41 replies to this topic

[Bubble2Bubble]

Dry Suit Training $$$
Dry Suit $$$
Diving Dry...... Priceless !

I would like to describe what my experience was like while diving in a dry suit for the first time. First diving a dry suit takes a lot more equipment/gear than a regular wet suit, after putting on my special socks with wicking properties I added a heaver insulated sock over them, then put on some thick gloves then a thermal jumpsuit. Now I was ready to put on the dry suit. Once in my dry suit, I crouched down and let the extra air out of my suit thru the neck seal and as I stood back up I could feel the squeeze from the suit (kinda like being vacumed packed in it). I was glad that the air temp that day was in the high 50s and cloudy skies, I couldn’t image what it would be like if the air temp would have been in the 90s and sunny. I had already determined that I was going to need 22lbs of weight on my belt and 10 lbs in my quick release pockets of my BCD. Entering the lake from the shore the first thing I noticed was its like having a pair of chest waiters on because the surface temp on the water was 47.5 degrees and I couldn't feel the cold water rush in like a regular wet suit would have, actually the only cold water I felt was around my face where the skin between my mask and hood was exposed. With my dry suit and BCD completely purged of air I was not able to descend so the boat tender handed me two 2 lbs of weights and I put them in my BCD pockets. Now I was ready to go diving. My Instructor said that he would lead until we got down to a depth of 45 ft then I would take the lead so he could see how I was handling the dry suit and my kicking style etc... Well right from the start I noticed that my feet and legs where trying to ascend. I never felt like I was out of control it was more like feeling awkward. And even tho it wasn't part of the plan in Dive 1, I found myself curling up into a ball and fining till my left shoulder was above my head then releasing extra air out of my dump. I had to do this several times. Dive 1 lasted 34 minutes and honestly I was a little tired by then trying to keep my feet from ascending all the time. The Instructor noticed I was having this problem so on Dive 2 he attached two 2.5 lb ankle weights and that worked wonderfully, also on the Dive 2 the instructor said I could use my BCD for controlling my buoyancy if I wanted to, I choose not to use my BCD but rather keep using my suit to control my buoyancy. I must say when you push the inflater button on your suit you can feel the air instantly providing better thermal protection. I finished my skills on Dive 2 and we even had time to do some adventure diving around that area. All in All diving dry was a great way to enjoy diving in an area that is usually only accessible in the summer/late summer months. I’m sure I will get better diving dry over time but it seems that skin diving or diving in a wet suit is like driving a sports car and diving in a dry suit is like driving a motor home. If you can afford a dry suit go for it !

Bubski

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[ScubaPunk]

Hey Bubs..Looking pretty spiffy in that dry suit! Thank you for sharing your experiences with the rest of us. Now I have a better idea of what to expect when I give it a try. Is that your boat?

[Bubble2Bubble]

Thank You Darling, No that isn’t my boat, mine is still under construction.
Victoria yes it seems to be a pretty good trade off More Equipment = More Comfort Vs Less Equipment Less Comfort , because now I will be able to dive year round cuz the dry suit took the COLD out of the cold water.
John no worries I felt I looked like a YAK as well and I apparently looked like one underwater because the Fish and Game Dept has released a report saying that there is no apparent fish activity in that part of the lake, and a article in the Coctaw Times says local residents of the lake are reporting an Alligator aimlessly walking around and mumbling something. And a wildlife officer tried to coax the Gator back into the water and the Gator went

[hambergler]

Bub, you won't be a weenie and dive dry in the Flower Gardens in mid 80s water, will you (like Wreck Wench last year...)? I can see it if'n you're in a cold lake in Arkie-land or even around here in North Texas...

[techintime]

Here is my two cents on dry-suit diving. First, I'm not an instructor. However, these are the techniques that were taught to me by my tech-diving instructor and I have found that they work for meas well. I know opinions vary. But hey try it and tell me what you think.

Im not a fan of using the suit as your BC. First, you will likely have bouancy problems and (as you noted) problems staying level in the water. The reason is that the air in you suit is able to move around a lot more than the air in your BC. A better technique is to leave your arm valve full open and only put just enough air in your suit to keep it from squeezing the snot out of you...and not a molecule more. A teeny layer of air is enough to allow your undergarments to keep you warm. Any more air than that is not really going to keep you any warmer. If you are still cold you probably need thicker underwear, not more air. Then, with minimal air in your suit, use your BC and lung inflation for bouancy control as per normal. Oh and watch overweighting yourself. 30-some lbs of weight sounds excessive. That amount may make your bouancy less stable because you are going to need a lot of air in your suit or BC to counter it and therefore any small depth change is going to result in a huge bouancy change and needed adjustment, especailly at recreational depths. Last thing, for help staying level when hovering, try bending your legs in and arching your back. Its an odd feeling at first but it helps. Next time you go to a bookstore, pull a tech-diving magazine off of the shelf and look at the body position of the drysuit divers. You'll see what I'm talking about.

[Brinybay]

Im not a fan of using the suit as your BC. First, you will likely have bouancy problems and (as you noted) problems staying level in the water. The reason is that the air in you suit is able to move around a lot more than the air in your BC. A better technique is to leave your arm valve full open and only put just enough air in your suit to keep it from squeezing the snot out of you...and not a molecule more.

Ditto all that, use the BC for buoyancy, only add enough air to suit to keep off the squeeze, keep your valve fully open and learn to just roll to the right to vent air.

Also, instead of adding more weight to your feet, try using thinner socks. I just use street socks and I'm fine, no need for ankle weights. Just go with the polypro "wicking" socks and not use the heavy insulated socks. The latter is what's making your feet buoyant. Also check the boot size. I had to get smaller boots put on because I have small feet for a guy.

Edited by Brinybay, 07 March 2008 - 12:23 AM.

[BubbleBoy]

Like so much other SCUBA gear, a dry suit can feel cumbersome when you’re out of the water. Once I’m in the water, though, I actually feel more flexible in my dry suit than a wetsuit. I think it’s because I’m not fighting neoprene tension when I move, which is inevitable in a wetsuit. On the other hand, my dry suit generates more drag than a wetsuit, so, it’s a tradeoff. All things considered, I would still rather dive wet when I can. But, the dry suit is a must in cold water, and where my dive profile requires it for buoyancy management and safety reasons.

I’ve resisted using ankle weights to keep my feet down because they add inertia to my feet. That can tire you out faster if you’re doing a lot of kicking. I’ve gotten good results with ankle straps that resist gas going into my feet. When that’s not working, I sometimes just blow a bubble of gas into my hood for a little head lift. People don't call me fat head for nothin.

BTW, nice gloves.

Edited by BubbleBoy, 07 March 2008 - 08:22 AM.

[peterbj7]

then put on some thick gloves ..... Now I was ready to put on the dry suit

Really? In that order?

[peterbj7]

Im not a fan of using the suit as your BC. First, you will likely have bouancy problems and (as you noted) problems staying level in the water. The reason is that the air in you suit is able to move around a lot more than the air in your BC

I absolutely agree! One point you didn't say is that it's a lot easier and quicker to get air out of a BC than a suit, so on ascent you want to vent your suit before your BC so you always have air left in your BC. That way if you get an incipient uncontrolled ascent (horribly easy when you have so much air around you) you can quickly dump the air from your BC, breathe out, and hopefully get the situation back under control.

The other point, which you got near but didn't quite state, is that if you have a lot of air in your suit and for whatever reason go head down, all that air will rush to your boots and put you in grave danger of a feet-first uncontrolled ascent, the most dreaded of all drysuit scenarios. In your training you will have practiced ad nauseam getting out of these situations, so that you can let it run for maybe 10 feet then stop it in the next two. Anyone diving a drysuit who hasn't practiced this extensively in shallow water (where an ascent becomes runaway very quickly) is an accident waiting to happen.

[Bubble2Bubble]

Hey everyone those are some really great tips

Chuck I think taking my dry suit to the Flower Gardens this year would be overkill, When we where there last time I was diving a 3/2 and that worked out perfectly and I never got cold, remember those strong currents between the anchor line and the ladder line? the drag with the dry suit would make it even worse. Now WW made it look easy.

I just noticed a typo above. chest waiters should be chest waders, I think chest waiters are ladies that work at HOOTERS

Bubski

[MNJoe]

I just noticed a typo above. chest waiters should be chest waders, I think chest waiters are ladies that work at HOOTERS

Bubski

The politically correct term would be "Chest Waitrons"

Oh, and congrats on the dry suit!

MNJoe

[techintime]

Good discussion. PS I love my Dive Rite 905. I went for the chest zipper so that I can get myself in and out of it and triple check that the zipper is in fact fully closed. I made the same mistake on the boots and went too big thinking I needed room for big socks. I haven't changed them out yet, but that is defineitely in my future. Oh and don't skimp on the underwear. That said, there is nothing unique about drysuit underwear. You can buy good stuff at any sporting goods store that is intended for any other outdoor activity such as hunting...just skip the stuff with a hood. The same prinicpal of layering applies to staying warm in a drysuit that applies to any other cold weather activity.
Also, let me add my voice to the choir on the uncontrolled ascent training...not hard, but a basic safety necessity and not the kind of thing you want to try to figure out when you find yourself in a bind.

[sudsymark]

I enjoy diving in a dry suite but it does take practice especially adjusting buoyancy. It is nice to have more options on where to dive.