First Drysuit Experience

[DocWong]

The good news was, unlike last week's dive in a wet suit (freezing my a... off), today was my first day ever diving in a dry suit. What an adventure!

The day before, I rented a drysuit and did the drysuit drills in my swimming pool following the drysuit textbook to the letter! Man was that a disaster! The book talked about not using your BC for buoyancy compensation at depth. Ok, so I get in the pool, let all the air out of my BC and start putting air into my suit. At only 8 feet and neutrally buoyant, I had too much air in my suit and my legs would fill up with air and "woop", upside down I was.

Complicate that with my Farber high pressure 80s which is a very heavy tank at -8 lbs empty and about -14 full. Now with no air in my BC (back inflator type), all I had to do was wiggle a bit and I was flipped over on my back immediately. It was hilarious watching me in the pool, flipped on my back from the too heavy tank or upside down vertical from air in my feet. This was not going well, so I had my backup plan to rent a wet suit to do Monastery the following day.

So here's what happened. I decided not follow drysuit book's recommendation of not using my BC for buoyancy compensation. Using my back inflator type BC would balance out my very heavy Farber tanks. When I spoke of my plan with Michael (our divemaster for the day), he agreed and also recommended putting a minimum of air into the suit (keeping the suit tight).

We agreed that I'd abort the dive if I couldn't get a handle on my drysuit skills. I didn't have a problem with going into the water as the calmness of North Monastery was not too unlike my swimming pool!

I followed my drysuit plan and it was perfect. I luckily got my weight ballast correct. At the end of the dive on a pretty empty tank I was neutral at 15 feet!

The only time I had any mild problem with my legs filling up with air and going vertical was when I decided to try out the textbook recommendation to use the suit to achieve neutral buoyancy, got air in my feet and there I was, upside down again. I just righted myself up, let some air out and I was in business again.

I was so warm! No chill factor between the two dives and after the second dive, no perceived drop in core body temperature. I would have done a night dive too if my schedule allowed.

So my drysuit is on order and I can't wait for it to come in.

All we need now is a good shipwreck in Monterey to dive in!

Also, if you dive in a dry suit, do you use your BC at depth or keep the BC empty of air and use your drysuit for buoyency at depth?

Thanks!

Harry Wong
www.docwong.com

 

[TeddyDiver]

I luckily got my weight ballast correct. At the end of the dive on a pretty empty tank I was neutral at 15 feet!

The only time I had any mild problem with my legs filling up with air and going vertical was when I decided to try out the textbook recommendation to use the suit to achieve neutral buoyancy, got air in my feet and there I was, upside down again. I just righted myself up, let some air out and I was in business again.

Congratulations!
Well, I think you should readjust your weighting. You didn't say how much lead did you carry, but the fact you got the "buble" when using your DS for boyancy control already at 8' indicates you have way too much. Go back to pool, take half of the lead away, empty your BC and extra air from DC and make boyancy test. If needed take them one by on in your pocket to find proper weighting.
If your DS is a Neoprene one, you can add air both in DS(compensate air compression in suit) and BC (compensate neoprene compression and the air compression in BC). With other types DS's BC is not needed, but a bit of extra weight is carried close the amount of air to be used during a dive, but the amount depends how well you can emptyi your DS when ascending.

 

[mossym]

a lot of people here use their bc for bouyancy, and the suit just to remove the squeeze. i find it easier that way

 

[Mo2vation]

My phone is a phone. My camera is a camera. I don't need a compromise camera in my phone.

My suit is a suit. By BC is a BC. I don't need a compromise BC in my suit.

It works better that way for me.

---
Ken

 

[SDAnderson]

Just to echo what the others have said, I think you'll find that using your suit for bouyancy control is a good way to ensure that you will have problems with your bouyancy control. Never mind what the book says, keep your suit inflated just enough to avoid hickeys (and allow full range of motion) and use your BC to control your bouyancy. It's a little more task loading to do it this way but it produces much better results.

 

[Mverick]

Pretty much what everyone else has said....

BC for BC...
Drysuit for Drysuit...

 

[MissyP]

Pretty much what everyone else has said....

BC for BC...
Drysuit for Drysuit...

I've got 14 dives in my drysuit now... Not once have I used my BC for buoyancy, except on the surface. Seems like too much trouble to have to deal with venting the BC & the suit upon ascent- much, much easier with just the suit....
When I did the pool session, the instructor hammered it into my head "BC on the surface ONLY... once your head goes underwater, don't touch that BC again.. Use the suit for all buoyancy control". At first, I was like "yeah whatever... I'll use both", but I decided to try it her way (using the suit only for buoyancy)... and it just feels natural now...

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

I've got 14 dives in my drysuit now... Not once have I used my BC for buoyancy, except on the surface. Seems like too much trouble to have to deal with venting the BC & the suit upon ascent- much, much easier with just the suit....
When I did the pool session, the instructor hammered it into my head "BC on the surface ONLY... once your head goes underwater, don't touch that BC again.. Use the suit for all buoyancy control". At first, I was like "yeah whatever... I'll use both", but I decided to try it her way (using the suit only for buoyancy)... and it just feels natural now...

No problem with that. You do it the way you feel comfy with. PADI always "hammers" not using you BC under water, just your dry suit. It's a big issue here up north (NORWAY), since 99% of the diving schools uses drysuits in their PADI OWD or CMAS* courses. Well, the serious ones anyway.

Maybe it's because less to worry about is better for the instructors? Well, my experiences are nothing but positive with just filling "enough" air into my drysuit, leaving it to my bc/wing to keep me neutral. My idea is that as long as you have some sort of "wing", this procedure works best. But if you have a plain vest with bladders in front, then the vest/BC will be more or less useless under water, but it will work great as a life jacket at the surface.

 

[Dogboy]

Who else remembers the "good old days", when drysuit divers never wore a BC? Your drysuit was your BC! Of course, this was long before compressed/crushed neoprene, and shell suits were so new that, anyone who used one was "sure to drown" if a leak occured. We were diving in the equivelant of a modern day survival suit, a little water down the back was no big thing. Nowdays, use your BC for neutral bouyancy, use your drysuit for neutral bouyancy, whatever works!

 

[Hoosier]

That's what I did at the first DS diving, only use DS, not BCD. If you can manage it and everything is under your control, there will be no problem. But, I don't like to feel a ballon thanks to expended DS. BCD is much more effective to deflate the air. Just my 2 cents..

I've got 14 dives in my drysuit now... Not once have I used my BC for buoyancy, except on the surface. Seems like too much trouble to have to deal with venting the BC & the suit upon ascent- much, much easier with just the suit....
When I did the pool session, the instructor hammered it into my head "BC on the surface ONLY... once your head goes underwater, don't touch that BC again.. Use the suit for all buoyancy control". At first, I was like "yeah whatever... I'll use both", but I decided to try it her way (using the suit only for buoyancy)... and it just feels natural now...