Help with wife's new Drysuit

[victorzamora]

Hey guys,

I've been diving dry for a little over a year (Hollis FX100) and am comfortable dry, but I'm not very prone to cold. I just bought my wife a used White's Fusion Sport (really cheap) that might be a tiny bit on the small side for her. I know it's a weird way to phrase it, but I'm not sure how the Whites Fusion is supposed to fit. I think it fits well, but I'm afraid it'll be too tight with undergarments. She's fairly prone to cold, and has never been dry before. So, I'm looking for advice in a few of areas:

1) Thin, warm, cheap undergarments (I know I'm asking too much)
2) How to emulate thick undergarments without thick undergarments, or how much CAN she fit under her drysuit
3) How to approach drysuit diving

I'm wearing WalMart special Starter base layer top and bottom ($15). It's thin, stretchy, light, sweat-wicking, and washer/dryer friendly. I was thinking that, plus one of those thin wool things (I can't for the LIFE of me remember what they're called) and go from there.

As for emulating thicker undergarments, I was going to have her look around the house for stuff she'd wear under ski bibs.....and just continue to add bulk until her mobility is reduced. The thing about this drysuit is I'm really not sure HOW it's supposed to fit. The skin is really throwing me off. When she first tried it on, she couldn't raise her left foot above her right ankle. We adjusted the inner layer, and she could get her thigh parallel to the ground (90-degree bend). How tight is it "supposed" to be?? I feel like that question really only makes sense to someone with Fusion experience. We used the DRIS video for reference, and the guy had no less trouble donning the suit than she did, other than the zipper (which she's just not used to).

How to approach it: I didn't take a drysuit class except for the OW dives....and I was just responsible for babysitting. The way I learned was by diving in shallow OW and just making mistakes. My plan was to get her in the pool for a little bit (8ft pool, I'm still looking for deeper) and go over drills. Then, take her to the OW and just make her dive. Should I get her some Gaiters? Should I "teach" her stuff? All I know to teach her is how to inflate/deflate, and the little flip thing in case of a runaway foot-first ascent. Our plan is to dive with her wing as the main buoyancy control device and the suit would be "air to reduce squeeze". Are there any tips/tricks that I'm missing?

 

[undrwater]

There's a video from Dive Right In Scuba that shows how to don the Fusion. That's a good start; since getting it on correctly will give you a better idea how much range of motion she'll have. The fit is really close to a 3mm wetsuit in terms of range of motion. If the suit is so small as to be restrictive at the surface, I'd recommend you dump it and find something that fits.

I've heard the lavacore undies are warmer than their thicker competitors, though have no personal experience.

If you are not comfortable mentoring her in a DS, and you don't have someone else to do so, perhaps you both can take a DS course together since you skipped yours. You may learn something you didn't know.

 

[dbulmer]

Victor: A wise man would fess up and admit that a drysuit too small for undergarments is not going to be great for someone who is prone to cold.

Sell it and get a suit that fits because she'll remember and frankly I bet she's worth it.

Being cold and learning to dive dry in a suit which does not fit is not going to be fun for either of you.

 

[flots am]

There's still no free lunch. No matter what kind of magic is promised, thick underware is warmer than thin underwear.

However before you panic, try the suit with some nice warm undies and it might surprise you. The fusions are quite stretchy. If it's tight, put it up on ebay and buy something that fits.

I can guarantee that a too-small suit will make your wife "feel fat" every time she thinks of it, which will not be good for you or for the prospects of diving with her.

 

[victorzamora]

undrwater: I may have not explained myself right. I'm VERY comfortable in a drysuit, but got there through hard work. I guess what I was asking is: Are there any tips/tricks for diving a drysuit? Also, her range of motion was very good once we got the inner layer situated a bit better. ALL of the inner layer was up around her midriff and there was NONE lower. Once we worked some of the inner layer down to the crotch region it gave her a full range of motion. The outer layer looks tight (like it's supposed to) so I'm unsure of how it ACTUALLY fits. BTW, we used that video as a guide the first time she put it on....and it went smoothly other than the inner layer bunching up around her midriff. Once we un-bunched the inner layer, her range of motion was restored. Also, based on the sizing chart from Whites....the next size up seems too big. She's on the smallest side of all of the dimensions.

dbulmer: She's absolutely worth it, but SHE doesn't want to spend the money. Her 7mm Semi-Dry is on its last legs, and I told her that getting another wetsuit was something we should reconsider. A drysuit isn't much more than the price of a nice semidry. She didn't want to buy either, but I convinced her to let me get her SOMETHING so she could keep diving. The suit being too small is mostly what I'm so unsure of. I know what a wetsuit is supposed to look like. I know what a "normal" drysuit is supposed to look like. I have no idea what the Fusion is supposed to look like. She had no more or less trouble putting the suit on than the guy in the DRIS video linked above.

flots am: I know thickness helps, but cheap and thick isn't as good as nice and thin. I bought a REALLY thick WalMart ski coat for like $15. All the thickness in the world doesn't help. I have a North Face jacket that's like 1/3 the thickness but at least twice as warm. I've heard the Hollis undergarments are very useless, despite being VERY puffy. I know that a trick to warmth is wicking sweat away from your skin. I've had great results with the cheap WalMart stuff. My cave instructor raved about some thin, wool layer. There are materials that are better and worse in terms of "warmth/thickness"

Also, panicking is what I'm trying NOT to do....despite the tone of my first post (I just reread it, and it sounds fairly desparate, doesn't it?). I'm trying to figure out a way to make sure it's too small before buying something else, and keeping her warm in the process of figuring out if it's too small. Plus, good-fitting, warm undergarments are going to be a requirement for any suit she buys....so it's not a waste to get them before changing out suits.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

What size is her Fusion? What is her height/weight? The fusion is meant to be tight when you have it on. What makes you think it is too small? The outer skin makes it look tight, and there is probably a lot of extra material on the inside. If you want to check, just undo the valves, and take the skin off. It's just Velcro. Have her try just the core on....too small?

 

[flots am]

flots am: I know thickness helps, but cheap and thick isn't as good as nice and thin. I bought a REALLY thick WalMart ski coat for like $15. All the thickness in the world doesn't help. I have a North Face jacket that's like 1/3 the thickness but at least twice as warm.

Various fibers insulate better or worse than others, but within each material type, thicker is warmer.

 

[ams511]

She's absolutely worth it, but SHE doesn't want to spend the money. Her 7mm Semi-Dry is on its last legs, and I told her that getting another wetsuit was something we should reconsider. A drysuit isn't much more than the price of a nice semidry. She didn't want to buy either, but I convinced her to let me get her SOMETHING so she could keep diving.

Did you ever consider that she does not want to keep doing cold-water diving? That she is doing it only to please you.

 

[tracydr]

I found my PADI drysuit class was very helpful. In fact,I'm considering doing the GUE drysuit class this spring because I've heard its very good. The GUE instructor that I checked with charges $250. Not bad for a day and a half with a good instructor, learning not only about the drysuit/how to use it, etc, but also some basic GUE skills, ascents/descents, and bouyancy stuff. For the price, it's probably worth more than the average PADI class, especially since most GUE instructors are pretty high caliber and PADI instructors can be hit or miss.
Santi's drysuit manual is actually pretty good and has a lot of helpful user information on basic drysuit diving. Might check other drysuit manuals as well. The Santi manual is available online as a PDF download. I found it a useful read even though I dive a Diving Concept suit. My Diving Concept suit came with basically no useful manual.
As for undergarments, I tried using non-diving undergarments and found them too bulky and they used too much lead. I found Softwear undergarments custom made and very reasonably priced. Janice gets the undergarments made and out in the mail in one or two days, which is simply amazing! I have a 200 g and 300 g two piece outfit as I started with the 200, than purchased the 300 because I needed a little more warmth. Her undergarments are similar to the 4th Element Arctic, at half the price.
I might also order her vest for colder diving.
I use a thin Smart Wool base layer. I love Smart Wool.

---------- Post added November 1st, 2013 at 02:49 PM ----------

I had an undergarment that restricted my movement not because it was too small but because it was too large. Specifically- the crotch was too low. It prevented me from lifting my legs up high enough to put my fins on or remove them. This was a Bare, thinsulate garment that I really like and should try to get fitted sometime.
Could possibly the issue be that something is restricting her movement such as crotch length?

 

[herr2720]

Fusions are meant to stretch a lot and fit a lot of people, that's why they make great rentals. I could lose 20lbs or gain 50lbs and mine would probably still fit me. Sure way to know if it fits, take the lycra skin off, if you fit in the drycore wearing your undergarments and have a good range of motion you are good to go.
I use 4th Element undergarments. Super warm for their thickness, not too much buoyancy and a lot more range of motion than layering. Sadly, they are a little pricey but I though they were worth it.