What do you do with your drysuit during boat ride back?

[NYCrecdiver]

Hi,

I am a new drysuit diver. Noticed that quite a bit of divers hang their drysuits over their tanks out to dry during the 1.5 hours ride from the dive site back to shore. Wouldn't it be better to fold and store it wet inside the bag so that the salt has less of a chance to completely dry before rinsing it off at home?

 

[PR_SMITH]

I've never worried about it, I just put it in it's bag and rinse/hang to dry at home. My suit has neoprene boots built in, so I put a golf ball in each boot, and snag the toes of each foot in the slots in my drysuit hangar. That way the suit hangs upside down and dries completely, inside and out.

 

[stuartv]

I've never worried about it, I just put it in it's bag and rinse/hang to dry at home. My suit has neoprene boots built in, so I put a golf ball in each boot, and snag the toes of each foot in the slots in my drysuit hangar. That way the suit hangs upside down and dries completely, inside and out.

Brilliant!

I was today years old when I learned this trick!

 

[stuartv]

On a related note, getting the inside of drysuit boots dry has always been my nemesis.

I have used electric boot driers in the past and they do work well, but they are a bit cumbersome to use and, of course, you need electricity nearby to run them.

I recently got a set of these Seaskin suit driers.

Seaskin Suit Driers (Pair) - Seaskin Drysuits Shop - Purchase Drysuit Supplies

Purchase Seaskin Suit Driers (Pair) from Seaskin - drysuit supplies made to order directly from the factory.

seaskin.co.uk

They are just big bags full of dessicant. They are totally reusable. They come with the directions on how to dry them out when they are saturated and you want to renew them.

I've used them once so far, and it wasn't a great test because my suit did not leak, so the boots were only damp on the inside from normal perspiration, etc.. However, I put the driers in overnight and the inside of the boots was bone dry the next morning.

 

[MB NZ]

I don't think it matters, but don't lose it! More than one drysuit has disappeared over the rails on the journey home. When I was drysuit diving, it very much depended on the circumstances. If it was a small, wet boat or sea conditions were particularly bad, I would wear it. Bigger boats and calmer conditions and I would put it away in a bag in a safe place. People who don't own a drysuit have no idea how easily they are damaged.

 

[NYCrecdiver]

On a related note, getting the inside of drysuit boots dry has always been my nemesis.

I have used electric boot driers in the past and they do work well, but they are a bit cumbersome to use and, of course, you need electricity nearby to run them.

I recently got a set of these Seaskin suit driers.

Seaskin Suit Driers (Pair) - Seaskin Drysuits Shop - Purchase Drysuit Supplies

Purchase Seaskin Suit Driers (Pair) from Seaskin - drysuit supplies made to order directly from the factory.

seaskin.co.uk

They are just big bags full of dessicant. They are totally reusable. They come with the directions on how to dry them out when they are saturated and you want to renew them.

I've used them once so far, and it wasn't a great test because my suit did not leak, so the boots were only damp on the inside from normal perspiration, etc.. However, I put the driers in overnight and the inside of the boots was bone dry the next morning.

Interesting. So how do you put them in the drysuit? You just hang them with the strap provided inside the suit one in each leg? I use one of those hangers with built-in fan I leave blowing inside the suit over night. Works pretty well.

 

[NYCrecdiver]

I don't think it matters, but don't lose it! More than one drysuit has disagreed over the rails on the journey home. When I was drysuit diving, it very much depended on the circumstances. If it was a small, wet boat or sea conditions were particularly bad, I would wear it. Bigger boats and calmer conditions and I would put it away in a bag in a safe place. People who don't own a drysuit have no idea how easily they are damaged.

Yeah, I think I'm going to continue folding it up and storing it in my bag as soon as I take if off. I don't see the point of spreading it out to dry. That seems to be doing more harm than good.

 

[flymolo]

Yeah, I think I'm going to continue folding it up and storing it in my bag as soon as I take if off. I don't see the point of spreading it out to dry. That seems to be doing more harm than good.

I like to put something over my rebreather so the head isn’t baking in the sun. I don’t worry about salt on my dry suit drying out as I always rinse the suit with fresh water inside and out when I get home

 

[Marie13]

Just put it back in a bag. I now use Ikea bags for drysuit and easy enough to roll it up put it back in the bag.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I have a trilam and roll it and stow it as soon as I'm out of it. Once home I rinse everything, fully dry everything, add zipper wax liberally, then store with zipper open. I basically then just keep everything on my Amazon Z-Rack till next trip.