First drysuit has arrived

[Zef]

The ellipse dry glove system leaked from the right side ring connection. With the o-ring on the outer part of the suit side ring, it is difficult to get the glove on without pinching the o-ring. I went with the Ellipse due to cost and may need to pony up for something more reliable. Anyone have issues with the Ellipse dry glove rings and how did you solve it?

Regarding your Fourth Element Ellipse system...apparently many who have purchased the system have experienced the issue of the orange o-ring being pushed out of its groove/pinched when connecting the glove rings to the cuff rings. Fourth Element made a running change to the cuff rings, they widened the groove from just over 5mm to approximately 6mm. The wider groove is "supposed" to allow the o-ring to roll in the groove instead of get pushed out of it/pinched. They also had some inconsistencies with the orange o-rings they were using early on.

Carefully measure the o-ring groove on your cuff rings, if they are closer to 5mm wide than 6mm give Fourth Element a call or send them a message so they can send you new cuff rings and o-rings.

I am a fan of the Waterproof Ultima DGS but currently have a set of Ellipse on my Fusion that I have had no time to use since I got my suit replaced under warranty a few months ago. I purchased the Ellipse system to test and review and only got a couple dives in with the system before finding out my AirCore suit had leaky seams in the feet. I have the new o-rings and cuff rings mounted, I just need to make some time in my schedule to get in a pool to test things out before carving out time to head back to open water.

Some SB members reported getting a brass zipper in their Aircore replacement. My new suit has all plastic zippers. Not yet sure if this is a plus or minus but I could easily self don. My overall impression of the new Fusion Aircore Tech is that it will work comfortably and safely for the next few years.

Up until recently the Fusion suits had brass zippers. For warranty replacement AquaLung had been replacing the AirCores with brass zipper models. New suits, like what you recently purchased, are being manufactured with the plastic zipper. Follow the guidelines for plastic zipper care as they seem to be more prone to wear and tear from general use where as the metal zippers are more prone to damage from mishandling.

-Z

 

[Zef]

I disagree, I get my boyancy control at the same time I get the squeeze out or off, so much easier to just do the slight roll to vent, keeps your hands free. To each his own, I tried the b/c but using the suit is better, warmer and easier for me. Try both ways, ignore dogma from all and see what works for you.

I agree with this sentiment particularly for membrane type suits. I believe neoprene suites provide a bit more inherent insulation and resist squeeze at shallower depths a bit better than membrane suits like the Fusion. I find that the same air I inject into my Fusion between 3 meters and 15 to 20 meters to ward off squeeze and provide warmth/comfort, also provides adequate buoyancy compensation without having to add any air to my wing. After 15 to 20 meters the relative change in pressure decreases and I don't need to adjust the suit so much for squeeze so any change in buoyancy that requires adding air to manage is done through my wing.

The main issue with a drysuit not providing the best buoyancy control is that on most, the vent is on your shoulder facing down while swimming. A good purge requires shifting to the vertical with your left shoulder sitting high, where as your BCD is designed for buoyancy control while swimming horizontal. Just plain easier to use.

I disagree with this as well. There is no need to go "vertical" to get the drysuit purge valve to be the high point in the suit. From the horizontal position one simply needs to roll so their left should is upwards, if that alone does not work then a light change in angle so that the head/torso are angled higher than the lower body will cause the air to migrate upward to the shoulder(s). Purging from my wing requires me to do some weird hip maneuver to get the purge valve to be the high point and then I need to reach back and pull the cord to open the dump...as @lexvil noted, with the suit this is a hand free operation.

Again as @lexvil noted, everyone will develop nuances to their technique based on their individual experience. OP, don't get too hung up on what any one person does or says and take the time to feel out how to best dive your suit. I recommend using your log book or keeping a journal about your experience over your first 20 dives with the drysuit so that you can reflect back on what did and didn't work for you while and after you gain proficiency.

-Z

 

[lexvil]

I agree with this sentiment particularly for membrane type suits. I believe neoprene suites provide a bit more inherent insulation and resist squeeze at shallower depths a bit better than membrane suits like the Fusion. I find that the same air I inject into my Fusion between 3 meters and 15 to 20 meters to ward off squeeze and provide warmth/comfort, also provides adequate buoyancy compensation without having to add any air to my wing. After 15 to 20 meters the relative change in pressure decreases and I don't need to adjust the suit so much for squeeze so any change in buoyancy that requires adding air to manage is done through my wing.



I disagree with this as well. There is no need to go "vertical" to get the drysuit purge valve to be the high point in the suit. From the horizontal position one simply needs to roll so their left should is upwards, if that alone does not work then a light change in angle so that the head/torso are angled higher than the lower body will cause the air to migrate upward to the shoulder(s). Purging from my wing requires me to do some weird hip maneuver to get the purge valve to be the high point and then I need to reach back and pull the cord to open the dump...as @lexvil noted, with the suit this is a hand free operation.

Again as @lexvil noted, everyone will develop nuances to their technique based on their individual experience. OP, don't get too hung up on what any one person does or says and take the time to feel out how to best dive your suit. I recommend using your log book or keeping a journal about your experience over your first 20 dives with the drysuit so that you can reflect back on what did and didn't work for you while and after you gain proficiency.

-Z

The real fun part of the roll “control” is when those of us who dive locally go to warm water and dive wet, we all do the roll for the first few adjustments and it only takes a second to switch to the b/c vent once you remember where you are, it all comes back instantly when back in the cold stuff.

 

[stuartv]

I disagree, I get my boyancy control at the same time I get the squeeze out or off, so much easier to just do the slight roll to vent, keeps your hands free. To each his own, I tried the b/c but using the suit is better, warmer and easier for me. Try both ways, ignore dogma from all and see what works for you.

I'm not going to knock "doing what works" (for you).

For me, I put enough air in to let my undies fully loft. In my experience, more after that does not make me any warmer. But, what it does do (putting more air in after my undies are fully lofted) is create a bubble that mostly just runs up and down my back inside the suit. And if I go head down much at all, it wants to run down into my legs and potentially even into my feet.

Also, I prefer that my buoyancy only change when I specifically act to change it. I tend to be a bit active during a lot of dives. Rolling to one side or the other, or going head up or head down, for any number of reasons. So, I prefer to close my suit's dump valve so that air doesn't dump out of my suit when I happen to roll in such a way that my left shoulder is high. I don't want my buoyancy to change just because I happened to roll to my left to look up above me.

So, for me, I feel like my buoyancy and trim are easier to manage if I close the suit dump valve, only put enough air in to let undies fully loft, and then manage any additional buoyancy that I need by using my BCD. Having a larger space (inside my DS vs inside my wing) for that "buoyancy" air to run around in is not what I prefer.

Obviously, YMMV.

 

[lexvil]

I'm not going to knock "doing what works" (for you).

For me, I put enough air in to let my undies fully loft. In my experience, more after that does not make me any warmer. But, what it does do (putting more air in after my undies are fully lofted) is create a bubble that mostly just runs up and down my back inside the suit. And if I go head down much at all, it wants to run down into my legs and potentially even into my feet.

Also, I prefer that my buoyancy only change when I specifically act to change it. I tend to be a bit active during a lot of dives. Rolling to one side or the other, or going head up or head down, for any number of reasons. So, I prefer to close my suit's dump valve so that air doesn't dump out of my suit when I happen to roll in such a way that my left shoulder is high. I don't want my buoyancy to change just because I happened to roll to my left to look up above me.

So, for me, I feel like my buoyancy and trim are easier to manage if I close the suit dump valve, only put enough air in to let undies fully loft, and then manage any additional buoyancy that I need by using my BCD. Having a larger space (inside my DS vs inside my wing) for that "buoyancy" air to run around in is not what I prefer.

Obviously, YMMV.

As you go deeper do you need more air to maintain that loft?

 

[stuartv]

As you go deeper do you need more air to maintain that loft?

Of course.

And, of course, on ascent, I have to open up the dump valve, so the expanding air can get out.

 

[lexvil]

Of course.

And, of course, on ascent, I have to open up the dump valve, so the expanding air can get out.

You have very busy hands

 

[stuartv]

You have very busy hands

Perhaps. But, it's really only somewhat substantial changes in depth that require adding a little air to the suit. And the wing. And the loop. If I'm comfy and drop down, say, 20 feet, I'm probably not adding any air to my drysuit. As @Zef noted above, once you get to depth, the pressure change for dropping another 20 feet isn't that much.

 

[lexvil]

Perhaps. But, it's really only somewhat substantial changes in depth that require adding a little air to the suit. And the wing. And the loop. If I'm comfy and drop down, say, 20 feet, I'm probably not adding any air to my drysuit. As @Zef noted above, once you get to depth, the pressure change for dropping another 20 feet isn't that much.

Right, I find it much easier to just slightly move for those adjustments than having to manually do the suit and the b/c same for descent only adding air for loft and buoyancy at the same time. I hate to admit that PADI is right but for me and everyone I dive with it seems they reached the right conclusion, for us.

 

[DarrynSami]

The drysuit course had us using only the suit for buoyancy. Last weekend I tried the following and it worked well. Started off with suit and bcd empty. On the way down to about 30' I added a couple of shots of air to the suit to just take off squeeze. After that I used the bcd for buoyancy during the dive. When beginning the ascent I vented the suit as much as I could right away. Let air out of the bcd while ascending in my normal warm water procedure. At about 20' I vented the rest of the air from the suit and then waited out the safety stop. It seemed easier for me to make minimal use of the drysuit for buoyancy and use the bcd as I am used to doing that. I stayed plenty warm in 45F water without adding a lot of air to the drysuit.

I did contact Fourth Element and they are sending me the new style cuff ring and o-ring to try on the Ellipse dry gloves. I'm still not confidant this will be a long term solution but willing to give it a shot.

Replaced the laces in my Evo 4 boots with 4mm bungee. I can easily and quickly get them on and off now and they tighten down nicely to keep air from collecting in my feet. My feet are still slightly light but were not ever out of control. As long as I keep my weighting adjusted to maintain horizontal trim, I kind of like the feet naturally floating up toward a frog position. I tried tipping head down at one point to see what would happen and I did feel some air going to my legs. Since most of the air was in my bcd it was easy to maintain my depth and recover to a normal trim.