Position of drysuit exhaust valve

[tc_rain]

I have used both and ended up getting the cuff dump. The only two problems with it are it often gets caught up on the harness as I slide into my BP/W. The other problem is if you are diving with someone new and you raise your arm to dump air, they start looking up and at you wondering what you are pointing at. You get a real confused look from new students. Overall, i like the cuff dump better.

 

[TSandM]

A cuff dump can be a major pita as it will dump any time that cuff is raised above the rest of the suit. It also takes up valuable forearm real estate that is used by many divers for slates, computers, compasses or bottom timers. It is also guarenteed to addanother obstruction near the hand when donning equipment, working with stage bottles, etc.

I have used both, and I think DAA summed it up.

If the dump valve is improperly located, it can be anything from a nuisance to darned near impossible to get air out of the suit. Depending on the suit construction, it can be possible to move the valve.

 

[japan-diver]

I have used both my first suit being a cuff dump and my new suit being a shoulder dump - I really liked the cuff dump but it got in the way of my compass and stuff needed on my forearm and went to shoulder dump on the new suit- have about 30 dives on it so far. I find that they are about the same in ease of use for dumping air - so its comes down to personal preference.

 

[meesier42]

for me, w/ Pinnacle Evo2 (stock shoulder dump), I have no issues at all getting all the air out, I normally keep the valve all the way open and if I need to vent some just roll slightly to my right and air flows out easily. I really think that Pinnacle placed it just about perfectly, it very high on the shoulder somewhat towards the back, if it were farther forward it would be easy to get a hold of, but would be much harder to vent normally.

as for the idea of a back-up exhaust, I thinks that's a very bad idea. with 2 all you would have is 2 failure points that need to be cleaned, rebuilt, get caught up on things (wrist more so than shoulder). even with dry gloves on you already have a backup exhaust built into your suit, its called the neck seal. with a properly sized seal, just get upright and twist your neck or look straight down, air will find its way out pretty easily. if that doesn't work, grab hold of it and pull, so long as you don't create a huge gap, air will leave and really no water will get in.

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

I dive an O'Neill 7mm neoprene suit. It fits more like a wetsuit than a shell suit does. My dump is on the front of my shoulder where the bicep meets. PITA for sure. Mostly I have found that I can raise my wrist and dump through the seal. My wrists are barely damp after my dives. This has worked really well for me for a long time. I would like to have the valve just above the zipper, on the back of my shoulder. When I dump, through the wrists I watch and stop it before the air stops and lets water in. But.............I am cave diving and not in super cold water either. As I am cave diving I can't always get vertical to allow the shoulder dump its best location to dump either. I guess I am posting this as more of "another option" than the actual answer to the question.