My AN/DP/Helitrox course

[swimlikethefish]

Has anyone seen that video that @Deep South Divers put up of his 3416's? He is just manhandling oysters. Not a tear to be had. It was very impressive.

If he can do commercial work in a set of 3416's with no tear, then I am comfortable holding an anchor line with them. Without the fear of a leak.

 

[RayfromTX]

The temperature of the water he dives in isn't life threatening.

 

[shoredivr]

I use Fourth Element fleece liners. Man, does that sound fiddly. Worse than using the equalization “noodles” that Waterproof includes with the Ultima system. I’ll just try a piece of bungee cord.

As a cold water diver, I need to keep those seals.

Keep the seals. I use two, 3 inch long pieces of clear plastic tubing that’s probably 1/4 inch in diameter with my silicone wrist seals.

When I had latex wrist seals I used a q-tip in each wrist seal.

Dry gloves work well right up until they don’t work, and I want that extra bit of protection.

 

[shoredivr]

Obv one of the things to be aware of with a canister-less light. I keep a few Sola2000 FS on hand for OW/limited penetration dives. I tie a small bungee loop (think hairtie) around my wrist and clip the light off to either that or a computer bungee prior to switching light from one hand to another. It's not a big deal to switch hands with a can light (if you drop it, it stays). Dropping a CX1/LX20/HP50/FS2500/TL4800P/Focus2.0Handheld/LM Handy on a late stop in open water doesn't feel very good.

Cannot like this enough

 

[shoredivr]

Has anyone seen that video that @Deep South Divers put up of his 3416's? He is just manhandling oysters. Not a tear to be had. It was very impressive.

If he can do commercial work in a set of 3416's with no tear, then I am comfortable holding an anchor line with them. Without the fear of a leak.

Zebra mussels are not oysters. Zebras are like little razors. I watched a father and teenage son do rec dives in the St Lawrence River in August when the water temperature gets into the mid 70s. Only time I’d dive a wetsuit in Ontario, and these two divers were diving shorties and no gloves. They were experienced Caribbean divers. The experienced River divers tried to convince them to at least put on gloves to protect themselves from the zebras when the current tossed them around. They said they’d be fine.

We did the drift dive around the wreck of the Lillie Parsons, where you can haul yourself against the strong current using a chain attached to big cement blocks so you don’t touch the wreck. Swimming against the current isn’t possible in many places. The usual rec plan is to go down the mooring line in the current, follow a line from the mooring block to the wreck which lies on a ledge parallel to Sparrow Island, float down one side of the wreck, haul yourself along the chain up the other side, then drift off, stay close to the wall and pop an SMB when you’re done and the boat picks you up.

Well dad and son had a great dive. When they came up the dive ladder onto the boat they were dripping blood from numerous little razor like cuts on their hands, elbows and knees. Those Zebra mussels on the chain they grabbed and on the bottom sliced them up.

 

[Marie13]

I’m an active member with UASC. When we’re surveying wrecks we are touching them. The mussels are sharp little things. I’m keeping my Atlas blue smurf gloves and my seals. If the water is warm (60ish), I’m in thin reef gloves.

 

[formernuke]

UASC

What UASC?

 

[Marie13]

What UASC?

Underwater Archaeology Society of Chicago

 

[formernuke]

Underwater Archaeology Society of Chicago

Cool. Sounds like fun

 

[rjack321]

As someone who also dives in cold water a lot (4-5 degrees is the norm here for quite a big part of the year) you really need to loose those seals.
There is no version of reality where having wrist seals will keep your hands (and the rest of you) warmer unless you pop a glove, which is near impossible with Ultimas at least, and believe me I have stretched the limits of my rings every way possible and never had as much as a drop of a leak on them.
Trimming back my wrist seals is the best thing I ever did, my hands are so much warmer on dives now that the gas in my suit can flow freely to my hands.
I use Showa 720 drygloves and a very thin merino wool layer glove and my hands are the least of my problems in the water.

I tried the "noodles" that were included with my Ultimas, they didn't work well at all so I trimmed my seals back and there is no way in hell I am ever going back to full seals.

For rec dives do what you want, if you're flooding you can just get out.

I've done plenty of 4C dives with 2+ hours of deco. A flooded arm or worse because you tore a glove is life threatening. Suit heat can partially mitigate small tears or leaks but the glove popping off is not the problem - cutting the glove is.