Random things I'm learning along the way ...

[Hartattack]

"I had a heck of a time putting on my 5mil but figured out a way to 'hack' it. Once I have the bottom part on (what a sight!) I keep the arms inside out, put my hands only through the holes, and then push my hand/arm through until my whole arm is in. It works really well! And of course rash guards and socks always make it that much easier."

Use plastic grocery bags. pack two in your kit and then place one over your hand or foot before you slide it through the wetsuit. Once through, slowly take off the bag and repeat with the next appendage.

 

[EricRS]

Good tips - hadn't thought of these. Thanks!

I use these in the 1st stage McMaster-Carr
and these for the hose ends McMaster-Carr
as for the size I dont remember off the top of my head I think its 3/8 and 5/8inch

 

[sea_ledford]

Next time you are at the doctor, get a prescription for Mupirocin. Stuff is like magic for small cuts.

While on a dive boat avoid acidic food (think pineapple) unless you enjoy providing the fish with a warm meal. Or you are used to being on boats... then eat whatever you want!

 

[Kimela]

Use plastic grocery bags. pack two in your kit and then place one over your hand or foot before you slide it through the wetsuit. Once through, slowly take off the bag and repeat with the next appendage.

I tried that - and using scuba socks - and those didn't work. The teeeeeeeny little holes on the ends of the arms of womens wetsuits are ridiculously small. With the bags and socks I was left pulling them out like a clown pulling scarves from his pockets! Seriously, I should post a pic of how teeny those holes are. Makes me envious of those with zippers at the wrist.

 

[Ukmc]

Here is a little hack for the ear drops to prevent swimmers ear. Mix 1:1:1 Distilled White vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water. Dirt cheap. Available everywhere and you get tons of it, so if you have small ear canals you can actually flush with the solution instead of just doing drops because you get a lot of volume

 

[VikingDives]

I tried that - and using scuba socks - and those didn't work. The teeeeeeeny little holes on the ends of the arms of womens wetsuits are ridiculously small. With the bags and socks I was left pulling them out like a clown pulling scarves from his pockets! Seriously, I should post a pic of how teeny those holes are. Makes me envious of those with zippers at the wrist.

Try using conditioner. I collect the little travel conditioners from hotels and share those with my students. The cheaper conditioners seem to work better than the expensive ones.

 

[Neilwood]

That brings to mind a tip for new travelers. I prefer to take a scuba tool and an o-ring kit on trips; especially useful on Bonaire shore diving trips. Sometimes a hose works lose on the 1st stage, I pressurize and it spews...or a tank has a dried out, partial, absent or just bad sealing o-ring.

But...that wrench you mentioned, a scuba tool, whatever, I learned at the airport in Grand Cayman...they don't want us getting on the plane with tools in carry on luggage. Perhaps I look like I can take a plane apart with a scuba tool?

So...you've gotta trust your checked bags will get where you're going, to the boat to have a wrench (they probably do), or a dive shop to sell scuba tools (ditto).

The real problem was forfeiting the thing to avoid having to go back to try and get it in checked baggage, when I was already in line at a security check point. Hey, 20 bucks is 20 bucks...

Likewise I had a multitool (Hex wrenches, spanner etc), which was in my reg bag, that was removed from my carry on at security at the airport. No way was I getting it in to checked luggage at that point so ended up losing it (I wonder if the security person enjoyed using it).

Tip for future - anything that remotely looks like a tool goes into the checked luggage but I'm not trusting my regs to baggage handlers ever.

Another tip I would give anyone doing multiple dives over multiple days - socks (not even necessarily lycra). I did a liveaboard and within a couple of days of 4/5 dives my ankles were shredded with the boots. Took a pair of my ordinary socks and wore them inside the boots from that point on and no further issues (my ankles were healed by the end of the trip).

@Kimela if I am wearing a wetsuit I tend to roll the sleeves and legs inside out apart from the last 2-3 inches. That way I can easily get my hands and feet through the opening and unroll the suit as it progresses up my arms and legs.

 

[Kimela]

@Kimela if I am wearing a wetsuit I tend to roll the sleeves and legs inside out apart from the last 2-3 inches. That way I can easily get my hands and feet through the opening and unroll the suit as it progresses up my arms and legs.

That's pretty much what I do with the legs, and after my hands are through the wrist holes, with the arms. I'm glad someone else has found this odd but effective way of 'rolling on' wetsuits.

My husband lost a wrench to TSA too one year on the way back from a trip - odd that it made it there, but not back, in carry-on. Coming out of Cozumel last week there was a man who had this rusty, strange looking hammer that TSA was telling him he couldn't take. He was in tears, saying his father had made it for him. TSA was offering no ideas of how to salvage the situation so I butted in (as I'm apt to do) and suggested he check the bag with it inside - take out the lithium batteries first (he was a diver) - and that's what he did. I really wondered if his father made that hammer or if he salvaged it while in Cozumel. Either way, no tools in carry-on.

 

[Kimela]

Try using conditioner. I collect the little travel conditioners from hotels and share those with my students. The cheaper conditioners seem to work better than the expensive ones.

That's how I got on my 8/7 (that I can't fit into anymore!). But I wouldn't want to do that on an ocean dive and contribute more chemicals to the existing reef issues. Every little bit helps. Maybe this is another Stream2Sea product to develop. Something to glide on skin to make wetsuits slide on easier?

 

[living4experiences]

I tried that - and using scuba socks - and those didn't work. The teeeeeeeny little holes on the ends of the arms of womens wetsuits are ridiculously small. With the bags and socks I was left pulling them out like a clown pulling scarves from his pockets! Seriously, I should post a pic of how teeny those holes are. Makes me envious of those with zippers at the wrist.

@Kimela, I recently bought this wetsuit from Amazon because it has zippered ankles and wrists and it was a reasonable $70. It's not the traditional scuba brand we're used to seeing, but I bought it for the zippers. I haven't used it yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it out next month. https://www.amazon.com/NeopSkin-Neo...id=1608663310&sprefix=neopskin,aps,229&sr=8-5