sheck33
Contributor
SubMariner once bubbled...
It's really getting a bit thick in here...
Yes, PADI Instructors teach the diver to use the drysuit for buoyancy control underwater.
Yes, there are Instructors who teach the Specialty using the drysuit only to keep dry & use the BC for all buoyancy contorl.
There are pros and cons to BOTH systems.
Frankly, I am suprised that people that are usually so pro-dive education are now acting like Ludites when it comes to learning how to properly use a drysuit.
You wouldn't advocate someone going out & learning to scuba dive on their own, or from someone who happens to own their own gear, would you? So why the "attitude" about learning to use a drysuit from someone who is qualified to teach the Specialty?
BTW, Cincybengalsfan, the Drysuit book you are talking about is only a student manual. It is NOT the Instruction manual. There's a BIG difference.
~SubMariner~
A drysuit's purpose is to keep a diver dry, a little air in the suit is required to prevent squeeze from becoming painful. A BC, also known as BOUYANCY compensator, is used for, and designed for, bouyancy control. One reason a great many divers i have dove with had bouyancy problems was BECAUSE they used their suit for it. Using a suit for bouyancy means you have a HUGE bubble of air that shifts enormously you have to manage. The same reason why a 60 or 100lb lift wing on a single tank doesnt work, i know, i have tried it. Yes, a feet first uncontrolled ascent is far more likely when using the suit for bouyancy control, then to solve this problem divers wear ankle weights resulting in them basically walking upright in the water.
You might say that having to control 2 bladders is more complex. maybe, but as everything else it requires some practice. I have so little air in my suit that i dont even have to think about venting it untill i get in the 40ft range. The benefits of using the BC for bouyance and not the suit, IMHO, far outway the 'only having to control one bladder' argument i have heard.
I never said that i advocate going out by yourself and learn how to scubadive, on the contrary. But the drysuit specialty is a ripoff
