Plan on diving dry. Don't do it on an impulse.

[MikeFerrara]

Mike, would you need to take both the dry suit and the lift bag course. I had someone at DS tell me that I didn't need a lift bag because my suit would work just fine!!!!

They wanted you to use your suit for a lift bag?

I guess you could use your buddies suit. Grab a spool, loop the line around him, hit his inflate button and send him on up. He could even give the boat a verbal status report. That's better than using color coded bags!

 

[Diver0001]

I was diving dry before PADI had the drysuit specality. One wonders how any of us survived...

Roak

Yeah, me too. My "course" consisted of a 2 min blah blah that went like this:

- you need an extra hose, it goes here.
- inflate...
- deflate... (in those days you needed to actually press it)
- you'll probably need more weight
- it screws up your buoyancy control, get a feeling for it before you go too deep.

A few dives and two times breaching the surface fins first later and I was totally the man. Hell, my drysuit didn't even have an oral inflate! First kid on my block with that. I also had one of the first trilaminate drysuits I had ever seen. Custom made by totally unknown upstart in Langley called FitzWright (Bare).

R..

 

[PolsVoice]

I taught myself how to dive dry.

Its not a big deal. This trend towards "show me the card that says you can do X" is nothing more than a money-grab by the shops and agencies, and we should RESIST IT STRONGLY, and refuse to patronize those organizations and businesses that attempt to press it forward.

while I think that it might be a moneymaking ploy, I can understand LDSs wanting to know if person x has any experience handling or being in a $1200 suit.

- PV

 

[Genesis]

while I think that it might be a moneymaking ploy, I can understand LDSs wanting to know if person x has any experience handling or being in a $1200 suit.

- PV

I'll bet my last nickel that you have to sign a damage waiver that says if you wreck their $1200 suit (which they paid only $600 for) that they get to nail you for the full purchase price - at retail - despite that their actual loss is only half that.

Card or no card.

 

[Snowbear]

was part of my OW class. I guess the local shops have figured out they could keep more divers hooked on local diving if they didn't freeze 'em out from the start

 

[LUBOLD8431]

I dont know what all the problems are with drysuits. It was NO big deal for me. I never took a drysuit course. I spent one night in the pool getting comfortable, and then I went and dove the suit in OW. No biggy. No issues. I cant believe people have all kinds of problems with drysuits. I just dont get it. I became qualified to teach the drysuit course a few years ago, and I do see the need for it. Some people have trouble walking, nevermind diving with a drysuit.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I'll bet my last nickel that you have to sign a damage waiver that says if you wreck their $1200 suit (which they paid only $600 for) that they get to nail you for the full purchase price - at retail - despite that their actual loss is only half that.

Card or no card.

I'll take that bet and I'll pm you my address so you can send me your last nickle (I could really use it now).

I've rented lots of dry suits and never signed any such thing. When I had a shop I rented out a few suits and never had any one sign anything like that. All I've ever seen used is a standard canned rental rental form. The same ones used to rent out anything else. In fact we had to add a section that provided for charging extra when people brought stuff back late, dirty or damaged which happened often.

 

[Gary D.]

What I was getting at earlier, about going from the pool to the ocean, is doing the pool scessions then to a lake for the open water. After that they think their ready for Puge Sound, Tacoma Narrows, Alaska or Antarticia. Some lake dives are easier than the pool was, better access anyway.

The other thing I was trying to get at was WWW's, never diving anything but a shorty, going some place cold and only having a short time to get ready. For most people it would be fine. Again there is that part of the population that will get into trouble or not have a good time.

Like I said earlier. Some people catch on like a duck to water. Others shouldn't even know where the water is. Just go watch people drive cars. That can be a good indicator on how their daily lives go.

If you live in cold country you might not know what a 3mil or a shorty is and a dry suit is the norm.

The card thing has gotten way out of hand. I could care less about them. But there is a big part of the population out there that need a lot of training while others need very little.

More people need to try cold water diving. They just might convert from being WWW's. Just don't jump in un-prepared and have a bad time. I know a lot of people that think I'm nuts when I tell them I'm warmer under the ice than in the Florida Keys. As the day goes on in the keys I sometime get chilled. Under the ice or in cold water I have to watch out for over-heating.

Gary D.

ps: Rick, It's the Flyer on CdA lake near Tubbs Hill.

 

[hantzu701]

I dont know what all the problems are with drysuits. It was NO big deal for me. I never took a drysuit course. I spent one night in the pool getting comfortable, and then I went and dove the suit in OW. No biggy. No issues. I cant believe people have all kinds of problems with drysuits. I just dont get it. I became qualified to teach the drysuit course a few years ago, and I do see the need for it. Some people have trouble walking, nevermind diving with a drysuit.

It might be because not everyone fits into a drysuit perfectly. I wonder if torso type might have something to do with it. If you're heavyset, I'd think that getting a good fit is pretty difficult. Also wonder if little things - like gator wraps make a huge difference.

I found that getting pool time was a huge confidence builder before I dove OW. I don't and still don't see the need to get a dry suit cert. Of course, not everyone has access to a swiming pool that is dive friendly.

Hantzu

 

[Rick Inman]

Rick, It's the Flyer on CdA lake near Tubbs Hill.

Know of it, never dived it. Thanks!