Took drysuit class. Have questions.

[2 Bar]

Dove in the pool the other night. I had zero problems with buoyancy. People talk about how you feel the air bubble move around the suit. I felt the opposite, I felt the squeeze move around. Should I add some weight so I could use more air for squeeze relief? How much of a squeeze should I feel if at all? I was comfortable enough to stay underwater, though.

Also, I was never inverted accept intentionally during skill drills. But, my knees bent a bit from air in my chins. It makes me want to have less of a horizontal profile and more of a shoulders slightly above knees profile. Should I try ankle weights? How do they feel?

I am doing checkout dives when the quarry melts.

Thanks

 

[scubasean]

Dove in the pool the other night. I had zero problems with buoyancy. People talk about how you feel the air bubble move around the suit. I felt the opposite, I felt the squeeze move around. Should I add some weight so I could use more air for squeeze relief? How much of a squeeze should I feel if at all? I was comfortable enough to stay underwater, though.

Also, I was never inverted accept intentionally during skill drills. But, my knees bent a bit from air in my chins. It makes me want to have less of a horizontal profile and more of a shoulders slightly above knees profile. Should I try ankle weights? How do they feel?

I am doing checkout dives when the quarry melts.

Thanks

Please do not add more weight just to be able to use more air in your DS...

Did you use your DS just for warmth (the same way I use mine) or did you also use it for buoyancy? You'll know the answer to this when you think about whether you just left enough air in the DS to offset squeeze, or whether you alternatively left the B/C inflator alone entirely (after letting the air out of the B/C to descend) and just used your DS as your B/C.

Regardless of the method you use, you'll feel the bubble move around a bit...I didn't really notice the bubble until I'd dived my DS several times. Actually, when I notice the bubble, the first thing I think of is whether I have too much air in the suit.

 

[Laser]

Dove in the pool the other night. I had zero problems with buoyancy. People talk about how you feel the air bubble move around the suit. I felt the opposite, I felt the squeeze move around. Should I add some weight so I could use more air for squeeze relief? How much of a squeeze should I feel if at all? I was comfortable enough to stay underwater, though.

Also, I was never inverted accept intentionally during skill drills. But, my knees bent a bit from air in my chins. It makes me want to have less of a horizontal profile and more of a shoulders slightly above knees profile. Should I try ankle weights? How do they feel?

I am doing checkout dives when the quarry melts.

Thanks

You didn't feel the squeeze move around, you felt the air relieving the squeeze move around.
If you had enough gas in the suit to inhibit the movement of your legs then you are likely overweighted, thereby needing too much gas. If I was in the pool I would never touch the inflator. ( I understand yer practicing ) Twelve feet requires one puff at most.
Stay away from ankle weights. They are never needed, and create more problems. Learn to dive the suit from the outset and you'll be grateful. I started with gaitors, but got rid of those as they were a crutch as well.
Suit for warmth, and BC for buoyancy. The first several dives will feel way messed up and then it will come together.

 

[wreckchick]

Ahhh.... drysuit squeeze....

Yes, you'll feel significant squeeze no matter what you do. I maintain a 30-40' squeeze in my drysuit. If you can't breathe, that's too much squeeze. You can balance the squeeze with the amount of air you have in the drysuit vs. the bc. One caution is that the drysuit exhaust valve is MUCH slower than the bc dump, so when you're ascending it's easier to get rid of air with the bc.

One thing that you should try to remember is that as you descend and your suit starts the shrink wrap process, you probably want to make sure that you're positioning yourself to not restrict movement when you're fully squeezed. I'll usually stretch all the way out at some point just to make sure I can.

The air bubble moving around to me feels like a warm spot, not really a bubble per se. I can't speak to anyone elses description or experience.

Hope that helps, kinda...

Rachel

 

[gcbryan]

If your buoyance is fine I wouldn't add any more weight. You'll know when you have too much squeeze. If you add just enough air to stay warm that will be more than enough for squeeze. Use your BC for any more than that (my opinion).

I don't like ankle weights. Try them if you like but I find that they make it hard to stay in horizontal trim (my feet keep hanging).

You'll see what feels right after you get out of the pool and put in a few dives.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

As has been said,

Keep just enough air to feel comfortable. No ankle weights. I use my BC as a BC.

Take the upside down ride to the surface, its a neat experience... in a controlled environment.

Me...12 dry dives, and a little over 6 hours in my suit. Its all comming together.

TwoBit

 

[melfox26]

When I took my drysuit class, I was terrified of having a runaway ascent, so I hardly put in any air at all. Sure, I did feel like a shrinkwrapped ham during the dive, not to mention having to explain to my wife about all the hickies on my body. "It was the drysuit honey, I swear." :Kissy:

Anyways, I got over that with time spent in my drysuit, as will you. My feet tended to go up as well when I started, I didn't want to go to ankle weights, so I switched to fins that are negatively bouyant, that fixed that problem fast.

Mel

 

[melfox26]

Go Sharks!

 

[2 Bar]

No ankle weights, a certain amount of squeeze is acceptable, and don't add more weight. Thank's. I'll dive and adjust.

Go Devils!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[matt_unique]

As with nearly every aspect of diving it's all about your preference. I use my drysuit for buoyancy underwater (unless I'm deeper than 100') and my BC only on the surface. More air means more warmth. I use ankle weights because it provides me better trim and stability. When I'm deeper than 100' I will manage some of my buoyancy with my BC.

Don't worry about weight at first, figure out your best trim configuration. Some divers discuss weight as though it's a badge of skill if they use the least amount of weight - it's not. There are many reasons for the amount of weight one uses. It's always better to be a bit heavy than a bit light. You can add air to your system and get neutral if you are a bit heavy. If you are a bit light there is nothing you can do other than spend the entire dive swimming down a bit. You will also have more difficulty toward the end of your tank.

For example, if you are using a neoprene drysuit you will need more weight than someone using a trilam drysuit. The amount of thermals you wear on a dive will also require a different amount of weight.

I suggest you try ankle weights and see if that helps you. A lot of divers use ankle weights. It's also a good way to take some weight off your belt or other parts of your system.

--Matt