DIR- GUE wetsuit -> drysuit transition timing

[PfcAJ]

You need enough gas in the suit to loft the undergarment. No more, no less.

The wing is to support the weight of the gas in your tanks. Balanced rig, etc.

 

[crofrog]

That still makes very little sense. If the gas expands enough that it's a problem, you can surely vent it. Getting used to diving with an over-inflated suit in order to have more gas to dump on ascent? That's... innovative.

Edit: I realize this is tagged DIR-GUE and I might be missing something GUE specific here, but if so please educate me, I'm yet to be fundiesified.

People go to 20ft and never loft their undergarments because they’re scared of their drysuit that doesn’t work at 120ft.

They need to go down there and loft it to the point that they can vent a little bit of gas out of the exhaust valve and get use to that feeling. That point is the most squeezed you’ll be able to get your suit again on an ascent.

 

[overthinking_diver]

I wanted to give an update on how my actual class went. I did two days of diving. One day for the drysuit primer and one day repeating most of the Fundamentals drills but with a drysuit.

Trim and buoyancy need a lot of work as expected but I feel comfortable using a drysuit on the easy dives I intend to do. I'm sure with practice I'll be able to improve.

My biggest hesitation and the reason I haven't bought one yet is that it was really hard to reach valves. I was using a rental drysuit which I thought fit me well but I had a lot of trouble during the valve drill. I could do it but it was a lot of struggle. I don't think I will be able to do it in an actual emergency. Is reaching valves this much harder in a drysuit? I have no problem in my 3mm and my 7mm. I assume it'll be easier when I buy a custom fit drysuit but I don't want to spend all the money only to find out I'm not flexible enough.

 

[ginti]

Honestly, if you can do it in a wetsuit, I don't see any reason why you can't in a drysuit except for a bad fit...

 

[Imla]

I wanted to give an update on how my actual class went. I did two days of diving. One day for the drysuit primer and one day repeating most of the Fundamentals drills but with a drysuit.

Trim and buoyancy need a lot of work as expected but I feel comfortable using a drysuit on the easy dives I intend to do. I'm sure with practice I'll be able to improve.

My biggest hesitation and the reason I haven't bought one yet is that it was really hard to reach valves. I was using a rental drysuit which I thought fit me well but I had a lot of trouble during the valve drill. I could do it but it was a lot of struggle. I don't think I will be able to do it in an actual emergency. Is reaching valves this much harder in a drysuit? I have no problem in my 3mm and my 7mm. I assume it'll be easier when I buy a custom fit drysuit but I don't want to spend all the money only to find out I'm not flexible enough.

Don't worry. That is usually a technique error and not a factual stretchyness. Make sure you have enough room in underarms, overarms, shoulders and overall length on the suit. Keep proper amount of bubble in the suit. Make sure your harness is loose enough to promote the movements. It is the waistband and the crotchstrap that secures your rig. Make sure that you keep your elbows FORWARD and in line with you ear to open up range of motion in your shoulder. If your elbow is out to the right/left when you start the motion, your shoulderblade will stop the motion.
And... Go slow. When you think you go slow, slow down even more. Stabilise and chill between each element of the drill. Remember to look forward!

 

[KevinNM]

I wanted to give an update on how my actual class went. I did two days of diving. One day for the drysuit primer and one day repeating most of the Fundamentals drills but with a drysuit.

Trim and buoyancy need a lot of work as expected but I feel comfortable using a drysuit on the easy dives I intend to do. I'm sure with practice I'll be able to improve.

My biggest hesitation and the reason I haven't bought one yet is that it was really hard to reach valves. I was using a rental drysuit which I thought fit me well but I had a lot of trouble during the valve drill. I could do it but it was a lot of struggle. I don't think I will be able to do it in an actual emergency. Is reaching valves this much harder in a drysuit? I have no problem in my 3mm and my 7mm. I assume it'll be easier when I buy a custom fit drysuit but I don't want to spend all the money only to find out I'm not flexible enough.

If you can reach it in a wetsuit you can reach it in a properly fitted and lofted dry suit. Fitting is critical. Every scuba shop will sell you a dry suit, but I strongly suggest you travel to a shop that sells a lot of dry suits to tech divers and have somone who has measured a lot of divers measure you and decide what size suit will work best.

I’ve been told by one of the people who has done this for hundreds of divers that he found that if a diver will work in a standard size it was usually better to do that then customize it to fit better. But talk to an expert before spending thousands and waiting months to see how it fits.

Also some shops, like Extreme Exposure, try to keep a wide range of rental dry suits in stock and they can rent you a suit and then an instructor can work with you in Blue Grotto or some where else to ensure it works for you before you buy one.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Is reaching valves this much harder in a drysuit? I have no problem in my 3mm and my 7mm. I assume it'll be easier when I buy a custom fit drysuit but I don't want to spend all the money only to find out I'm not flexible enough.

A trilam drysuit with undergarment will never feel quite as flexible as a 3mm neoprene suit, but I suspect you will manage to reach your valves despite the limitations. As others have said, make sure the suit fits properly. I would advise to get fitted in person by a shop that knows drysuits and will guarantee that the suit fits properly based on their measurements.

 

[stretchthepenn]

There shouldn't be a distinct bubble to manage during most of the dive. If you can feel a bubble moving around in your drysuit then it's over inflated. There is no need to get extra lift from the suit.

I see what you mean, but I think we're quibbling over word choices. I meant "localized lift" or perhaps "arm/leg buoyancy" or perhaps "trim adjustments," not "my-whole-body-go-up-wheeeeee!"

No diver should ever be the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and minimizing the bubble is a best practice. But to loft an undergarment sufficiently, there will be air in the drysuit. Thus, if a diver is in anything other than perfectly flat trim the entire dive, it's literally impossible not to have the air shift around and affect the diver's experience.

For example, I'm on a deco hang and feel my feet dropping. I go torso-down, direct a bit of air into my legs, and hey-presto, I'm stable again.

A drysuit diver must learn to deal with the moving-air phenomenon and use it to their advantage.