Learning the Drysuit. How was it for you?

[BabyDuck]

wart, a friend of mine used to use those tank bangers that are like big versions of little girl ponytail holders - you know, a loop of bungie with a plastic knob. he put them just under his knee, put the bungie over the knob, and voila! cheap instant almost-gaiters!

(remembering you, richard mork...)

 

[Ste Wart]

I love people to whom things come easily, who say it ought to be so for everyone. I don't think there's a darned thing in diving that came easily to me, but it all got mastered. I also think it's very useful for someone to read that a diver with as much experience as the wart can find a major equipment change to require some time to dial in, because for most of us, it does.

It's not just equipment change. This year I'm learning the phrase 'dived-up' and I'm not a fan. After going from knocking out 3-400 dives a year, down to only 1 in the first 6 months of the year, (even now - due to extreme bad weather in the UK summer - I'm bubbling around 30) then everything takes a toll. Extra weight (lead) first needing to be added then removed, elevated SAC's for a few dives, on top of the new equipment. I'm as comfortable as ever under the water, but no-one would guess at my cert level from gearing up back in June; when I started work.

wart, a friend of mine used to use those tank bangers that are like big versions of little girl ponytail holders - you know, a loop of bungie with a plastic knob. he put them just under his knee, put the bungie over the knob, and voila! cheap instant almost-gaiters!

A less annoying use of the tank-banger. Nice, Babyduck!

 

[ajduplessis]

The limits of my suit. A lot of my work requires me to be head down in a hole. Now without wearing ankle weights or gaiters, how do I regulate warmth against inversion? It's a balance I want to find, without resorting to using either of the two things mentioned. Now floating around in perfect trim is easy. Trying to excavate at a 60 degree angle is a bit harder.

The problem is being inverted in a drysuit in cold conditions for prolonged periods. The dynamics of a dryuit is not going to help either, you are using the wrong tool for the job. All possible solution are going to involve cost like heated vest, neoprene drysuit, new thermal underwear etc and these are not going to resolve your problem, it will only improve comfort.

---------- Post Merged at 10:00 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:56 AM ----------

And gaiters won't totally fix the issue, if you really HAVE to go inverted.

The one place where I dive my suit as squeezed as I can stand it is in caves. Caves sometimes just require you to negotiate something head-down, and if you have a lot of gas in the suit, it all ends up in the feet -- even with gaiters. And too much gas in the feet, depending on the suit, can result in a loss of your boots and your fins. Even if it doesn't, if you can't find a place to put your feet down and move the bubble, you're stuck with these floaty feet, which means you can't STOP.

I love people to whom things come easily, who say it ought to be so for everyone. I don't think there's a darned thing in diving that came easily to me, but it all got mastered. I also think it's very useful for someone to read that a diver with as much experience as the wart can find a major equipment change to require some time to dial in, because for most of us, it does.

No dailing in is going to resolve his problem. Diving inverted in a drysuit in cold conditions is not going to be comfortable do care what you do! That came easily btw

 

[Ste Wart]

Aj:

As an example;

I went for a dive on my mates Inspiration once. We ran a couple; literally, of drills in the shallows and then we went down to 20m and played about. For pretty much the whole dive I maintained good trim, with only the occasional kick-down when I forgot that my breath does not control my buoyancy. I performed a good ascent, because I knew that I could exhale through my nose to reduce the volume of gas. Now that I performed a successful dive on a breather doesn't mean I know it intuitively. I would need many more hours (and the odd course!) to learn it and feel it. I view all equipment this way, whether it is a new Wing, Reg or even torch. Everything must be 2nd nature to me or I don't feel that I understand it. Could I do a tech dive with my drysuit, well yes, I was due to go last week until illness intervened (not mine, long story). Could I perform that dive, yes. Would I understand every facet of suit, no. There are still minor things that I want to add into my arsenal before I can trully say I've mastered it. Can I dive a drysui, yes. It's just a big BCD after all. Have I mastered it? No. After 2000 dives I am still not a master of diving, I'm a continual leaner. When I cease to dive because I know everything, then I will have mastered diving.

 

[ajduplessis]

Wart, I fully agree. The more you do something the better it gets. I responded to you post (44) around working inverted and managing warmth in cold conditions.