Drysuit diving - continual issues with air in legs/feet.

[Searcaigh]

OP: My 2 cents is that Quattros are great fins for general use. I use them. For dry suit diving, though, the ones I have don't fit over the boot, so I got Power Planas that do. The reason has a lot to do with the Power Planas being both beefier and heavier. Floaty fins in this situation didn't seem to my inexperienced mind like that way to go. Also, I note that my dry suit has ankle straps on the outside to try to keep air from expanding in my feet, which I hear can possibly cause problems with fins staying on.

(My first fins ever were Power Planas, but that was back when they were the Quattros of that time, and they were whitish color instead of just black like everything else, and that was so cutting edge then!)

I've used Mares fins for over 30 years and my current pair are excel + which I used for several years with a drysuit. The weight of these fins is 2.195Kg / pair (4.839lbs) with spring straps.

Several years ago I changed to Hollis F2 fins 1.770Kg (3.90lbs) mainly for travel, but ended up using them for 99% of my diving except for when I know I'll be in strong current. I never had any issues wearing them with my drysuit.

As mentioned previously I wear gaiters with the drysuit.

 

[Doc Harry]

Dive more

Use less air in the drysuit

Dive more

Make sure you dive with the relief valve open, so you can vent quickly and easily

Dive more

Play close attention to the "bubble" and vent before the bubble gets big enough that it goes to your feet

Dive more

Gaiters are a crutch that help in the short term

But if you dive more then you will become a competent drysuit diver and you won't need gaiters

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Depending on the suit, gaiters can be a useful option. My HOG suit had legs that were a bit big on the calves. Everywhere else fit decent. So I used gaiters with it. Still have them and they are for sale since I sold that suit last year.
My Otter suit, that is up for sale now because I have decided that if it's too cold for my 5mm FJ Mako free diving suit, it's too cold for me to dive, is cut much differently. I can't wear my Pinnacle fluffy undergarments with it. Have to use 4th Element Xerotherm base and Arctics.
Gaiters are not a crutch with a poorly fitting suit. They can be a necessary safety item.
And as the author of the SDI Drysuit course, I can tell you to use the BC for buoyancy and the suit for warmth. Down the road you'll figure out your weighting and undergarment needs and may discover that for single tank recreational diving, the amount you need to offset the squeeze is enough to stay neutral.
BUT, and this is a big one, don't get hung up on that being the case. The more air you have in the suit, the more you may need to get rid of quickly if something happens.

 

[AnnoyedSpelunker]

Don't worry. Rental drysuits tend to be ill-fitting. After getting your certification get yourself a drysuit with custom measurements.

 

[ChrisDee]

Warning wi

One thing that worked for be was to get a rubberized weight belt (the kind freedivers wear: Link). Synch this belt nice and snug. It will help keep air our of your legs while you're learning to dive with your drysuit. Its not so tight that air can not escape from your feet when on the surface and getting ready for the dive but once you descend the air tends to stay around your torso.

WARNING Will Robinson,....

Weight belts and new dry users, need this warning, you know why, not disagreeing with ya Dann, but that word "nice and snug," means different things to different people. TOO snug and your going to create a headache. Just wanted to add that, for the newbie or someone who uses dry without someone else nearby to point out the Pillsbury Dough Boy legs. IF, I mean if,.....

 

[harvalen]

I found that if I got horizontal (as we should when at the bottom) the legs and feet would fill with air as I kicked, slowly at first and then more quickly as time went on.

It doesn't look like different kicking techniques have been explicitly mentioned by anyone in this thread. I had a similar problem when I first started out. Was mostly told that it was about experience and weight placement, even borrowed ankle weights on a few dives to see if it helped. What really made the difference for me was switching to frog kicks. Although flutter kick had been used during OW and AOW coursed I realized shortly after that all the instructors and more experienced divers around me were using frog kicks. When I tried it out it was like night and day, the force was mostly directed backwards instead of pushing my feet up. It's also possible to modify the kick to direct the force slightly upwards to push your feet down if they are getting light.

 

[spc751]

I had the same problem and NOTHING worked until I started using only the suit for buoyancy and only using the wing for floating on the surface. Once I learned how to control my buoyancy using the suit (two dives) I started also using the wing for some buoyancy control as well.

 

[L13]

I had the same problem and NOTHING worked until I started using only the suit for buoyancy and only using the wing for floating on the surface. Once I learned how to control my buoyancy using the suit (two dives) I started also using the wing for some buoyancy control as well.

The opposite worked for me. Suit only for thermal (with anticipated buoyancy side effects), and BC for buoyancy control.

 

[spc751]

I tried that for many dives and it never worked for me. Different techniques for different people.

 

[Subcooled]

I think with a wetsuit my legs would naturally bend at the knee so my feet would be slightly elevated, but I'm not sure I could hold my legs perfectly straight for the whole of a dive in a drysuit, either from habit or inflexibility.

I do not keep my legs perfectly straight unless there are physical constraints (or I want to).
Diving in a drysuit with elevated feet is perfectly normal.

Also, using the wing bcd kind of kept me from being able to get my feet slightly under me

How??? Feet too light?

to let the air back into the body as the dive went on, at least it seemed like it (as I said, I've never used one before).

Use the muscles of your back and legs. A wing is only a BUOYANCY compensator. It does not force your joints into any position.

It had a heavy weighted backplate that would be good for weighting, but may have also made it harder to get my feet lower than my body. Again, that was just the feeling I had, as I am completely inexperienced with a wing bcd and a drysuit.

A drysuit is a complicated beast but you must never forget that your body position is defined by muscles, not your buoyancy.

So, I guess my question is, what should I be doing to correct this?

Dive more.

Is it solely a posture issue? Is it possible that too much or too little air in the bcd is throwing me off? Is it the bcd type? Add more weights? Any tips will be most welcome!

It is more difficult to control an empty drysuit. Fluffy undergarments make air migration less of a problem.