AOW certified

[DivemasterDennis]

Great report, especially the "now I am going to get some dives in" part. 9 years a diver and less than 24 dives. Its time to get busy, Vindobona!
DivemasterDennis

 

[Imla]

My experience is in line with most of the comments here. I did my AOW in a drysuit with rented jacket BCD, shortly after getting certified in tropical waters. My buoyancy was a bit of a mess. Not out of control, but nothing to be. Proud of. Then, another 40 or so wet dives, now with my own BP&W, working on buoyancy and trim, and getting very comfortable in a lot of different conditions. Now that it's getting cold outside, I finally got my own drysuit. Very different this time around, bouncy and trim, after playing with weighting a bit, now a piece of cake. I leave the valve open, horizontal trim pretty much all the time, and use the BCD for buoyancy control. Air in the drysuit only for insulation and to prevent squeeze. One thing I still need to work out, though, is how to get tight control of the fins. I have the DUI turbo boots, and it feels like I'm slipping inside those boots whenever I try to turn the fins. Thicker booties, maybe. Otherwise, I'm happy with switching to a drysuit for diving when it's cold.

Amazon.com : Storm Fin Keepers, Pair : Sports & Outdoors

 

[Storker]

Amazon.com : Storm Fin Keepers, Pair : Sports & Outdoors

+1. Highly recommended.

The boots on my trilam suit are... not too tight. Great for cold water diving, 'cause I can wear thick woolen socks while still not having my toes squished, which is important for not freezing you feet off. Problem is, whenever I get just a little air in my feet, my booties tend to slip off because they're not tight and my legs are a bit on the short side, so the legs on my suit are... long enough. Those fin keepers, worn underneath the fins, solved every problem I had with that. No need for expensive gaiters, like some people recommended.

 

[Vindobona]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!
I'll keep trying, especially since it is indeed the only possible way not to freeze in my country's lakes.