First Drysuit

[Alekseolsen]

Am I right in saying that a drysuit is really a game changer if you live in an area without year round warm water? It strikes me that this single piece of gear changes your potential for getting dives in substantially and becomes necessary in many locations for deep dives.

I dive year - round in Norway, obviously in a dry suit. Last redsea trip i did drysuit only, on Hawaaii (big island) earlier this year I really missed my drysuit.

Unless diving in ~30°C/85°F I'd say a drysuit is a huge upgrade

 

[rob.mwpropane]

No.
I hear that all the time from people. I have no idea where that nonsense comes from. I have never used the valves before I'm in the water and well into the dive.

It's been posted on SB by numerous people.. have to charge / balance the line before descent

Again, I have zero experience, so I don't know

 

[berndo]

It's been posted on SB by numerous people.. have to charge / balance the line before descent

There is good stuff here but a lot of nonsense too from people with zero experience about what they're talking about. You have to open the valve to equalize, you don't have to 'charge' it. I just keep the valve open throughout the dive and don't have to do anything with it.

 

[Gelirfella]

It's been posted on SB by numerous people.. have to charge / balance the line before descent

Again, I have zero experience, so I don't know

Guess we would need to know the average force with which we pee to know if this makes a substantial difference? But if people with unbalanced pee valves don't have issues with fully voiding their bladder probably better to get an unbalanced valve since there is one less failure point?

 

[Gelirfella]

When you open the valve doesn't it balance immediately? Guess that would mean the balanced valves are a solution in search of a problem?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Guess we would need to know the average force with which we pee to know if this makes a substantial difference? But if people with unbalanced pee valves don't have issues with fully voiding their bladder probably better to get an unbalanced valve since there is one less failure point?

I'm not sure. On one hand I know there were issues with earlier models but I haven't heard of any lately.

Personally I'm fine with it. So what if I get to 500 dives and I have to replace a aprt. I hink @lexvil has Trigon on his 1st suit? And that's ~ 8 years old?

When you open the valve doesn't it balance immediately? Guess that would mean the balanced valves are a solution in search of a problem?

Air is in the line, will compress at depth whereas liquid will not. That's why i have heard you need to charge / fill it.

 

[lexvil]

Trigon doesn’t have the rot prone balance valve that most do, simple silicone flat valves only, the only way to mess one up is over pressurizing in the paranoid attempt to flush it, let water simply flow through it when rinsing it and if you feel compelled to run some disinfectant through it use something with low volume like a turkey baster that won’t allow disruption of the valve. It is essentially fool proof (unless the fool runs to much pressurized water through it, don’t ask how I know )

 

[Boarderguy]

Knee pads axed.

Will switch back to the standard braces, i have narrow shoulders anyways.

Tailor to get measurements? Or does everyone just do it themselves following the guide.

Keep the knee pads. I tripped on a rock getting out after a long dive and put my knee into a mix of oyster and clam shells mixed with pebbles. I'm sure the pads saved my Nova knee material. They cost almost nothing and are a good layer of protection for an expensive investment.

40mm braces are the way to go. The standard ones work but tend to be a little less comfortable with the weight of the suit pulling on them when the top isn't on.

Quick neck, not orust.

Trigon p-valve because there isn't anything to forget to open with it.

Kubi dry gloves. They're stupid easy to use and inexpensive directly from Seaskin.

 

[berndo]

Trigon doesn’t have the rot prone balance valve that most do, simple silicone flat valves only, the only way to mess one up is over pressurizing in the paranoid attempt to flush it,

The duckbill valves aren't prone to rot either.

There are also tec jacket bcds and ankle weights... those make about as much sense as balanced p-valves.

 

[Gelirfella]

Quick neck, not orust.

i see a lot of back and forth about these. My shoulder's are not broad. I tend to wear small jackets but can sometimes wear a medium if it's a small medium. I've read that the ring is wide on the quick neck and can cause issues with straps and losing seal. Aside from the annoyance of the clips when you have to change a seal is there any other reason to avoid the Orust?