Any advantage to using a dry suit other than wamth?

[James R]

Meh. Youre swimming around in fish/shark/whale etc piss and sh.t anyway. Seems a bit trees and forest to me....

Maybe so, but it's greatly diluted in the ocean. Inside a wetsuit, it's all over you when it comes out.

 

[maniago]

Maybe so, but it's greatly diluted in the ocean. Inside a wetsuit, it's all over you when it comes out.

True, true. BUT, when youre married to your dive buddy, it makes clean up time in the shower a whole lot of fun! (i didn't really say that did i?)

 

[knotical]

If there are skin irritants in the water, dry suit definitely helps. I don't make a habit of diving in polluted waters, but sometimes public safety and commercial divers have no choice. I once suffered from a skin rash that was made worse by chlorinated water, so I dove dry in the pool for a couple of classes.

 

[WhiteSands]

Here's another advantage: I can pee as often as the urge comes without smelling like pee after I'm done diving!

Even in winter, I stay hydrated

To be honest peeing is nicer in a wetsuit. Because of the squeeze, peeing in a drysuit can be....intermittent.

 

[Ricky B]

Thanks for all the responses. I think the surface interval between dives would be a problem, and certainly, getting into a wetsuit, particularly if it is wet, can be a real pain. Good to know that learning to control the dry suit isn't all that difficult.

Kathy, thanks for the post about the demo days that DUI offers. That seems to be a great way to check out dry suits.

Now, as to the P valve. I assume that it is like the old "motorman's helper," a tube that fit over the penis and connected to a flask strapped to the ankle. Except in this case, there is no flask, just a one-way valve out to the sea?

So is there a tube, catheter, or what? And I'll say it before anyone else does, Depends. Speaking of which, is there any consensus as to which is better, adult diaper or valve?

And since women can apparently use P valves in their wet suits, how does that work?

 

[cruiser]

To be honest peeing is nicer in a wetsuit. Because of the squeeze, peeing in a drysuit can be....intermittent.

In cold water, peeing in a wetsuit is the only warmth you get.

 

[WhiteSands]

Thanks for all the responses. I think the surface interval between dives would be a problem, and certainly, getting into a wetsuit, particularly if it is wet, can be a real pain. Good to know that learning to control the dry suit isn't all that difficult.

Kathy, thanks for the post about the demo days that DUI offers. That seems to be a great way to check out dry suits.

Now, as to the P valve. I assume that it is like the old "motorman's helper," a tube that fit over the penis and connected to a flask strapped to the ankle. Except in this case, there is no flask, just a one-way valve out to the sea?

So is there a tube, catheter, or what? And I'll say it before anyone else does, Depends. Speaking of which, is there any consensus as to which is better, adult diaper or valve?

And since women can apparently use P valves in their wet suits, how does that work?

For males, you wear a catheter, one a day. The p-valve is connected to a tube that runs from your inner thigh upwards and makes a loop down which you connect to your catheter. Yes the valve vents out to sea.

Some people prefer a 5-6 o clock position and use a shorter tube to the P-valve. But it's not recommended, because if you get the length of the tube wrong....Most divers use a longer tube and a 12 o clock position. This is the setup I recommend. It's much easier to plug in/out after your dives too.

Valve is definitely the way to go. My wife tried diapers and they leaked. It's also bulky so when you travel packing the diapers for a multi-day dive will take up lots of space.

Women use a She-P device which cups over and is glued to the crotch area. It's a painful process which makes me grateful to be a man.

 

[bl6394]

In addition to all of the other positives mentioned, a drysuit also alows one to fine tune trim.

With a wetsuit, my trim is solely based upon the distribution of weight on my scuba unit. When using a drysuit, I can move the bubble arround to assume whatever trim position is optimal for the conditions. If a bit feet heavy for instance, just shift a bit of air into my feet. Very handy.

Bjorn