Dive Report on Dry Suits
#1
Posted 22 February 2008 - 09:13 AM
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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#2
Posted 22 February 2008 - 09:24 AM
#3 Guest_TexasStarfish_*
Posted 22 February 2008 - 09:33 AM
I actually got a new drysuit and just used it the other week in Twin Lakes. Let's just say while my students were freezing, I was staying nice and toasty. I had a tri-lam, but now have a neoprene (I think it's a 2mm) and it makes a world of difference, not as bulky and easier to move around. Also got it cut for a woman, YES they now make drysuits specifically cut for women and they are so much better!!!!!
If anyone is in the market to buy a drysuit, especially women, I just went through an ordeal of ordering and trying on various brands. So if you need any advice, I'd be more than happy to share.
#4 Guest_PlatypusMan_*
Posted 22 February 2008 - 09:45 AM
PPM
#5
Posted 22 February 2008 - 12:53 PM
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
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#6
Posted 05 March 2008 - 09:37 PM
My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck.
Let those winds of time blow over my head,
I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead.
#7
Posted 06 March 2008 - 11:37 PM
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.
#8
Posted 07 March 2008 - 12:16 AM
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.
"A good marriage is like an interlocking neurosis, where the rocks in one person's head fill up the holes in the other's."
#9
Posted 07 March 2008 - 08:21 AM
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.
When you make fish laugh, they can't bite you.
#10
Posted 07 March 2008 - 10:14 AM
then put on some thick gloves ..... Now I was ready to put on the dry suit
Really? In that order?
#11
Posted 07 March 2008 - 10:22 AM
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.
#12
Posted 07 March 2008 - 01:10 PM
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
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#13
Posted 07 March 2008 - 02:56 PM
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
"just your average Joe from Minnesota, also known as Keith"
#14
Posted 07 March 2008 - 07:43 PM
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.
#15
Posted 19 March 2008 - 08:43 PM
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