How tight should the neckseal on a drysuit be?

[dvleemin]

Hi,
I recently got my first drysuit. I haven't been diving with it yet, but I tried it on. How tight should the neckseal be? Its a latex seal. When I tried it on, it didn't feel exceptionally tight, but my wife said she could see my face was a bit redder. I guess I'm just not sure if I should trim it down or not. The last thing I want is to end up with it too loose.

Thanks,

Darryl

 

[Soggy]

dvleemin once bubbled...
Hi,
I recently got my first drysuit. I haven't been diving with it yet, but I tried it on. How tight should the neckseal be? Its a latex seal. When I tried it on, it didn't feel exceptionally tight, but my wife said she could see my face was a bit redder. I guess I'm just not sure if I should trim it down or not. The last thing I want is to end up with it too loose.

Have you taken a drysuit course? Neck seal sizing is taught in the course. Having a neck seal too tight can cause you to go lose consciousness and die. Ask snuggle on this board about that!

Where did you buy the suit? The LDS should be able to help you.

It is possible that your face got more red simply from struggling to get into the suit inside. I know mine does.

Make sure you take a course or dive with an experienced drysuit diver before getting into the water with this thing. Im sure your LDS will have a class.

 

[dvleemin]

Soggy once bubbled...


Have you taken a drysuit course? Neck seal sizing is taught in the course. Having a neck seal too tight can cause you to go lose consciousness and die. Ask snuggle on this board about that!

Where did you buy the suit? The LDS should be able to help you.

It is possible that your face got more red simply from struggling to get into the suit inside. I know mine does.

Make sure you take a course or dive with an experienced drysuit diver before getting into the water with this thing. Im sure your LDS will have a class.

Thanks,
I got the suit off of Ebay.

It is possible that I got red getting the suit on. I was in a hurry, and wanted to try it on before I left somewhere.

My LDS VERY rarely holds drysuit classes - there's simply not enough interest where I live.

My plans are to do a bunch of dives in a pool, and then go with an experienced diver to Jasper, where the water's very clear and calm, and the lakes are shallow.

So any comments on what actually constitutes too tight?

Darryl

 

[JeffG]

dvleemin once bubbled...

<snip>
So any comments on what actually constitutes too tight?

Darryl

Its been a while since I used a latex neck seal (mine is neoprene, but I used to rent drysuits with latex seals) but here is my David Letterman list

1: You turn Red and your not embarrassed
2: You have difficulty breathing
3: Too much "blubber" is gathering around the top of the neck seal.

How much of the latex (ie height) is making a seal on your neck?


Jeff

 

[nk5]

Can you stick two fingers in there and stretch it and get into a semi-sitting position to let the excess air out? Do you have any difficulty swallowing or does it feel completely natural to swallow? Can you move your neck around without feeling excessive pressure? After walking around or standing (not sitting) in the suit for 5+ minutes, do you feel light-headed?

 

[Pez de Diablo]

Darryl,

It should be comfortably snug. Now, my definition will be different than others. Don't cut that seal yet!

Do you have your AOW yet? If not, you should take it because if you plan to dive off of any boat or resort they will not want you going deeper than 60' without it and this can really hamper your trip. Anyway, you could pick the drysuit specialty for one of the modules.

I will be in Edmonton on the June 6th weekend if you are looking for someone to hit the pool with.

 

[dvleemin]

JeffG once bubbled...


Its been a while since I used a latex neck seal (mine is neoprene, but I used to rent drysuits with latex seals) but here is my David Letterman list

1: You turn Red and your not embarrassed
2: You have difficulty breathing
3: Too much "blubber" is gathering around the top of the neck seal.

How much of the latex (ie height) is making a seal on your neck?


Jeff

Well,
Like I said I was in a hurry, so I didn't take too long to evaluate it. I suspect its fine, as I didn't think anything of the tightness until my wife notioced my face was a bit redder. I'll try it on again latter this week and see.

Darryl

 

[dvleemin]

nk5 once bubbled...
Can you stick two fingers in there and stretch it and get into a semi-sitting position to let the excess air out? Do you have any difficulty swallowing or does it feel completely natural to swallow? Can you move your neck around without feeling excessive pressure? After walking around or standing (not sitting) in the suit for 5+ minutes, do you feel light-headed?

Yes, I can stick too fingers in np.

Not sure about the swalling thing, didn't try.

Was able to move neck fine.

Wasn't in suit long enough to see if I got light headed.

Darryl

 

[dvleemin]

Pez de Diablo once bubbled...
Darryl,

It should be comfortably snug. Now, my definition will be different than others. Don't cut that seal yet!

Do you have your AOW yet? If not, you should take it because if you plan to dive off of any boat or resort they will not want you going deeper than 60' without it and this can really hamper your trip. Anyway, you could pick the drysuit specialty for one of the modules.

I will be in Edmonton on the June 6th weekend if you are looking for someone to hit the pool with.

Don't have my AOW yet. Never had a problem with being allowed to dive more than 60' either - My wife and I have about 60 dives logged.

I already have the PADI drysuit manual, and the Barsky one is on the way.

June 6 might be possible. I can't remember why day Kinsman is open to divers (Friday or Sat) Aquatek also uses a new pool in Spruce grove that they go to every week. I'll check with Kinsman, and call the other pool to see how deep it is.

BTW, what does it cost for a vis and hydro in Cowtown?

Darryl

 

[nk5]

dvleemin once bubbled...


Yes, I can stick too fingers in np.

Not sure about the swalling thing, didn't try.

Was able to move neck fine.

Wasn't in suit long enough to see if I got light headed.

Darryl

The seal should not decrease the arterial blood flow to the brain causing hypoxia which would have life-threating reuslts. Walk around in it for few minutes, if you feal light-headed, dizzy, or nauseous your seal is too tight.