Have a dry suit question??

[Fire_medic_RescueDiver]

I have started diving in my new dry suit. I have never dove in a dry suit before, I am taking a PADI dry suit class next weekend, but still have a few questions about it. Do you always have some squeeze to the suit even after adding air at different times. How much air should you add? I have dove the suit 3 times now and have only had the mild squeeze once and that was on a deeper dive (95feet), and I did air thru out the dive, it is not a really bad squeeze feeling just noticeable. I also leave the exhaust valve open fully.

 

[Rainer]

I personally keep the suit pretty tight. Don't ruin the family jewels, but a huge bubble is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Paco]

The lowest part of the suit will always have some squeeze. I dive with some squeeze all over because I don´t want an air bubble moving around. I add just enough to keep comfortable.

 

[sea2summit]

Probably not the recommended method diving the suit prior to certification with a dry suit.
I've had little hickies from time to time but never noticed while I was diving. Try and keep as horizontal as possible and it will reduce it quite a bit. I generally keep it pretty full of air as I can because it keeps me warmer but I know people that usually add very little, personal preferance.

 

[BubblesUp]

There tend to be two schools of thought about drysuit inflation:

One is to add greater amounts of air to the drysuit, using your suit for buoyancy control.

The other is to keep just enough air in the suit to be comfortable and use your BC for buoyancy control. This is my personal preference because, like others mentioned above, a big bubble in your suit can shift quickly and prove challenging to control.

During your drysuit class you may want to try it both ways and see which works better for you.

Good luck!

 

[Mark Vlahos]

I use the BCD for bouyancy control, not the suit.

I wore a wet suit for years, and I always liked a snug fit on the wet suit. I try to keep the dry suit with the same snug feeling. Not so tight that it restricts my ability to move, but still nice and snug all of the time.

Mark Vlahos

 

[Colliam7]

Do you always have some squeeze to the suit even after adding air at different times. How much air should you add? I have dove the suit 3 times now and have only had the mild squeeze once and that was on a deeper dive (95feet), and I did air thru out the dive, it is not a really bad squeeze feeling just noticeable. I also leave the exhaust valve open fully.

I began by keeping the exhaust valve fully open when I got my DS. As time went by, and my comfort with the suit increased, I started closing the valve down some, as it seemed to be a continuous process of adding air and having it leak out when the valve was fully open. With practice you will find what works best for you.

The lowest part of the suit will always have some squeeze. I dive with some squeeze all over because I don´t want an air bubble moving around. I add just enough to keep comfortable.

I echo the sentiment. I actually prefer a bit of squeeze.

The other is to keep just enough air in the suit to be comfortable and use your BC for buoyancy control. This is my personal preference because, like others mentioned above, a big bubble in your suit can shift quickly and prove challenging to control.

I do the same. There are probably some who would say this is an inefficient approach to dry suit diving, I guess. But, I feel like I have better buoyancy control that way. Having said that, in tec class we worked on using the DS only for buoyancy control in a simulated wing failure, and it worked very well – I was surprised how precisely I could control my depth. Nonetheless, I like using the wing for primary control.

Are you using gaiters? I found that, even with keeping only a small amount of air in my suit, I was still foot-light, and added them. I have integrated boots, rather than ‘socks’ and rock boots, so that is part of the reason that I use them.

 

[stiebs]

I like a bit of squeeze too.. When I get back on the boat and pump up the suit with air it feels ssooooo gooooood!!

And a lesson learned the hard way - especially if you have rock boots (ie, neoprene socks) make sure that you don't forget your socks - foot squeeze can be very uncomfortable!

 

[TSandM]

I think if I had to encapsulate two years of experiences (good and bad!) with a drysuit, it would be thus: Put enough air in the suit so that you have adequate mobility to do anything you need to do underwater (eg. reach valves), and so you are comfortable enough that the suit isn't annoying or distracting you. But try to keep the air minimized, because every extra bit you put in will have to be managed coming up.

I've seen people describe an instructor suggesting that they take their suit to about 20 feet without adding any air at all, and aim for that degree of squeeze. That's pretty much what I did for a long time, but if you do it, be sure you have adequate mobility in the type of suit you have. If you can't reach your drysuit valve or your tank valve because your suit's too tightly squeezed, that's not a good thing.

 

[ppo2_diver]

I wear my suit as tight as I can stand it, while keeping mobility. I normally don't add any air until I'm between 20-30 feet. Even then it is just a puff or two. Whatever goes in, must also come out.