Dry Suit Help

[Dr Neil]

I just love the towel I use to dry off after a drysuit dive!

Seriously, find something deeper than a swimming pool, but without open ocean hazards and play with your suit. After some practice, you'll be able to dial in your shrink wrap level.

The one major adjustment I had to make was making sure the dry suit was properly adjusted in the crotch. Lesson learned after doing a giant stride off a boat. I now make sure that everything is properly stowed before getting in the water.

 

[hudson]

jj,

I don't go by the squeeze at all. What I judge is the feeling of air moving around and that's only for venting. If you feel it's a big bubble somewhere that's shifting around with the slightest trim change, then that's too much air. It's a little difficult to describe but the distinction is, with just enough air, I can feel the air shift all around my body. With too much air, I can localize the bubble and it's actually visible ballooning around the suit. I put air in when I'm uncomfortable or when I'm cold - otherwise I don't try to maintain a constant state as such. Any air for buoyancy control is added to the wing. On ascent I dump my wing first, generally, because the drysuit will autodump as you ascend.

It becomes second nature pretty fast.. 15 dives maybe, tops?

 

[TSandM]

When you are new with a dry suit, the less air you run in it, the easier your life will be. Google "dynamic instability" and you'll get a good explanation as to why. BUT -- the less gas you run in the suit, the colder you will be, since insulation needs loft to work. And too tight means impaired mobility, which can be a bad thing if you have to reach your dry suit valve or inflater in a hurry.

With a drysuit, squeeze is inversely proportional to the weight you carry. The more weight, the looser you can run the suit. But the looser you run the suit, the faster you have to react to changes in depth, and the better control over your position in the water you need to have. One thing to be intensely aware of: If you are using attached boots, too much air in your feet can result in you kicking OUT of the boots, and losing control of your fins. This deprives you of the only really effective thing you have to right yourself and vent excess gas, and is not a pleasant experience (BTDT). Fin keepers help, but don't prevent the problem altogether. If you are running your suit loose, you may not have the option of a profoundly head-down position to look at something (or to enter the Mayan Blue B tunnel, as I found out the hard way ).

The key is to decide on a level of squeeze that gives you adequate mobility and sufficient warmth, and then learn it -- learn just what the suit feels like, how tight it is, which parts feel looser or tighter -- and use that information to guide your addition of gas on descent and your venting on ascent. Keying into this information is the basic building block of good dry suit buoyancy.

Have fun with it -- It's much nicer being dry!

 

[jjhill]

Thanks all. I have the basic idea down and have spent a couple hours in the pool getting things to feel right, I guess the only thing left is to get out and dive it and just get the feel for it.

Looking forward to it!!

 

[Blu Diver]

Making the transition from Wetsuit diving to Drysuit diving can be very humbling. Proper weighting and air management is imperative! It could take up to 30 dives to become a confident dry diver! Diving dry requires some technique and will challenge you to hone your skills. Due to the law of physics controlling your buoyancy in the shallows will be more difficult than at depth. However, remember to burp air from your suit and wing as you ascend. This may require you to either bring your knee's up or get vertical for a moment. Remember your setting on the vent, even though you may have it wide open. It might not vent as fast as you would like, always think ahead...changing depth, air supply (light empty tank vs full heavy tank), proper weighting.

 

[Blu Diver]

One of the best parts of drysuit diving is the very end. The dive is over, your out of the water and the only gear you have on is your drysuit. You reach up and allow air to rush in through your neck seal! AAAHHHH the squeeze is gone.

Unless you added air before doffing your equipment.

 

[syonker]

Howdy,

It was mentioned before, but I must echo that all of the certifying agencies offer courses in drysuit diving. They're inexpensive (*VERY* inexpensive when compared to the cost of a dry suit) and well worth it for the immediate bump in skills and safety/risk awareness. And of course, dive dive dive...the more experience with the suit, the better and safer you will be with it.

The other thing I must echo is that it's a FANTASTIC endeavor and a LOT of fun. You can dive significantly longer in the season, and in colder water with much greater comfort. There are even companies that make "heated underwear" for the suits if you find any particular cold spots.

Just for fun, I've included a photo of myself on an SI in Kingfisher Ponds, Chatfield Reservoir after a big snow (yes, that's snow in the foothills behind me) with the suit over-inflated so I could get up in the sun to warm up a little.

Welcome to the next dimension of diving, and don't get frustrated - the skills will come with subsequent dives.

Warm and Dry Regards,


-S

 

[vtxkev]

Howdy,

It was mentioned before, but I must echo that all of the certifying agencies offer courses in drysuit diving. They're inexpensive (*VERY* inexpensive when compared to the cost of a dry suit) and well worth it for the immediate bump in skills and safety/risk awareness.
-S

I couldnt agree more. I am a newly certified OW diver and I took the PADI Dry Suit course at the same time due to the colder temps in the North East. Beside having one of the best instructors around there were 2 things I noticed:

1- If you can get yourself under control in a swimming pool then at depth it is a breeze.
2- The feeling of air in the feet and "shooting" to the surface was all in my head more then anything.

You hear all the stories people tell you about "Oh my god if you get too much air in your feet your going to shoot to the surface like a rocket and die". Well once I got that stupid statement out of my head I had a blast and realized diving dry was the best invention ever (IMO). Yes I am always thinking about what my next move would be if I was to start a rapid accent but from what I saw and felt you have time to make adjustments. But I would not know how to do any of that if it wasnt for the class. Look into the investment.

Be Dry Be Happy

 

[awdemeo]

i have found that just enuff air in the suit to remove the squeez is a much easyer way to dive dry it keeps the expanding bubble more managable when assending. I also found that if you have BCD with a cumberbun on it make it loose so that the air in the suit can move around better

 

[Dr Neil]

One of the best parts of drysuit diving is the very end. The dive is over, your out of the water and the only gear you have on is your drysuit. You reach up and allow air to rush in through your neck seal! AAAHHHH the squeeze is gone.

Unless you added air before doffing your equipment.

Even better is the rush of fresh air entering your suit when you unzip!