Drysuit with disabilities

[Brett Hatch]

Agree with other posters that gaiters should help. Like these ones, for example.

I think it's possible that ankle vents will be a solution. But, they may be overkill: they're more costly and add a potential leak point. The nice thing is, I bet that you can start out with a drysuit without ankle vents, and then add them on later. People often do this with P-valves, and I imagine that adding vents to the ankle would be no different.

I wonder if the lovely folks at @DiveHeart would have any suggestions for you. That organization is built around facilitating divers with various disabilities, so maybe they have some experience with divers with similar needs to yours. Cheers.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

yea I'm a relative short and skinny person, so I am sure I would end up getting lost in that suit. The ankle dump sound interesting only thing concerned about with that is just another water entry point.

Would appreciate the feedback next time your in the pool. I was think about the rolling into a ball underwater method to clear excess out, but often wonder about it just getting out of control to the point where I won't be able to gather my legs in time for an out of control ascent.

Will have to go talk to the local dive shop and see what options I have to test.

Short and skinny works with Apollo. Short and fat or tall and skinny gets weird.

If maintained properly, the ankle dumps don't leak at all. (I dove an Apollo for over 4.5 years and it's still my backup.) I usually keep them locked shut, but I have an identical valve on the wrist that I keen in the auto position. I end up not using the standard shoulder dump at all: I just lift my left hand, putting the wrist dump at the highest point, and pump my arm. That forces air out. If I have much more than needed, the air just flows out when I raise my wrist. It's easier than rolling to make the shoulder the highest point; just raise your hand.

Apollo really should pay me on commission.....

 

[Capt. Bas]

I know a German diver diving a dry-suit at our local lake,
I have no idea if he has a adapted suit and he has possibly still some control in his legs.
It is possible and when familiar with the suit may-be even easier than a wet suit as you can control buoyancy in your legs.
Getting gaitors on you legs reduces the amount of air going into your legs indeed but this limits the isolation properties of the suit itself.
Diving with rock-boots seems a better option in this case as your feet have possibility to enclose air.

Good luck finding a solution and happy diving!

 

[Dmitry Knyazev]

Practice of using a dry suit by divers with disabilities (Rus, Google translator to help you)

Практика применения сухого костюма дайверами с инвалидностью - KnyazevDA.com

Можно долго рассказывать, убежать, что драйверам с ограниченными возможностями здоровья сухой костюм доступен, но гораздо быстрее убедительнее привести примеры. Мне известен успешный опыт применения «сухаря»: Со многими из этих дайверов…

knyazevda.com

 

[Dis-enabled]

Practice of using a dry suit by divers with disabilities (Rus, Google translator to help you)

Практика применения сухого костюма дайверами с инвалидностью - KnyazevDA.com

Можно долго рассказывать, убежать, что драйверам с ограниченными возможностями здоровья сухой костюм доступен, но гораздо быстрее убедительнее привести примеры. Мне известен успешный опыт применения «сухаря»: Со многими из этих дайверов…

knyazevda.com

Thank you for the link!