restroom in a drysuit.....

[scubajoh44]

Ok gals, here's a question for ya. I've seen lots of drysuits with "pee valves". This seems like it would be quite handy for guys, but pointless for women. Is there anything out there or a trick I don't know of that would make going to the restroom easier for us women? I'm getting ready to buy a new drysuit and am taking that into consideration. (how hard and time consuming to get off and on...) Any suggestions or tips???? Thanks....
Jo

 

[Bobbin-along]

So the senior women in our group swear by "depends" but one of the girls claims they make a women's p-valve. She says she hasn't tried it, but read about it in one of the magazines she gets. I'm still trying to figure that one out.....

I've been popping in and out of the dry suit to use the loo without a problem, but then again I sail and spend my days in foul weather gear which is even more convoluted to get in and out of.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Ok gals, here's a question for ya. I've seen lots of drysuits with "pee valves". This seems like it would be quite handy for guys, but pointless for women. Is there anything out there or a trick I don't know of that would make going to the restroom easier for us women? I'm getting ready to buy a new drysuit and am taking that into consideration. (how hard and time consuming to get off and on...) Any suggestions or tips???? Thanks....
Jo

Really (given current state of the art in female catheters) your best bet in terms of convenience is the adult incontinence pants such as Depends or other brands. There are internal catheters (used in hospitals, etc.), however, whether these are an option for scubadiving is dubious. Among other issues, installing them on the boatride to some wreck 60 miles off the east coast in 2'-4' seas would be a most interesting exercise.

Costco. Buy'em by the pallet. And don't put up with any crap from your male dive buddies!

Doc

 

[TSandM]

There is a long discussion on the DIR Explorers bulletin board about self-catheterization for women, and what modifications to the P-valve have to be made to allow for the loss of sphincter function that goes along with it. I think one would have to be doing long decompression to make it worth it.

Otherwise, as far as I can tell, you either use Depends or you go through the misery of taking off all your gauges and getting out of all of your seals and peeling down your undergarment in order to deal with the "immersion diuresis". Another place in which life simply isn't gender-neutral

 

[JeffG]

Ok gals, here's a question for ya. I've seen lots of drysuits with "pee valves". This seems like it would be quite handy for guys, but pointless for women. Is there anything out there or a trick I don't know of that would make going to the restroom easier for us women? I'm getting ready to buy a new drysuit and am taking that into consideration. (how hard and time consuming to get off and on...) Any suggestions or tips???? Thanks....
Jo

Depends

 

[scubajoh44]

Hmmmm........ I was hoping for better news. I'm simply not using a catheter. And I'm just not ready for the Depends either. Guess I'll be stripping down. ggrrrrrrrrr.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Joh,

There actually IS another option, if you're dead set against wearing Depends.

You can order a drysuit with a "relief zipper". It's essentially a short horizontal zipper that fits across your abdomen, above the crotch of the suit. It looks like this:
http://www.altrec.com/shop/detail/19763/NRS/

(Note that I'm not recommending that drysuit, I simply wanted a photo that showed a relief zipper...)

On the boat during the surface interval, you pop that sucker open and then use one of these little beauties:
http://www.travelmateinfo.com/page002.html

Presto, you're feeling 300% better and you don't have to break your seals, strip down to your undies, etc.

Some folks will comment that the relief zipper is another failure point. That's true to some extent, however the relief and convenience that it provides may be enough to offset the requirement to check that its securely zipped before each dive, well-maintained after each dive, etc.

It's a least another option for you to consider rather than the Depends.

Best,

Doc

 

[scubajoh44]

That is a cool idea. I've seen the "p-valves", but wondered how that could benefit me. I guess with one of those little nifty gadgets it could though. I just might try that. Thanks Doc.

 

[WetDawg]

Depends are the way to go even for men.

After an OBX offshore trip a few years back a bunch of us tough guys went into a bar still wearing our diapers to see just how many beers they could hold...

...the answer is two... anything more and you will have overflow issues. :05:

Watch out for the diaper rash too...

 

[Tavi]

I've talked with a woman that has tried one of the female versions of a pee-valve. You probably aren't interested as it requires Shaving and Glue!!