New diver in the PNW

[local76sparky]

Hey everybody! Just wanted to do the intro thing real quick. My name is David and im here in the great pacific northwest. I got certified here locally with my wife last summer. we made a few dives here and then spent some time in maui diving (thats how i convinced her to get her cert in the puget sound!!) anyways, havent made any real purchases yet as im still in the research mode. think i have it pretty narrowed down but havent pulled the trigger yet. have two little girls, 4 and almost 1 now. love to hunt with my lab and miss my motorcycle. anyways, ive loved this sight as a guest for quite some time and happy now to be apart of it! happy and safe diving....

 

[Mopar]

Hello and welcome to the board.

 

[drdaddy]

Hey everybody! Just wanted to do the intro thing real quick. My name is David and im here in the great pacific northwest. I got certified here locally with my wife last summer. we made a few dives here and then spent some time in maui diving (thats how i convinced her to get her cert in the puget sound!!) anyways, havent made any real purchases yet as im still in the research mode. think i have it pretty narrowed down but havent pulled the trigger yet. have two little girls, 4 and almost 1 now. love to hunt with my lab and miss my motorcycle. anyways, ive loved this sight as a guest for quite some time and happy now to be apart of it! happy and safe diving....

Are you in Oregon or Washington. I'm a PNW diver as well, and dive almost every weekend, and at least every other - year round. Yaquina Bay/South Beach/Newport, Oregon South Jetty. 1st finger last weekend, but yesterday was Alsea Bay/Walport, Oregon Crab Hole.

drdaddy

 

[local76sparky]

im in tacoma washington.

 

[TSandM]

Welcome, sparky! There's a very active bunch of divers around Puget Sound, including a group I know dives the South end on Thursdays. I dive up in the Seattle area mostly, but if you are looking for a buddy one of these days, please feel free to PM me.

 

[East West]

Hello David and nice family. I respect no foo foo diving

 

[local76sparky]

Welcome, sparky! There's a very active bunch of divers around Puget Sound, including a group I know dives the South end on Thursdays. I dive up in the Seattle area mostly, but if you are looking for a buddy one of these days, please feel free to PM me.

thanks for the invite. i will take you up on it some time. since i currently dont have all my own gear right now im not diving nearly as much as i would like but soon enough. im sure if you are diving that often you are diving dry? if you dont mind me asking what suit you are in and how you feel about it? ive only dove wet and winter dives im assuming must be bitterly cold. anyways, thanks for the welcome and hopefully we will meet up some time.

david

 

[TSandM]

I dive a Whites Fusion and love it, and I use the thick Whites MK3 undergarment underneath it.

I can't imagine diving in water in the mid 40's in a wetsuit, myself!

 

[drdaddy]

I agree with TSandM about not diving below 50 (mid 40s - brrrrr!!!), but here's a recent post of mine about using a wetsuit.

I prefer a wetsuit. However, I also have a backup wetsuit for those cold wet days that I want to do multiple dives and there's no place to dry/warm my used wetsuit.

Why I prefer a wetsuit:

1. No hassles & no missed dive because some valve is broken or the thing (suit or seal) is torn. I dive tides, so timing is essential.

2. I don't worry so much about abrasions and tears on the barnacles and jetty rocks.

3. Much less expensive. I can buy four good quality wetsuits for the price of one cheap drysuit (and I'd rather not get cheap).

4. I can put it on myself. Even with a front zip drysuit, it is not recommended that you don it yourself. Better to have someone else zip you in. Most of the best drysuits are backzip and therefore someone must help you dress. Not very good for a solo dive (I mostly buddy dive) and it just takes one mistake for a $350 zipper job!!!

5. I just don't want another gadget.

Wetsuit or Drysuit. It's up to you. With a local dive shop (South Beach) owners the man wears a drysuit and his wife a 7mm wetsuit. At another shop (Eugene Skin Divers), all the older guys like me (40 to 65) use drysuits. Of course they get a discount and are advertising these expensive things.

What do I dive in the 50 degree murky Pacific NW waters? A 7mm farmer john (2 piece) O'Neil wetsuit (SeaQuest is my backup, but xs-scuba or Bare are great as well). My dive buddy does the same as well. A few times I was cold was when the water was closer to 40 and less degrees makes me wish I had a drysuit!!! Glacier fed fresh water lakes (Clear Lake/Santiam Pass) and when the ice is melting off the banks of a river/bay only happen a couple of times a year. If I was rich, I'd buy one for these couple of times, but the rest of the time I prefer wet!

 

[local76sparky]

thanks for the info dr! i have had the same thoughts on buying multiple wetsuits for the price of one drysuit. i like the idea of being dry but not the idea of expecting to be dry and getting wet. seems like everyone ive talked to about drysuits at one point has a leak do to zipper not closed or neck seal not staying put when moving around or something. i got my cert in a 7mm akona john and jacket and thought it was fine. the water at the coolest temp was mid 40s. depth at 60 ft. maybe someday ill get a dry suit but not in the near future.

i would like to try a pinnacle suit with the merino wool liner. supposedly super warm. my gloves and boots are merino lined and they are thinner then most gloves and still plenty warm. anyways, thanks again for the input!