"Take a class"

[toddster541]

It does sound funny, but I recall one time I took a dive-master certified college student from Florida on a weekend trip in the San Juans. It wasn't until we were on the beach that he confessed that he'd never worn a wetsuit before.

 

[divezonescuba]

I have had people go from a 3mm to a 7mm and hood and have problems with the weighting, weight distribution, and trim. Need for a certification no, but certainly an oriention session.

 

[Jake]

Wetsuits have other issues because of the compression of the suit. You need to think of the suit thickness at depth not on the surface to decide on how warm you will be. Also you need more weight at the surface than at depth because you lose buoyancy as you descend. This means, especially with thick suits for colder climates, that it can be very easy to screw up your weighting and be dangerously overweighted at depth.

I don't think the average diver ever considers weighting/buoyancy at depth. I've got hundreds of dives and had to really think hard recently when trying to figure out whether I can get away with a 20lb wing for a 7mm setup. (Short answer: not if I do any relatively deep dives.)

I was actually kind of surprised at how hard it was to figure out buoyancy characteristics of different wetsuits. All day long I can find weight calculators to stay underwater, but buoyancy calculators and info are much less common.

 

[Neilwood]

I don't think the average diver ever considers weighting/buoyancy at depth. I've got hundreds of dives and had to really think hard recently when trying to figure out whether I can get away with a 20lb wing for a 7mm setup. (Short answer: not if I do any relatively deep dives.)

I was actually kind of surprised at how hard it was to figure out buoyancy characteristics of different wetsuits. All day long I can find weight calculators to stay underwater, but buoyancy calculators and info are much less common.

And that is why I can understand people needing extra tuition for using wetsuits (in certain conditions). AFAIK none of the wetsuit manufacturers lists buoyancy especially not at depth (some suits are a LOT more compressible than others).

 

[The Chairman]

A ScubaBoarder died 10 or 12 years ago in her wetsuit in the Keys. She was a drysuit diver up north and wore aluminum tanks. In the keys she was in a shorty with steel tanks and apparently used the same amount of lead. Such a tragic loss for what many of us take for granted. Less buoyancy=less lead. Maybe she should have taken that class and avoided her untimely death? I bet her kids wish that she had.

I know that many of these classes are derided for being too simplistic, well they probably weren't designed for you and maybe not for me. I never took a drysuit class. My first dive in one was during my Intro to cave class. The instructor praised my trim, so I guess I did "OK". Mind you, i had many years of diving at that point, and I got lots of pointers right here on SB. I "got it", but not everyone does. There are a lot of classes that I feel no need to take, but then I have a ton of experience. Those without such experience rely on these kinds of classes to keep their diving fun. I can't blame them for that.

If it's new to you, and you aren't sure you got all the ins and outs, then take the class. If you feel comfortable diving without a particular class, please remember what you don't know can kill you in the water. Just like that SBer who jumped in the warm water in the Keys only to find out she had no clue how to dive in warm water. That lesson cost her her life.

 

[Storker]

I never took a drysuit class.

Neither did I, nor do most people who dive dry up here. We simply take our first cert (typically PADI OW or CMAS1*) dry and continue diving dry. The only times we dive wet is when we're on a vacation, and then we'll probably have a guide and a DM holding our hand and telling us what to do.

please remember what you don't know can kill you in the water.

Bingo. There has been the occasional thread here where the topic has been whether or not cold water divers are better than warm water divers. My attitude is that I'm reasonably sure that if you visit my waters, I'll probably have a thing or two to teach you, so I might well be a better (cold water) diver than you are. If I visit your waters, I'll sure as heck listen to your advice because you're most probably a better diver than I am in the conditions you're used to.