What Dry suit should I buy for Ice diving NH 2-07

[cummings66]

A typical drysuit course does not really qualify you to dive a divesuit in extreme or demanding conditions - it just gives you (hopefully, but not necessarily) the rudiments so that you can go out and continue learning how to dive a

I would agree completely that any course is only going to give you the fundamentals of diving in a drysuit. To be good at it requires diving quite a bit. My buddy just picked up a drysuit a couple months back and I think this past dive weekend it may have just clicked for him. I gave him a couple more tips and the last dive he did seemed pretty solid. The others while basically safe, still had issues and under the ice for him on at least 2 of the dives in the last month might have been downright dangerous. To be honest I'd say the average person would take at least 10 to 15 dives to get where I'd say they're comfortable in it, then they'd need a wide variety of dives to get experience.

I would get the drysuit course and dive it for a while, at least until it becomes like diving a wetsuit, then and only then would I take it under the ice.

As to what drysuit, I won't mention many names but I will mention membrane suits as being more versatile IMO. You can dive them in hot weather, cold weather, and dry them off quickly when done. Of course you'll have a couple sets of undergarments to go along with them. IMO Viking and USIA are good suits. DUI has a wide range of sizes and will fit almost anybody, and they're priced accordingly.

If you're thinking DUI attend a rally and try some of their suits on, they usually have a mini class to let non drysuit divers try out a suit with an instructor.

 

[spectrum]

To be honest I'd say the average person would take at least 10 to 15 dives to get where I'd say they're comfortable in it, then they'd need a wide variety of dives to get experience.

Those are numbers that I have seen many times so they must be representative. I felt surprisingly good after just a few dives but I was playing with my configuration for at least a dozen dives before I felt I had the right things in the right places.

I'm at 26 dry dives now and the quirks are getting to be very predicatable.

Pete

 

[cummings66]

To be frank, on my third dive I felt comfortable, but what I didn't know was the fact that I had more to learn. It took quite a bit of diving before I got to the point where it seems natural and I gave it no thought beyond that needed for drysuits.

On my first dive I had ankle weights, took them off for the second dive and I've not had floaty feet since. In fact on the first dive I had lots of issues with my feet floating up and it made for an uncomfortable dive and that was with ankle weights. I use those worthless weights now to keep my tanks from rolling in the trunk. I had the typical I hate this suit feeling many get, however once you spend the money you'll keep diving it and eventually it becomes second nature.

I honestly can't tell you at what point it became one with me, but we're inseparable now and I don't care for wearing wetsuits as I had in the past.

I can't tell you exactly when, but sometime early last year I had an inflator stick on my drysuit at 100 feet and I handled it with no problems. Had that happened within the first 10 dives I don't know if I would have done so well, you practice those emergency skills in the class but who knows what you'll do when it hits the fan.

The way I knew I was comfortable was I stopped having minor issues in diving it. I stopped thinking about adding and removing air and when to do it, plus I was able to drop some lead. In fact on my Viking Sport I don't even need a weight belt, on my Viking Extreme I use 8 lbs, the Sport is a heavier suit and a bit more of a custom fit on me so there's less space in it. Now I use it almost like a wetsuit where you get in it and go dive, have fun and don't think about it. Of course there is the maintenance part of things I still have to do, but that's true of any gear used for diving.

 

[wardric]

Wise decision; especially the decision to not dive under ice in a wetsuit.

I know there are many who would disagree with me but diving under ice in a wetsuit does nothing except add one more liability to the diver's well being.

I wont disagree with you on that Green, even though I took my Ice diving course in a wetsuit myself. I was lucky enough that the outside temperature was sunny and relatively warm. Also, we had a heated tent that provided all the warmth needed for after the dive. In the water, i didn't get colder than my drysuit using comrades but if the outside conditions had been colder or windy, I might have not appreciated it as much (and without the tent, forget it ). The second dive is also a rougher one since you have to put back on a wet wetsuit.

Good advice to get drysuit experience before taking your course.

Any drysuit will do, as long as you have the right underwear (and it doesn't leak ).

 

[RPanick]

If you have only been doing warm water dives, you probably should check your regulators to see if they are rated for cold water. Most northern dealers will only sell cold rated (sealed) regs, but better to be safe than sorry.

In short warm water regs allow water into the system, in warm water that's not a problem. In cold water the air expansion as it goes from high pressure to low pressure will cause a temperature drop. In cold water that can be enough to cause the regs to form ice and free flow. It even happens with sealed regs.

I don't dive under the ice so I can't suggest other equipment you might need.