Freediving in a dry suit? Need experiences and tips.

[walkonmars]

Hi Everyone,

I recently tried on some laminate drysuits and I'm ready to buy one soon.
I dive in southern and northern California so I usually wear a 7mm wetsuit which works fine for freediving for abalone.
Has anyone had experience freediving in a dry suit?
My suspicion is that it will not work as well in a drysuit. When I wore a drysuit(only twice) there seems to be much more compressibility with the air pockets and spaces in the suit so buoyancy changes due to depth changes much greater than in a wetsuit.
We plan to dive only to around 20-25ft depth. I would hate to have to take an Argon bottle with me while freediving.
Does anyone do a lot of drysuit freediving and have any tips?

Thanks

 

[Storker]

I live in dry suit country. Of all the SCUBA divers I know, know of or have met, the ones using a wetsuit can comfortably be counted on one finger. The number of freedivers using a drysuit can be counted on fewer fingers. I assume there's a good reason for that.


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[tbone1004]

doesn't have to be filled with argon, but the advantage of a drysuit over wet other than comfort is constant buoyancy regardless of depth. For this you would be in a worse situation than a wetsuit because the drysuit will have a larger buoyancy change due to depth than the wetsuit so you'll go from neutral at the surface to VERY negative at 25ft. You can get a small 6cf inflation bottle, can be filled with air, and wear it like a fanny pack though it would be a horrible waste of gas for freediving.... For that shallow I'd just strap a tank on and call it good.

 

[Rainer]

For that shallow I'd just strap a tank on and call it good.

If he wants to take abalone, he can't be on scuba...

 

[RJP]

Does anyone do a lot of drysuit freediving and have any tips?

The number of freedivers using a drysuit can be counted on fewer fingers. I assume there's a good reason for that.

I can't imagine it's possible without a great deal of difficulty and discomfort. Hell, I can't stand the drysuit squeeze standing chest deep on the entry platform at our local quarry.

 

[Storker]

I can't stand the drysuit squeeze standing chest deep on the entry platform at our local quarry.

I wonder if that's a gear thing or a 'personal' thing, because that doesn't bother me. I make sure to hang vertical in the water on the surface with my shoulder valve wide open for some time before dumping my wing to go down. Best way to ensure I don't have any air trapped in my suit. Then, at 3-5m, I go horizontal and start puffing air into the suit to keep the squeeze away.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

As long as you don't mind welts or plan on having kids it might work.

 

[Akimbo]

Suit squeeze and poor hydrodynamics are the show-stoppers for freediving in drysuits. The main thing that makes wetsuits work while freediving is you spend so little time at depth. A good-fitting 7mm suit is fine in Northern California until you get to depth and compression reduces insulation value.

Ever try swimming in a drysuit? It feels like you are towing a sea anchor compared to a wetsuit… just like swimming a wetsuit compared to Speedo.

 

[David Wilson]

Perhaps the problem lies with the design of modern drysuits? Apparently less of an issue fifty years ago. Here's an extract from an article written by an underwater hunter for the February 23, 1961 edition of the Santa Cruz Sentinel published in Santa Cruz, California, extolling a particular drysuit as an abalone freediving accessory:

For warmer clamming, abalone picking I tried out a new outfit the other day that I think will be a great hit locally, especially with the clammers and abalone hunters. It was a dry skin diving suit made by Perfect World Products called Totes that you can wear over your clothes. I spent considerable time in the ocean wearing the outfit and didn’t feel cold at all. And believe me, the water is cold. The only exposed parts of my body were hands and face, which did get kind of cold, but the rest of my body was quite comfortable. And my clothes remained completely dry. With a pair of tennis shoes over the stocking feet to protect the gum rubber outfit from abrasions, this outfit would be the cat’s whiskers for abalone gathering or clamming. It is coloured safety yellow (an excellent feature), very well made, comfortable to wear and carries a good guarantee. The shirt and pants sell for $19.95 plus tax. A hood is available for another $3.50, which will give you a complete skin diving suit. A further use for the pants of the outfit would be as waders for fishing. They fit tight enough to eliminate the pocket that would fill up with water if you ever slipped, and are flexible and comfortable to wear.
Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California · Page 8

 

[Storker]

Ever try swimming in a drysuit? It feels like you are towing a sea anchor compared to a wetsuit… just like swimming a wetsuit compared to Speedo.

Now, that depends on the DS. If you mean trilam, I totally agree. OTOH, some neoprene DSs (e.g. my first DS, now my summer suit, a Scubapro Everdry) are quite snug, almost as slick to dive as a wetsuit and with virtually no air travel. I had a pretty steep learning curve when I got myself a trilam suit for winter use.