Help please - need drysuit advice!!

[srobins]

I just finished the PADI drysuit specialty course today. I priced a drysuit on the internet and was going to buy one. I then priced the course and an undersuit, ended up being about £750.
I told the LDS that was running the course that I would prefer to buy a suit from them. They ended up selling me a better suit with the undersuit and the drysuit course thrown in for free for £720.

 

[SubMariner]

Anyway, went on e-bay and bid - and lost (someone was looking out for me) on a ski drysuit. I now know that we don't use them for scuba diving, but the rubber-type drysuits just don't look right to me without training and I'm not likely to get that down here. Also, don't really want the cost of drysuit + class because I cant' use the drysuit all year. Maybe I'll have to just stay out of the water, but really want to go diving in the winter. Any ideas on a safe and cheap way of getting warmer?? Also, want to use my BC for buoyancy control and not the suit if at all possible. I realize that I'm completely clueless in this area...any help/ideas/guidance???

1) Do not get anything but a true scuba drysuit. Anything else is a waste of your hard earned cash. Either you're wet or your're dry. There's really nothing in between.

2) Used drysuits are an option. In your case, you'll be best off with a tri or bi laminate. I live in GA and use my DUI trilam all year round in the FL springs (Vortex, Ginnie, etc.) and in the ocean during the cooler months. Sometimes mfgs have suits that people have put a deposit down on, then walked away from. Or have sent in for repair, but balked at the price. Occasionally this happens at the LDS level, which is the way I got my very first drysuit back in The Great White North. As others have suggested, do your homework, then be prepared to take a bit of time to get what you want at a reasonable price.

3) BC vs suit for buoyancy. To be honest, this is really personal preference. There are pros and cons to EITHER method. It is entirely subjective as to which method you go with, but in the end please take a drysuit course from a qualified Instructor. A drysuit is NOT a passive piece of equipment you just put on & use like a pair of fins. It takes training and practice to use a drysuit safely and effectively.

Bonne chance,

~SubMariner~

 

[ScoobieDooo]

BC vs. suit for buoyancy - I personally tried both methods and I found that using my drysuit for buoyancy resulted in poor trim - air does not distribute evenly inside a drysuit as it does in the wing - hence I experienced air in different parts of my drysuit and this wasn't uniform and the same each time I added air. Just a little too much air in one place will make your trim horrible. Once I began using ONLY my BC for buoyancy it became easier to accomplish. Use only one source as your BC and you'll be diving more and fiddling around less with TWO sources for buoyancy control. Just MO.

Also, if your NOT going to take a drysuit course, make sure whom ever IS going to teach you have dove a drysuit for many years and knows exactly what they are doing before they attempt to show YOU.

 

[jonnythan]

ScoobieDooo once bubbled...

<snip>

I thought you signed off.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

I did. Today I 'signed in' to see whats been up? Same ole - same ole.

 

[double125's]

Has anyone purchased the padi video and used it for a self taught course in drysuit diving. Leisurepro sells it for around $30. Just wondering if it covered all the basics or if it intentionally left parts out so you would have to seek an instructer for advice.

 

[SubMariner]

PADI Specialty videos are meant to be used in conjuction with tutoring by an Instructor qualified to teach the Specialty.

Each PADI Specialty has an Outline that must be followed by the Instructor, with specific objectives that must be achieved before certification is granted.

If you have particular questions about the Specialty, feel free to PM or email me.

~SubMariner~

 

[ScoobieDooo]

I purchased a drysuit video AND a book called "The Complete Guide to Drysuit Diving" and had a friend who dives dry teach me. Can't say I would have WASTED $200 between a $150 drysuit course and $55 check out dives for certification. It isn't all that difficult - just things you need to know about fit, trimming seals, diving dry, buoyancy, etc. I found my SSI video a joke pretty much but the book VERY useful!

Some folks believe that diving dry is like voodoo. Mysterious and difficult to learn. Its not. You just need to be intelligent about selecting your drysuit, its care, its fit, weighting, trim, and emergency skills to 'right yourself' in case of inversion, etc.
Not even a 6 hr course is going to give you call the skills you need to learn - but practice will. Find yourself a pool, get in it and work on buoyancy, trim, skills for hours before you head out into real water to dive.

It ALL comes down to PRACTICE with it and ADJUSTING bit-by-bit as you go.