Dry Suit Diving

[andy j]

Just got my first dry suit and had a try dive with it, boy is it warmer than a 3mm wet suit. I have a couple of issues to sort out that i'm sure someone can help with.
At what depth would i normaly expect to put a bit of air in the suit.
The exaust vent i assume I leave open.
If I get air in my socks how do I get it out, I wear a conventional weight belt will I have to slaken it off to get the air up?

Now i appreciate every senario differs, however I would just like to know some guide lines or just tell me how you do it.

I also appreciate that some may say I should do a Dry Suit course, I have no intention of doing one now or in the near future, I'll leave the badge hunting to those like them.

I have searched the forum just can't seem to find the right answers.

Cheers

 

[RJP]

I have a couple of issues to sort out...

Yeah, I'd say that other than not knowing when to put air in, and not knowing when to let air out... you've pretty much got a handle on it.

I also appreciate that some may say I should do a Dry Suit course, I have no intention of doing one now or in the near future, I'll leave the badge hunting to those like them.

The quantity and substance of your questions indicate a very low level of understanding of the basics. All of these basics will be taught in the course.

Take a course, and tell them you don't want the card if you're so averse to "badge collecting" for some reason.

 

[Scott]

At what depth would i normaly expect to put a bit of air in the suit.

Depends on how much squeeze you can handle and the thickness of your garment. Are you using the DS for buoyancy or warmth?

The exaust vent i assume I leave open.

I typically have mine partially closed while diving and then open on ascent.

If I get air in my socks how do I get it out, I wear a conventional weight belt will I have to slaken it off to get the air up?

Tuck and roll baby!

I also appreciate that some may say I should do a Dry Suit course, I have no intention of doing one now or in the near future, I'll leave the badge hunting to those like them.

There are a few specialties I think have little value, dry suit with the right Instructor has great value, but if you insist. Whatever exercises you try on your own, do them in shallow water first.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Your attitude towards formal classes may result in you missing out on valuable learning opportunities (particularly if there's a good instructor nearby).

If you are dead-set against taking a formal drysuit course, I would strongly recommend that you do a number of dives with experienced drysuit divers. You'll have a ton of questions that they should be able to answer. You'll learn more from them in a couple of hours than you could from sitting at your computer poring over SB threads for several days.

Here are some answers to your questions:

• I add air to my suit immediately upon descent.
• I leave my exhaust valve open all the way (or just close it down a few clicks from fully open) during the dive. At the surface I like to close it off and add more air to my suit so that I have more mobility in my limbs.
• If I get air in my lower legs, I simply change my trim a little to move the air to a different location inside the suit. This is called managing the "bubble."
• If air-trapping occurs in the lower legs and causes an uncontrolled ascent, I would first somersault (tuck and roll), draw my legs into my chest if possible and vent through the exhaust valve. If that didn't help me achieve neutral buoyancy, I wouldn't hesitate to break either the wrist or neck seals. I would also be ready to disconnect the drysuit inflater hose if that's what's causing the problem. The best thing to do, however, is to pay attention to the air inside your suit and to vent early and often during an ascent.
• Many drysuit divers wear a conventional weight belt. A properly adjusted weight belt should not trap air in your lower half.

If you are going to do this on your own, be sensible about it and take it slow. Try not to get hurt.

 

[ReeferBen]

If I get air in my socks how do I get it out,

I'd take the course as well. Or at the very least find a mentor to work with you. There are some drills that help you to prevent run away accents in these cases. Remember air expands as you rise, imagine at depth getting the air all in your feet/legs and shooting up having the air expand as you rise with no way to vent, eventually surfacing with balloon feet....theres ways to prevent this in the first place and if you do end up with a bunch of air in the feet you need to know what to do. Not that I recommend learning from SB but there are threads on here covering these things.

 

[RJP]

Your attitude towards formal classes may result in you missing out on valuable learning opportunities...

But on the plus-side, he might get to ride in a helicopter!

:shocked2:

 

[Notso_Ken]

This is a course that is definitely worth your time. First, you'll get your questions answered. Second, then you can travel and with that card, you can rent a dry suit and not have to lug your own gear on the airplanes (for those places that rent our dry suits - Monterey CA, you can rent a dry suit, I speak from experience.)

Break down, shell out a few bucks and take the class! Then, if you don't think you'll ever need to rent a dry suit, throw it away.


Ken

Just got my first dry suit and had a try dive with it, boy is it warmer than a 3mm wet suit. I have a couple of issues to sort out that i'm sure someone can help with.
At what depth would i normaly expect to put a bit of air in the suit.
The exaust vent i assume I leave open.
If I get air in my socks how do I get it out, I wear a conventional weight belt will I have to slaken it off to get the air up?

Now i appreciate every senario differs, however I would just like to know some guide lines or just tell me how you do it.

I also appreciate that some may say I should do a Dry Suit course, I have no intention of doing one now or in the near future, I'll leave the badge hunting to those like them.

I have searched the forum just can't seem to find the right answers.

Cheers

 

[andy j]

I'm not trying to be clever just trying to understand the basics.
I will practice what i can in 15-20 feet of water so i can understand the problems. Once I understand it will be much easier for me to learn from someone who dives a dry suit.
The reason for not wanting to take the ds course is I would simply rather be out ow rather than in the baths or class room.
Why do people on this forum try to be-little others instead of giving some advice?

 

[RJP]

Why do people on this forum try to be-little others instead of giving some advice?

You've been given some advice - take a course. Can't help the fact that it's not the advice you wanted.

 

[meierdierck]

I dont think anyone has BE-LITTLLED you in any way. The way I see it, you have gotten some pretty sound advice, go take the dry suit class. You have also been given some techniques to try in the open water.

I dont care if you take the class or not, personally, but I will say if you sound eager to get your dry suit in the water, and maybe if you stopped to think about it, you would see the time you are wasting in 20' of water trying to figure it out will be much greater than the time wasted in the classroom learning it correctly the first time, and that is time you could be enjoying your new toy and not hanging by your feet at the surface wishing you knew how to tuck and roll.

But that is just my opinion