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jepuskar:
I agree. If you are diving a normal sized single tank, no stage bottles, etc and are properly weighted there is virtually never a need to add air to the BC or wing. Proper weighting in my opinion pretty much makes the BC versus suit for boyancy control issue a moot point for most recreational divers.yknot:
You'll get it.
Well..them may be the facts but it ain't the truth. I was duly indoctrinated by DUI advertising in the mid 80's and used Trilams for years until I borrowed a neoprene suit. Now I'd never go back.ScubaDadMiami:
It's a matter of perspective. If you are properly weighted in a properly fitting dry suit diving a single 80 sized tank with no stage bottles, cannister lights etc, it's a moot point as the air in the suit will be adequate to establish neutral bouyancy with a near empty tank. And if the suit fits properly, the air required for neutral bouyancy will not be excessive even with a full tank. Once you start adding weight in the form of lights, stage bottles, increased swing weight due to doubles, etc. you need to carry air in the wing. But basically carrying air in the wing is not required until you reach a point where carrying the neccesary air in the suit affects stability.
Personally, I do a lot of work underwater and it often requires me to be more or less vertical. I prefer a neck seal that does not burp when vertical as otherwise your options are to be excessively squeezed, or wet, or both. If you have a neck seal that burps every time you go vertical with a normal amount of air in the suit, you have a poorly fitting neck seal. If you are working underwater in a vertical position for extended periods, extra air in the suit is nice as it takes some of the squeeze off your feet and keeps you warmer and more comfortable. Given a choice, I'd take a snug fitting and folded under neoprene neck seal over anything else available in a recreational suit.
DA Aquamaster:
DA- your response is one of the most intelligent I've read concerning the debate. I would add that dry suits are a very good example of the compromises and choices you have to make when you buy equipment to suit your environment, in spite of where the rest of the herd is headed. If I were diving something like caves and could expect consistant 60 degree water for a two hour dive I would have probably bought a shell suit. I bought my suit specifically for local winter diving. In the middle of January, when the water is <35 degrees, and one of my dive buddies is putting on what amounts to a snowmobile suit for his shell suit, I'm wearing the same thin lightweight $20 polypro set I use until wetsuit season. The only negative thing about my neoprene suit is that with an attached hood I can't set the neck seal by myself and only others experienced with neoprene can. I've tried DUI suits and wouldn't degrade them- they appear to be well made and have legions of fans that have nothing bad to say about them. I would probably be bragging about my suit more if I would have paid that kind of money for it too. I've lost count too of the times someone in a shell suit walks up shivering and says "Well.....How do you like that neoprene suit?DA Aquamaster:
First of all, I don't know that anyone said they did. If you want to add to the debate concerning dry suit vs BC for bouyancy control there are several other threads that follow that path. I can't think of a reason to even consider the lift capacity of a dry suit unless you are using it as a wearable lift bag. With neoprene dry suits you don't add air to stay ahead of the squeeze. I have emptied my suit of air at 100' and can still manuever just fine in it and any squeeze I felt wasn't the same painful pinching you would feel with a shell suit. You only need to add air to neoprene suits in an amount sufficient to fluff your thermals and trap a little air in them. If you are diving with a neoprene suit and need to add any more than a small amount of air to control your bouyancy and fluff your undergarments than you are likely overweighted. Incidently, while I would never personally add enough air to my dry suit to burp out of the seal, say while trying to move something heavy off the bottom, I can tell you that dry suits most definately have significantly more lift capacity than a BC.ScubaFreak:Hi Jepuskar
Remember, at the end of the day, a drysuit doesn't really have the lift capacity that a BCD does. I teach all my Drysuit classes that BCD is always for buoyancy and the drysuit inflator is for equalising the air space in your suit. i.e suit squeeze.
Hope this helps!
SF
