a drysuit, and it takes around a dozen dives to get the hang of it. I think everyone blows a safety stop at least once when learning to use a dry suit. However - after a couple of dozen dives you won't want to dive in anything else.

Add a bit more weight to start off with - once you have gotten comfortable with the suit I think you'll drop some lead. I use around 26-30 lb with my crushed neoprene suit and thick undergarments.

A light squeeze is about right. If you are shrink wrapped then dumping air from the suit won't result in much apart from a wet shoulder. It also takes a few second for air to migrate from your legs to the upper arm and even then the suit vents slower than a bc – so make the ascents slow, vertical and with pauses to vent air: especially as you near the surface. One method to get the air out is the 'chicken wing': roll onto your vent side, raise your shoulder, press dump and as you do so squeeze your arm in and down : this can really help vent excess air.

What sort of undergarments did you have? A good under suit is just as important as a good drysuit in my opinion, and a thick padded one will limit the squeeze and assure your future reproductive success.

Where are you diving dry - in Queensland? I’ve been praying the water gets cold enough up here that I can wear my drysuit again. I’d wear it now but am afraid all the local divers will point and laugh.

Cheers,
Rohan.

I dont care if people laugh! Im not the one starting to freeze during a long dive or freeze my butt off putting on a wet, cold suit for the 2nd or third dive

Nobody likes the first few dives in a drysuit; to me it felt like the first time I was floundering around in open water class. But when you dive a lot in cold water, you get used to it and really begin to rely on it very quickly.

I LOVED my first dive in a drysuit.. The first two minutes was a bit weird as I was not getting wet tho

 

[NudeDiver]

Fit could be part of your problem - more on that in a minute....

I originally certified in a drysuit. Did my 4 dives in a slushy mixture in Alaska in November. Cold stuff. Since then, I've done some 20 more drysuit dives and some 60 or more dives in a wetsuit. I strongly prefer the wetsuit.

But, I recently made two dives in my drysuit - which I was dreading. Much to my amazement, it wasn't too bad. Despite the 40 pounds of lead I had, which was a pain, I think part of it was that I lost a lot of weight since the last time I used my suit (a year ago), and I fit into it a lot better. Furthermore, it was a LOT easier to get back out of it. I got out of it myself - last time, there was no way I was getting out myself, and even with help, it was pretty hard. So, this is why I think fit might be something for you to look at.

Also, I found that using gloves instead of lobster mits makes it a LOT better for me. However, lobster mits can get pretty cold in November in Alaska. However, gloves are plenty fine during the summer, when the water is a warm 45 or 50.

The only way to get better with the drysuit is to use it more often. I'd never use a drysuit simply to "dive dry" - way too much of a pain in the ass. To me, the only reason is because you have to, simply because the water is too cold otherwise. I dunno why anyone one use a drysuit just for fun, or just to keep from being wet. Being an Alaska diver, I know all about cold - but everywhere else I've dived (Florida, Australia, Egypt, Hawaii, New Mexico), the water was plenty warm. In Australia, I was doing 5 dives a day and not a hint of being cold. Dive dry? No way - only if there is no other choice.

From your post, it sounds like you bought a drysuit before having gone diving in one. Is that correct? If so - I'm just curious why you didn't try a rental for a few dives to see what you thought before dropping cash on a suit. Rental suits, esp. drysuits do tend to suck, but still - might have been worth doing.

Good luck!
ND

 

[Tigerman]

And I thought I used lots of weight...

 

[NudeDiver]

I keep trying to use less weight, but it becomes very difficult to sink, even when empty of all air - and staying at depth near the end of the dive becomes problematic. If I am lucky, having a good day, and the gods are with me, I can do 35 - but that doesn't seem to happen very often.

 

[String]

There is a certain technique to getting in and out of front entry suits. It takes some practice and you have to take limbs out in a certain order. And yes even that 1/2" makes all the difference on the zip being open.

As for weight, a lot depends on undersuit used. My weezle extreme with single tank i use about 24lbs in salt. For the subxero suit with same setup i need 33lbs to sink so i wouldnt overly worry. If you NEED that weight then use it. However be sure you actually need it, do a weight check with a nearly completely empty tank by dumping all your air from suit and jacket then have someone hand you weights until you JUST start to sink. That then is your correct weighting.

Overweighting is the most common problem i see in people with drysuits (and diving generally).

 

[Scott M]

Keep with it, I am new myself and am still struggling a bit. We do a lot of very shallow dives here and if you think it is fun atr depth try working with the bouyancy for a dive in the 20' average mark. I don't mind doing it because it is kind of quickening the learning curve. The more I dive it the more I like it. Keep us posted on your progress.

Good Luck

 

[fppf]

I always dive dry a little on the heavy side. I never want to have ALL the air out of my suit in 40 degree water. If your undergarments are pancaked they wont do there job. So I typically dive a pound or two more than I really need.

I have the Pinnacle Evo 1, I like the back zip suits better. Most people I see with a front zip still need some minor help to adjust or get in the suit. All I need is a zip, my wife also has the same suit.

Make sure to adjust "the boys" and have them in the right spot before hitting the water.

Dry suit diving is different, its harder to do. You can't swim as easy, more lead, blah blah blah. But hey, it beats being cold or not diving.

So welcome to the vacuum packed piece of meat club.