Pockets on Drysuits?

[DA Aquamaster]

If you clip everything into the pockets with double-enders and bungee, you dont lose much even if they come open

Exactly. That is the purpose of the bungee loops in many of the available pockets - a great improvement - as you can just pull everythiing out of the pocket and sort it out outside the pocket if need be.

Also, with velcro you are not limited by the pull angle on the zipper and unlike a zipper, things to not get hard to open if the items rearrange themselvse and press against the top of the pocket.

Now...if we were ejecting underwater at 500 kts or something, I'd say go with zippers, otherwise, the added security and complexity of a zipper just creates one more thing that can go wrong.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Frog kicks and fundies and J.J. and GUE
Wetnotes and slap straps and a surface marker buoy
Light heads and scooters clipped off on D-rings
These are a few of my favorite things!

We can sure tell that you're actually a wrecker in disguise. An SMB in a cave !!!

Oh, and get the pockets. They're indispensable regardless of whether you're doing caves, wrecks or reefs. I glued mine on myself. Go velcro, not zippered. Zippers are a royal PITA to open underwater most of the time. You need to be able to get into each pocket just using the hand on that side.

I bought the XS Scuba pockets from Phil at Dive Sports. They're very nice pockets.

 

[PerroneFord]

We can sure tell that you're actually a wrecker in disguise. An SMB in a cave !!!

You didn't do IANTD did you?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

You didn't do IANTD did you?

Actually I'm a wrecker ... no cave training, at least not yet. I couldn't imagine any agency requiring an SMB in a cave, but sounds like maybe I was a bit presumptuous.

So what does an SMB look like plastered to the roof of a cave? I kinda picture Chuck E Cheese after a bunch of kids lost their balloons.

 

[PerroneFord]

Wish I knew what it looked like. When I heard that requirement, I just laughed. Maybe they expect you to slightly inflate it and attach it to your crotch d-ring if your BC fails.

I'll stick with the BC/Dry suit combo personally.

 

[robway034]

Uh.... Back to the pocket thing.... I am an advocate of having one and not needing it ..as oppossed to needing one and.....

For some stupid reason, I am always forgetting that the water temp can be warmer than the surface/air temp! So, I start the dive with gloves and/or hood and evitably wind up getting to warm in my DS and coming out of one or the other (sometimes both hood & gloves). A nice large easily accessed pocket sure does come in handy at that point. Not all of my BCD's have pockets (BP/w for example) and to be honest; The pockets on my standard BCD are pretty useless with just the smallest amount of Air in it!

So in conclusion...(LOL) I am for pockets on my DS! I am actually sending my new DS back to DUI for a pocket retro-fit. It was overlooked in the ordering process when I placed the initial order.

Best regards & luck with your decision

 

[RJP]

We can sure tell that you're actually a wrecker in disguise. An SMB in a cave !!!

Well, the need to rhyme sort of caused me to override my NACD training. (Note the inclusion of "mittens" as well - nothing else rhymes with kittens!)

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Well, the need to rhyme sort of caused me to override my NACD training. (Note the inclusion of "mittens" as well - nothing else rhymes with kittens!)

I did LOVE the new lyrics by the way. Helped me get in a nice laugh on a pretty crappy Monday!

 

[rlc5925]

This might not be the right place to post this ques. but i wanted to get the cave divers opinion. What are everyones opinions on pockets and placement on drysuits? Are they good to have or not?

I use one pocket on the left outside thigh.

 

[limeyx]

Wish I knew what it looked like. When I heard that requirement, I just laughed. Maybe they expect you to slightly inflate it and attach it to your crotch d-ring if your BC fails.

Maybe they got lazy and just have the same list of gear for cave that they previously used for tech even though not 100% of stuff is really needed?