First Drysuit Experience

[Canadian_Diver]

OK, apparently I'm not quite as bouyant as you I'm at 8lb. in BC, 8 on the belt, 4 on the ankles. That is 20 lb. but I am also wearing a 30 ft pony that weaighs in at -5lb with the reg. so may total is 25 lb. I was going to try trimming back a little more but I believe I am at about the minimum for warmth and squeeze. I'm using Weezle extreme undies, they were recommended by a dive buddy and are great. They loft up to fill out the air space in the suit and yet compress down into a very tight space.

Well, it doesn't help that I'm 250lbs and 6' tall. I'm not fat, but I'm no toothpick either.

I could still drop 2-4 lbs off my rig, but I'm quite comfortable with where it is at now. It's very balanced too. When I initially started diving dry, I had 42lbs of weight. Since then, with alot of experimentation, changing of thermals, better breathing habits, etc, I was able to get it down to where I am now. I imagine, as I lose a little more weight, I'll be under 30lbs by next summer.

 

[Dive1Dennis]

Well, it doesn't help that I'm 250lbs and 6' tall. I'm not fat, but I'm no toothpick either.

I could still drop 2-4 lbs off my rig, but I'm quite comfortable with where it is at now. It's very balanced too. When I initially started diving dry, I had 42lbs of weight. Since then, with alot of experimentation, changing of thermals, better breathing habits, etc, I was able to get it down to where I am now. I imagine, as I lose a little more weight, I'll be under 30lbs by next summer.

"OK, I'll give you that. I'm, 160 lb. 5'7" so I should carry less lead.

I will gladly carry a little more lead to dive dry. I was out on Lake Michigan on Sunday. It was 39F on the bottom, 44F at the safety stop. You would think with all this hot weather we would get a break in August, but no..... And to think I was doing this stuff wet until earlier this year. I managed, but I do a lot less shivering now

 

[markfm]

Well, this weekend I'm trying out DUI's trilam suit and see how I like that.

The Faber 100 I have is -9 empty so I won't have to wear too much weight. I'll play with it in the pool to get my fresh water weight right.

Anyone know about how much weight I should add for cold salt water?

Harry Wong
www.docwong.com

2.5% of your total dry weight, in other words 1 pound per 40 for you geared up.
Example:
In a diveskin, fresh water, I need 4 pounds.
Me on the scale, geared up (holding my fins and pony bottle), I weight about 200.
An empty AL80, with valve, is about 36 lbs.
200 + 36 + 4(fresh water weight used) = 240 pounds total dry weight, empty AL80.
240/40 = 6 pounds = added weight in salt water, so my salt water weight needed is 4 (fresh) + 6 = 10 pounds.
Works the other way, too, of course. My salt water weight is 246 pounds total, dividing by 40 is about 6, so I strip 6 off the 10 pounds and require 4 pounds in fresh water.

A Faber 100 empty, with valve, is about 41 pounds, so use that instead of the 36 in the example.

(The above is a "close enough" approximation, if you know either your fresh or salt weighting and need to convert.)

 

[Canadian_Diver]

"OK, I'll give you that. I'm, 160 lb. 5'7" so I should carry less lead.

I will gladly carry a little more lead to dive dry. I was out on Lake Michigan on Sunday. It was 39F on the bottom, 44F at the safety stop. You would think with all this hot weather we would get a break in August, but no..... And to think I was doing this stuff wet until earlier this year. I managed, but I do a lot less shivering now

Yah, I don't mind carrying a few pounds extra, but I do want to drop them eventually.

Where abouts are you from? I'm diving Lake Superior this weekend out in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The lake I normally dive in sounds about the same .... 40F @ 72' -- 48 @ 40' -- 55F+ @ 27' +

I've never dove wet in coldwater.

 

[Dive1Dennis]

Where abouts are you from? I'm diving Lake Superior this weekend out in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

I'm in Wisconsin. Last weekend we were diving the Rouse Simmons SE of Kewaunee. The water was cold that day. We have had days earlier this summer where the water is warmer, but it never gets much warmer than about 45 at the bottom. About a month ago we had surface temp of 72F. During our surface interval we all stripped down to our swim suits (underwear) and did some swiming on the surface. That was fun.

It sounds a lot more imressive to talk about the cold days

I should be in Lake Superior in two weeks. We are planning a trip to Whitefish Point Michigan on the 27th and 28th.

 

[DocWong]

So this last weekend I dove with a rented DUI 50-50 shell-crushed neopreme suit.

I definitely like the shell suit for its lightness and how it feels out of the water. I didn't notice an appreciable difference in the feel of the suit in the water. The weight I needed was about the same, so the buoyancy characteristics seemed similar.

I wore 12 lbs.
Salt water 52 degrees F.
70 feet deep

I experimented with putting more air in my drysuit and it still felt funny with the very - buoyant Faber 100 (-16 full, -9 empty). The tank being so negative, I had the tendancy to flip over horizontally. So by putting air in my BC, I was able to compensate for the weight of the tank.

Can't wait for my suit to arrive!

Doc Wong
www.docwong.com

 

[Canadian_Diver]

I'm in Wisconsin. Last weekend we were diving the Rouse Simmons SE of Kewaunee. The water was cold that day. We have had days earlier this summer where the water is warmer, but it never gets much warmer than about 45 at the bottom. About a month ago we had surface temp of 72F. During our surface interval we all stripped down to our swim suits (underwear) and did some swiming on the surface. That was fun.

It sounds a lot more imressive to talk about the cold days

I should be in Lake Superior in two weeks. We are planning a trip to Whitefish Point Michigan on the 27th and 28th.

LOL! Sounds like our lakes!!

Enjoy the trip!!

 

[Hoosier]

39 F @ what depth? Thanks.

"OK, I'll give you that. I'm, 160 lb. 5'7" so I should carry less lead.

I will gladly carry a little more lead to dive dry. I was out on Lake Michigan on Sunday. It was 39F on the bottom, 44F at the safety stop. You would think with all this hot weather we would get a break in August, but no..... And to think I was doing this stuff wet until earlier this year. I managed, but I do a lot less shivering now

 

[Canadian_Diver]

39 F @ what depth? Thanks.

I know your question was for Dennis, but, what the heck, I'll answer for my neck of the woods.

39F @ 74ft of Freshwater .... also pitchblack .... just the way I like it!

 

[Dive1Dennis]

39 F @ what depth? Thanks.

I'm not sure where I hit 39, it takes a while for my computer to catch up to the H2O temp. I would guess that below about 100ft it is all the same.... 39 - 40. Chilly. Cold. Just the way I like it too Generally, the vis is best when the temp is cold.

Canadian, where are you typically diving with the temps noted in your post? Is that Superior?