The realities of adult diapers with dry suits?

[limeyx]

That's what super glue & duct tape are for

Maybe an industrial-sized stapler?

Sadly, I have considered the "less than medium" size

and yes, I do use a new one each time ....

 

[Matt S.]

I have seen people with juice box/bags underwater.

I tried this recently. While it was nice to get the taste of salt out of my mouth, I immediately realized that you can't swallow without holding your breath. Which, I have heard, is a bad thing.

If you were not moving I guess it would be safe enough, but I tried it while in motion and quickly realized my mistake. My safety stops are either blue water or just slowly swimming upslope, so I don't usually have enough stability to do this.

 

[Rainer]

I tried this recently. While it was nice to get the taste of salt out of my mouth, I immediately realized that you can't swallow without holding your breath. Which, I have heard, is a bad thing.

If you were not moving I guess it would be safe enough, but I tried it while in motion and quickly realized my mistake. My safety stops are either blue water or just slowly swimming upslope, so I don't usually have enough stability to do this.

You can't stay still for the three seconds it takes to take a sip? If you then need to move, plug the hole, move, stop again, and sip away.

 

[Matt S.]

You have to make sure you have your buddy's attention, because he can get pretty far in a few seconds. And how can you remain completely stable without touching something?

If conditions are right, ok, it's easy. But with what I am doing most of the time, it isn't.

 

[Jake]

One other thing to consider, is that you will definitely suck through your tank much faster in a dry suit. This is because:
1. You will assumably be inflating your suit with air and not argon.
2. With the dry suit and underwear insulation, you will need more weight to keep you down (ex. instead of 12 I needed 20).
3. You will probably be less streamlined in a dry suit, and thus use more exertion to move around and swim.

I know I'm a newbie, but I do know that if you can do 2.5 hours with that tank in a wetsuit at a particular depth, there is no way you are going to be getting 2.5 hours our of it in a dry suit. I'm so new overall as well as in drysuits that I don't think I am a good punter on this issue, but my guess based of my limited experience is that I thought it cut my time in half (i.e. doubled my air consumption rate). I'm sure if you were really experienced with a dry suit, you probably could get much closer to your time in a wetsuit.

I worried about the diaper issue myself, and then completely forgot to bring them for my open water dry suit dives. Thankfully, it turned out I didn't need them.

I've spent quite a good amount of time in rental dry suits, and have found that my dives are usually longer in the specific conditions that I allude to in my OP (though not in all conditions). The primary reason is that I'm much more comfortable (warmth-wise) and don't suffer from the negative metabolic effects of environmental exposure nearly as much. Once you become proficient in dry suit use, you'll find that the amount of air you use is really little more than you use in your BC over the course of a dive. It takes a few dives to get buoyancy and suit squeeze dialed in, but once you have it, you don't add air to the suit much.

I went to Target today to try and find some to test first at home, but wasn't happy with the selection. I think my local pharmacy has a lot more, so I'll try them tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who has posted so far!

 

[texdiveguy]

Another reason for using a good ole well fitting Depends is they are 'easy' to slip on and off....none of the time consuming efforts and frustration of 'hooking-up' and general diving worries assoc. with p-valves not functioning properly each use ....... IMO

 

[Jake]

Another reason for using a good ole well fitting Depends is they are 'easy' to slip on and off....none of the time consuming efforts and frustration of 'hooking-up' and general diving worries assoc. with p-valves not functioning properly each use ....... IMO

That brings up another good point. Most of my diving is done from the shore in fairly rich neighborhoods in Laguna Beach, CA. Most of the entry points don't have facilities. Can a pee valve be appropriately "hooked up" discretely next to my truck, or is a proper boat head or restroom mandatory?

 

[limeyx]

That brings up another good point. Most of my diving is done from the shore in fairly rich neighborhoods in Laguna Beach, CA. Most of the entry points don't have facilities. Can a pee valve be appropriately "hooked up" discretely next to my truck, or is a proper boat head or restroom mandatory?

"Mostly" is the answer I guess.
Probably best to arrive with the cath "pre-rigged" as it were.
Then you can (if you kind of face into your truck) get things hooked up.

Better watch out for the cops/vice squad tho -- dont want to get picked up on a charge! (sadly I am only 1/2 kidding in this day & age)

 

[Mark Vlahos]

That brings up another good point. Most of my diving is done from the shore in fairly rich neighborhoods in Laguna Beach, CA. Most of the entry points don't have facilities. Can a pee valve be appropriately "hooked up" discretely next to my truck, or is a proper boat head or restroom mandatory?

If you use the P-Valve then you will want to put the condom catheter on in the privacy of your home. The tip of the catheter can be discreetly attached to the hose in the dry suit with reasonable care on your part. When you finish the dive you can remove the hose from the catheter in public using the same common sense you used to put it on. The actual condom catheter should be removed in a private location such as a stall in a public restroom or the privacy of your own home. I personally recommend that you wait until you get home so you can scream and yell without disturbing the general public, those stray hairs hurt when they get wrapped up in the glued condom.

If you use either the incontinence pads I mentioned earlier, or the full on Depends, you will want to save that for home as well.

I know of one well known tech diver who uses baby diapers, he likes the "Barney the Purple Dinosaur" ones. He places the diaper over the appropriate parts like the incontinence pad.

Whatever you end up using, just use common sense and you will be fine. Every method has advantages and disadvantages. Make your choice and dive.

Mark Vlahos

 

[Flightlead]

And how can you remain completely stable without touching something?

give it time. and practice. proper trim is critical. I find it MUCH easier to do in a bp/w than a traditional bc, even back inflate, unless I put a couple of ankle weights around my tank top