In between dives with a dry suit

[Arnaud]

What do you guys do in between same day dives, when taking a break, with your dry suit? Do you keep it on, do you remove it and get different (dry) undergarments, do you try to get the inside of the suit dryer, etc...

Please share and advise.

 

[Uncle Pug]

...are you getting wet? How long is the SI? Do you have a P-valve? Are you getting wet?


Personally I wear my drysuit between dives... I love my drysuits... and both sport P-valves...

 

[jonnythan]

If it's really hot, I'll spend most of the SI floating around on shore dives. Or, if it's a boat dive, or we're grilling some burgers (woo!), and it's too hot, i'll take it half off and wear a t-shirt on top. This time of year, the drysuit is great.. warm underwater, keeps you warm above water..

 

[jonnythan]

Oh yeah.. my drysuit is dry inside. If yours is getting that wet, maybe you should try to find out why

 

[Arnaud]

UP, what is a P-valve? My SI is usually at least one hour (I use Nitrox).

So far, I've been diving with a dry suit off the beach. It's pretty hot in SoCal right now, even though the water is around 55°. So, yes, I've been sweating quite a bit on the way over to the water. My undergarments have been pretty good at getting the moisture out, though, but obviously, it stays inside the dry suit.

Because of the difference of temp between the air and the water here, it seems difficult not to sweat unless you can get in the water immediately after donning the suit, which is easier said than done...

 

[Dryglove]

Arnaud once bubbled...
UP, what is a P-valve?

http://www.halcyon.net/exposure/discharge.shtml

 

[Uncle Pug]

Arnaud I would probably unzip at the minimum if it were warm up here in the PNW... in fact you might even need to unzip the undergarment... do you have suspenders in the drysuit?

One advantage of drysuits is that they are easy to get into and out of compared to a wetsuit so maybe that is your best bet.

 

[O-ring]

Because of the difference of temp between the air and the water here, it seems difficult not to sweat unless you can get in the water immediately after donning the suit, which is easier said than done...

To get around this, get all your crud assembled and everything squared away before you start putting the suit on. Around here, it is usually chilly enough that I can wear my undergarment with sandals topside and work on my gear in that. If it is raining or the boat is small and you are getting splashed/sprayed, I usually wear some el-cheapo jogging pants and a windbreaker over the undergarment to keep it dry. When we get close to the site, I will put the bottom half on and just wear it like that until we tie in. The suspenders work nicely here.. Once we have determined that we are going to go in pretty soon (all subjective here) I will put the top on and leave it unzipped until I feel like zipping it. Once zipped, I burp it good since I don't want to jump off the boat and hit the water with a bunch of air in the suit..

Since I don't have a p-valve yet (*sigh*) I usually have to at least take the top off on SI. You _can_ pee without taking off the seals though (at least in a DUI)...it is pretty hard, but you CAN do it. I just open the zipper and lean, lean, lean forward (really far!) and you can usually uhhh, get your equipment in the right place to pee....it ain't easy and the p-valve is a better solution, but until you get one it can be managed.

After the second dive, I take it off and hang it up on the boat somewhere and go lie around in either my undergarments or a change of clothes.

 

[Soggy]

O-ring once bubbled...
You _can_ pee without taking off the seals though (at least in a DUI)...it is pretty hard, but you CAN do it. I just open the zipper and lean, lean, lean forward (really far!) and you can usually uhhh, get your equipment in the right place to pee....it ain't easy and the p-valve is a better solution, but until you get one it can be managed.

I tried, but I can't resist comment....


it helps if you have the long hose


Oh boy, I'm so fricken immature.

 

[Soggy]

Depending on temp, I usually unzip, get out of the seals and wear a sweatshirt (or other appropriate dress) on the top. The suspenders come in handy here, as you can stuff the arms of the suit through the suspenders so you aren't dragging the wrist seals and dump valve along the ground.