Drysuit question

[Rick Murchison]

Did you guys go Neoprene or trilam ? I have also been considering going dry this year and not sure if I should go with Neoprene or Trilam ? I have been looking at the Mares icefit. neoprene

Neoprene advantages:
- Cheaper
- Thermal protection and buoyancy when flooded
- more streamlined
Trilam advantages:
- easier care
- easier to patch
- doesn't change buoyancy with depth due to suit compression
- superior seals
- dry glove option (there may be dry glove options for neoprene but I've never seen that myself)
I dove a neoprene for about a decade, and I've been diving my trilam for nearly as long. All in all I prefer the trilam, especially because I could never get a really dry seal with the neoprene - always had a little moisture on the lower arms and usually had a little near the neck. With the trilam it only leaks if I screw up.
On the other hand, if you're going to dive really cold water with a long way to warmth - distance or deco - realize that a flooded trilam can mean death from exposure a whole lot quicker than a flooded neoprene.
---
The Icefit (which I've never seen) appears to be a pretty neat compromise. It's apparently crushed neoprene, so it shouldn't give you the variable buoyancy problems of a regular 7mil, but it's only 4mil, so it'll give less thermal protection if flooded, and the pre-crushing eliminates most of the inherent buoyancy that could be an advantage in a flood but is a disadvantage in regular use.. It comes with a latex seal option, which means good seals and the dry-glove option. It should be a pretty tough suit. I don't have a feel for patching crushed neoprene.
Anybody want to send me one for evaluation???
Rick

 

[ligersandtions]

I dive in a neoprene drysuit....I do mainly shore diving, and a lot of it will be over rocky terrain....there's also a fair amount of surge. A friend of mine had a tri-lam drysuit that he absolutely destroyed on the rocks....he suggested neoprene, and being one to learn from someone else's experiences, I found a nice neoprene suit and couldn't be happier.

FWIW, I use wetsuit boots over my drysuit, rather than rock boots. I didn't have to but new (bigger) fins, and it doesn't give a ton of extra room for air to collect, as someone mentioned above.

 

[Sas]

I have a neoprene drysuit (Northern Diver Divemaster one), which I love! I got it as it was on special (30% off or something like that) and a lot of people had recommended that particular suit to me. I do rocky entries and exits sometimes and this one is pretty tough I have found. Also I stay warm, my thermals are a few thermal t-shirts and a pair of tracksuit pants. As far as not getting a completely dry seal, well I had a leak in mine for ages so one arm would get wet. However, it wasn't enough of a hassle for me to take it to the shop and lose it for a week, (I've turned into a massive wuss since getting it and winter diving in my wetsuit for a week no longer appealed to me ) Anyway, I had it fixed (arm dump valve was not on tight enough) and now I stay completely dry I have neoprene seals.

I will probably buy a Trilam one eventually as well for travel.

I have floaty feet as well, so have been wearing ankle weights. However, I bought new fins that aren't so floaty and my feet are better now. I only inflate my drysuit to relieve squeeze as that was what I was taught and after trying both methods for buoyancy I prefer to use my wing. However, I wouldn't say that drysuits should not be used for buoyancy, it is whatever you are comfortable with.

 

[String]

A few thoughts on floaty feet.

Firstly could be too much room in the legs and/or the boots.
Secondly, could be overweighting.

Options:- get the weighting correct, consider using the BC/Wing for buoyancy, move the tank lower or ankle weights

 

[TSandM]

Managing the air bubble in a drysuit is an acquired skill. Many of us fought with floaty feet at the beginning. There are a number of ways to deal with it. One is to redistribute some weight -- negative fins are really nice for drysuit divers! Another is to minimize the air in the feet. I don't like gaiters, because I think they can trap air in the feet as well as slow its accumulation. I prefer finkeepers, which are elastic straps that collapse the boots around your feet, both reducing air and making it less likely you will kick out of the boots (and your fins!), which is a very distressing thing to have happen. Minimizing the total gas in the suit makes it easier to detect and correct air accumulation in the feet, too. Here's an article that talks about that.

Good body posture helps, too -- Try to keep yourself fairly flat, with your head UP. Dropping your head tends to make you head-heavy and will help your feet rise.

And remember that, when you feel the boots get loose, it's time to go a little head up, drop those feet, and get that air OUT of there!

 

[CoralSeaMan]

I use ankle weights. My feet tend to be be light even in a wetsuit but negative fins balances them. In a dry suit I prefer the weights because the redistribute some of the weight. My boots are not too lose but I suspect I simply tend to swim head down and the weights help.
The bigger issue is to figure out how much weight to wear in each undergarment configuration. I have four different undergarment configurations and each one takes a different amount of weight.
I really only do about six really cold dives per year (<50F) and do not dive very deep but just like in a wetsuit the initial descent is the biggest problem. On the other hand, without a drysuit I would not dive in water colder than 70F at all.

 

[flareless]

I got my drysuit early this year and have since put 35 dives on it. As others have mentioned, at first it was more difficult to control but as I learned to manage the air bubble (as TSandM mentioned) suit control became much easier. The things that also worked for me, also previously mentioned;

- Negatively weighted fins (ScubaPro Jetfins)
- Tiny amounts of air, enough to remove squeeze but no more
- Good trim (still working on this :blush. Being "head down"ish lets gas rise into the feet
- Knowing where my valve position is. Being aware of how your suit "auto-dumps" helps control buoyancy

I dive a Northern Diver Cortex suit. It is a Trilam suit and damn strong. I feel very comfortable squeezing through tight wreck passages without fear that my suit will shred. Since I switched from my OMS IQ-Pak+SS BP/W (94/twin bladder) to a Halcyon SS BP/W setup I've been using zero weight. I dive twin Faber steel 95s and a (DIR folks, cover your eyes) Faber steel 40 for most of my deco. I have recently upgraded my wing from an Explorer 40 to an Evolve 60 which will probably require a bit more weight. In any case, I love the Trilam suit at depth where I don't feel as bounced about like when I where my wetsuit.

During my drysuit training my instructor got the feet of my suit a bit positive and I had to practice the "tuck-roll-vent" maneuver. He made me do it over and over and over and over..... I still sometimes practice it underwater. Being prepared for unexpected problems never hurt.

 

[philliosmaximus]

i do mainly only dry suit diving , and the flosty feet happens to almost every dry diver (i still get it sometimes) you need to try on your drysuit before you buy it ,or better still have it made to measure . the under garments you use will all add buoyancy to you , i always wear thick socks for warmth and to reduce any air spaces in the boots,a lot of new drysuit divers wear ankle weights to keep there feet down, but beware you can beome dependent on them , i have a buddy i used to call feet first because he came to the surface feet first more then once . make sure you get all the air from your suit before you enter the water ,and then after you decend you only use your suit for buoyancy , 0nly using your b.c for emergencys or when on the surface,i use trylamanate suits as i prefer the more space they have , but the offer no thermal protection .

 

[mjarrardjr]

Floaty Feet - reduce air space and use ankle weights. The other advantage to using ankle weights is that they can help as a counterbalance should you get inverted and need to flip over.

As for the total weight issue, I know of some people who carry no weight to 34 lbs on their weight belt. A lot of it is in your gear configuration. Things like steel tanks, steel back plates, weights mounted on your tanks all remove from your weight belt and make your 'person' underwater a bit more comfortable. However, out of the water....it just isn't that fun.

Cheers...

 

[awd-turbo]

yea i have a steel backplate, but unfortunitly i have to use alum tanks cause i cant rent steal... but i went for my first dive in my actual drysuit yesterday, and i loved it. I know i wont use ankle weights, and i def didnt get any floaty feet. Size is a big deal i have found out. My suit is made to my size, and it is a lot easier to dive then the one i was diving before. thanks for all the help guys.