Neoprene drysuit in deep dives

[cnhoff]

Hi guys,

i have a Bare CD4 4mm compressed neopren drysuit with Waterproof undergarment.

I have been doing a lot of shallower dives (~25m max) over the last year. Recently i started to go deeper again, so my dives are normally between 30 and 40m max.

When i descend, i only neutralize squeeze in my suit and use the BCD for buoyancy. But with those deeper dives, my drysuit seems to "shrink" when going below 30m. Adding air to the suit does not help much, but i just get the feeling of "increasing pressure" on my chest (i have to admit, that i am hesitant to add large amounts of air to the suit). As there should be air of the surrounding water's pressure in my lungs, there should not be any change in feeling at depth, right? When i ascend, the feeling goes away above maybe 20m.

Should i add more air to my suit (i do not feel the typical squeeze i face at shallower depths, it is more a general feeling of pressure)? Is this neopren compression? Do laminate suit owner's not face this problem?

Sorry for my kind of naive questions, i just want to share my experience...

Regards

Chris

 

[HIGHwing]

Are you using the BCD + a little shot of air in the DS to control your buoyancy? That's a lot going on and you might find it easier to just use the DS -especially if you are feeling the squeeze. Also consider the CD4 and most neoprene applications are going to compress or crush a bit under increasing pressure. Add air!

 

[cnhoff]

I am only putting 3 or 4 "pushes" of air into the suit while descending maybe down to 10m. From then on i only use the BCD for buoyancy and occasionally put 1 push of air into the suit to neutralize squeeze. When ascending, it is the other way round. I am very happy with this procedure.

But i think i might have to add more than just a few more pushes of air into the suit when going beyond 30m.

 

[ajduplessis]

Add more air; the amounts you add upfront will be reduced to nearly nothing going past 30m or 4ATA. The deeper you go the more air you will have to add.

Are you planning on taking a drysuit course, or at least get some mentoring from an experienced diver?

 

[ajduplessis]

duplicate post! Sorry

 

[cnhoff]

Hey guys,

just want to say thanks and confirm, that lack of air was the problem.

I dived to 40m this weekend and everything was fine...

Chris

 

[TSandM]

A good basic rule is that your dry suit should feel the same at all depths. If it starts to feel constrictive, you have not added enough gas; if it starts to feel loose, it's time to vent!