I just switched from a suit with a Sitech valve to a suit with an Apeks valve, and the Apeks does seem to vent more slowly. I find that, when I'm initiating an ascent, I have to dump a lot of gas before I even start up (the timing of THAT little maneuver is delicate) or I'll get behind on the way up and never catch up.
If you are in perfect trim, remember your feet are above that valve, and air in the calves and feet has no way to get there. You have got to extend your legs and/or break trim a little to move the air up to vent it.
It was my 50th dive, and about my 40th or so in a dry suit, before I held a 15 foot stop. Give yourself some time to learn to do this.
And it does sound as though you are a bit underweighted. I learned an uncomfortable lesson about that a while back. I did a dive with NWGratefulDiver where we got delayed at depth, and I used a lot more gas than I had planned. By the time we got to our ascent and I shot a bag, I was down to about 600 psi. When I got to ten feet, I was at 500, and I was perfectly neutral.
Unfortunately, you can't keep a bag upright without putting a little downward tension on the line, and I had no negative buoyancy with which to do that. So it was either let the bag go limp (and deal with the problems that slack line brings with it) or swim downward constantly to try to keep tension on the line. It was not fun, and taught me that neutral at ten feet is not a good goal. A couple pounds negative at ten feet with no air in anything is a much more comfortable place to dive, and allows you to run a little air in the suit while diving to stay warmer.
Sometimes, better really IS the enemy of good, as we say in the OR.
If you are in perfect trim, remember your feet are above that valve, and air in the calves and feet has no way to get there. You have got to extend your legs and/or break trim a little to move the air up to vent it.
It was my 50th dive, and about my 40th or so in a dry suit, before I held a 15 foot stop. Give yourself some time to learn to do this.
And it does sound as though you are a bit underweighted. I learned an uncomfortable lesson about that a while back. I did a dive with NWGratefulDiver where we got delayed at depth, and I used a lot more gas than I had planned. By the time we got to our ascent and I shot a bag, I was down to about 600 psi. When I got to ten feet, I was at 500, and I was perfectly neutral.
Unfortunately, you can't keep a bag upright without putting a little downward tension on the line, and I had no negative buoyancy with which to do that. So it was either let the bag go limp (and deal with the problems that slack line brings with it) or swim downward constantly to try to keep tension on the line. It was not fun, and taught me that neutral at ten feet is not a good goal. A couple pounds negative at ten feet with no air in anything is a much more comfortable place to dive, and allows you to run a little air in the suit while diving to stay warmer.
Sometimes, better really IS the enemy of good, as we say in the OR.
