Dry suit diving - help

[Phish-phood]

It's the only thing my LDS did right for me - get a drysuit that fits perfectly!! And it is not even made to measure!! I have wonderful ease of movement in my suit and I guess what helps is that fact that I am quite small and light so generally the air I put in to eliminate the squeeze is enough for me to hit neutral anyway, especially in salt water.

 

[kelpdiver]

Looks like I find myself in a minority. If you are properly weighted (and if not, if you add or maintain just enough air in your BC to descend slowly), you should use your DRYSUIT for buoyancy control. I purposely overweight for classes, meaning I may have to add a little air to my BC on the bottom if I want to be neutral without adding too much air to my drysuit, but again, that’s not proper weighting for recreational diving.
Obviously you’ll have a squeeze if you don’t add air to the drysuit (unless you had way too much to begin with). And, for example, how can you go from 66 ft to 33 ft without dumping some air from your drysuit??? You shouldn’t have that much air in your BC! The volume of air in your drysuit should stay relatively constant, which will maintain both proper buoyancy and thermal regulation. If you have so much air in your drysuit that you can’t maintain control, you’ve got too much, and you should get rid of some lead. If you’re too cold that way, you need thicker underwear, which should “fluff” and hold the air in it, not in some big bubble by your shoulders. (One way to check is to have your feet down, head up, and raise your right arm. The air bubble should extend about ½ or 2/3 down your forearm, above the elbow.)
Perhaps if you've spent a long time diving wet, it’s harder to make the adjustment? It certainly seemed to take me longer to feel comfortable with my buoyancy when I changed to a drysuit, compared to my daughter who started diving dry (the only way I could get her to buddy with me) fairly soon after certification.
My suggestion: Make sure you’re properly weighted, then work on keeping a constant volume of air in the drysuit, adding a little with descent, venting with ascent, just like with a BC when wet, and you should be able to use the BC on the surface only.
Good luck.

 

[diverbrian]

Actually, I see the point in the last post. What I have found myself doing is actually dumping air from my BC to allow me to add to the drysuit. This is especially true at when deeper where the Great Lakes get @#$@@! cold and I want I slightly greater volume of air for comfort.

My point is that I still adjust my buoyancy with the BC. I am neutral when I pull this trick and neutral when I end it. And I barely think about it, so it takes maybe a second or two. But in the end, I am using the drysuit for buoyancy control at deeper depths whether I intend to or not. At shallow depths, I rely on the BC as it tends to be touchier than my drysuit and I don't like air getting into my drysuit boots with little distance to correct the resulting ascent.

 

[SubMariner]

Frankly, there are pros & cons to using the BC for bouyancy u/w vs using the the drysuit.

In addition to teaching the Specialty, I have been diving dry for over 10 years: I teach using the suit for bouyancy control u/w and the BC for positive bouyancy at the surface.

There is not right or wrong method. It is entirely personal preference.

Try both methods & see which one works best for you. Then just dive!

~SubMariner~

 

[scuubaadoo]

.... to use the dry suit for bouyancy. If you lost control and started to ascend too quickly you only have to dump air from your dry suit. If you inflate both the bc and dry suit and where to start ascending you have to control both the suit and bc. The key as was noted before is proper weighting to begin with. Best of luck in your upcoming class.

 

[ScubaScott]

A drysuit is to keep you protected from the elements. A bouyancy control device (BCD) controls your bouyancy. Doesn't get much easier than that.

Drysuit should be inflated to keep the squeeze off ONLY. The amount of extra drag you create using your drysuit compared to a BC is incredible.....

SS

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Seems to be a lot of dogma presented on this topic. It really isn't "that simple" ... and there is no universally correct answer to the question.

The "best" method for you will depend on your specific combination of several variables ... including physiology, type of suit, fit of suit, type of BCD, weighting, trim, valve placement, and undergarment. There are pros and cons to each method (which have been covered in more detail in another recent thread in this forum).

It's worth noting that drysuit manufacturers cannot even agree on a "best" method. I think there's a valid reason why some tell you to use your drysuit while others tell you to use your BCD.

The only real way to find out what works best for you is to practice each method and decide for yourself which you prefer.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[padishep]

I hold my breathe for bouyancy control.



yes.......it's a joke.



shep

 

[scubaroyster]

I agree with what Phish-Phood, kelpdiver, SubMariner, and Scubaadoo said. Keep it simple.

If you are diving a 7mm dry suit, that presents more problems with using suit only bouyancy. You end up with more air than you need for warmth just to maintain bouyancy. May be better off with using the BCD with only just enough air in the suit to keep you warm.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

scubaroyster once bubbled...
I agree with what Phish-Phood, kelpdiver, SubMariner, and Scubaadoo said. Keep it simple.

If you are diving a 7mm dry suit, that presents more problems with using suit only bouyancy. You end up with more air than you need for warmth just to maintain bouyancy. May be better off with using the BCD with only just enough air in the suit to keep you warm.

All well and good if you're using a 7 mm drysuit ... and even then I'll say it depends on how the suit fits, how you're weighted, and how you've distributed your weights for optimal trim. What about folks using other types of drysuit?

See, here's the rub ... "simple" can be applied both ways. For example, by using my suit I can control inflation with either hand, and control deflation using no hands at all. So if I'm doing something that requires my hands to be otherwise occupied (like photography), using my suit for buoyancy control is "simpler".

Every "advantage" that's been presented for using either method really boils down to preferences and circumstances. No one can say with certainty that one is better than the other ... which is why drysuit manufacturers and folks who teach drysuit orientation classes cannot agree on a standard method. The best anyone can really say is that you've found one method works better for you. Another diver's mileage may vary depending on what kind of gear they're using and how they're using it.

I really recommend that a diver who is just getting into drysuit diving should try it both ways ... give each method a few dives ... and decide for yourself which works best for you.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)