Redundant buoyancy in warm weather

[victorzamora]

2I'm not restricted to using either one tool or the other.

But they have the BEST tool....why settle for anything else?

 

[RJP]

Here in Truk Lagoon now --and what'ya know!!!

There are four GUE divers I'm diving with here, and three of them are wearing DUI TLS or FLX Extreme Drysuits!

One diver is beta testing Halcyon's/GUE's JJ CCR, so he understandably must have the drysuit's redundant buoyuancy --unfortunately the repair job on a torn wrist seal failed on the second dive today so he had two "leg fulls" of warm 30deg C tropical Pacific Ocean water after a 90min run time/24m average depth dive inside the Heian Maru (he was using some sort of shrink-wrap adhesive tape for the wrist seal repair that held up well on the San Francisco Maru first dive at 120min run time/54m ave depth). . .

Feel free to tell them that I think anyone who wears an FLX Extreme in Truk is foolish.



But no, seriously. Probably same for TLS-350.

As "dry" as I am... I can't imagine wearing either of those suits in warm water. They'd be too warm, and unless they were cut to be worn with a way thin undergarment - like silk-undewear - the amount of excess material they'd be dealing with would be uncomfortable and have a silly amount of drag.

I have a TLS-350, and if that were the only suit I owned... I'd dive wet anyplace warm.

 

[tajkd]

2 phunny!

I'm not sure which I think funnier: people who only accept dry suit diving or those who simply reject it? Either prosecute their beliefs with a religious fervor that make the rest of us simply wonder what their real motivation could be. I guess if all you own is a hammer the solution to everything is a nail. Conversely, if all you have is a screwdriver, then the only solution is a screw. Personally, I like having a lot of different tools at my disposal to meet the demands of any task. I'm not restricted to using either one tool or the other.

One more choice: Using a screwdriver because all you own is screws. I started diving dry in the Caribbean for continuous warmth, not for redundant buoyancy. I was (admittedly) abnormally cold after diving in 70-80 degree water. The redundancy was just an additional perk for me.

 

[victorzamora]

Jokes aside, that's what I do. I dive dry in any water too cold for my 3mm shorty. I just don't know what I'd do about buoyancy in 84F water. Maybe dry if I know it'll be a really long dive, maybe just rely on a lift bag.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Jokes aside, that's what I do. I dive dry in any water too cold for my 3mm shorty. I just don't know what I'd do about buoyancy in 84F water. Maybe dry if I know it'll be a really long dive, maybe just rely on a lift bag.

Just did a 55m max depth/45m ave on the Aikoku Maru with a run time of 130min, on double Aluminum 11L tanks and carrying three Aluminum 11L deco/stage cylinders (one with 20/20 bottom mix, and the others with 50% & 100% O2 for deco and additional bail-out deco gas for the GUE diver with the JJ CCR) --I've got a 18kg/40lbs wing & liftbag for redundant buoyancy, wearing only a 0.5mil skinsuit & hooded vest in 30deg C water with a slight current . . .and doing just fine!

You can tell from afar which lockers here at the Truk Lagoon Dive Center has drysuits in them & in use for the past week --they absolutely reek rancid!

 

[RJP]

You can tell from afar which lockers here at the Truk Lagoon Dive Center has drysuits in them & in use for the past week --they absolutely reek rancid!

Of course, we all know you think your kit don't stink...

:d

 

[HIGHwing]

I run a double bladder wing. I use it with wet or dry suits with tanks ranging from AL80s up to LP108s with up to four deco/travel gases. What I've found is alternate lift via drysuit is an excellent idea until your ears hear the neck seal burping gas because the neck seal can't hold the gas in. It just seems that having a simple button for backup inflation is the easiest, and sometimes least expensive option. Also you might note that some training agencies are starting to specify the redundant inflation required for the more advanced courses including lift bag sizes.

 

[Centrals]

Just did a 55m max depth/45m ave on the Aikoku Maru with a run time of 130min, on double Aluminum 11L tanks and carrying three Aluminum 11L deco/stage cylinders (one with 20/20 bottom mix, and the others with 50% & 100% O2 for deco and additional bail-out deco gas for the GUE diver with the JJ CCR) --

So the rebreather diver couldn't handle the extra bottle of deco tank?
It is always the OC divers have to act as a coolie!!!!!

 

[Kevrumbo]

Of course, we all know you think your kit don't stink...

:d

A little dab here & there on the skinsuit, full strength --on the boat ride back from the dive site:
Home Page of Sink the Stink

So the rebreather diver couldn't handle the extra bottle of deco tank?
It is always the OC divers have to act as a coolie!!!!!

Well . . .with the added "girth" of the JJ CCR unit & cylinders and a camera housing w/ strobes, there was no way he could have made it through the tight spaces of the Aikoku Maru's Engine Room at nearly 60m deep (he left his own 11L 50% deco cylinder attached to the mooring line at 21m). btw, the drysuit divers even brought their own suit inflation bottle kits, because they were diving GUE standard gases (now that's a week's worth gas bill of Helium/Oxygen I'd like to see!)

I'm used to being the tank coolie for the RB divers --actually clipped-off & carried on ascent four AL80's/11L cylinders on the Bikini Expedition last June/July. . .

 

[tajkd]

A little dab here & there on the skinsuit, full strength --on the boat ride back from the dive site:

Yes - and a little dab of the Tide full strength every other day. Just keep thinking to find all the reasons that drysuits are no good in warm water; too hot, too buoyant, too much gear, too stinky, blah, blah, blah...

They are not for everyone and they are not for you - just leave it at that.