My first drysuit experience ...

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Try adding just enough air to the dry suit to keep it from squeezing you, and using your BC it intended purpose, controlling your buoyancy. We dive drysuits quite a bit here in Maine as we dive all year long. I see new dry suit divers trying to control buoyancy with the suit and not their BC quite often. When you are gonna make an accent--any assent-- open the vent valve on the suit and let it vent. With a neoprene suit ankle weights help some too. Good luck, give it several dives. You may not want to go back to a wetsuit when you get the hang of it.
 
Thanks Bell. I was told that this is only something you want to do if you have a neoprene drysuit. Since I was diving trilam I was told to use suit as BCD. I will try this out tomorrow though.
 
If you stay with it it'll very much be worth it :) I love dive dry. Not just because of the warmth, but also because of how well it allows me to trim out.

The Fusion made me feel quite claustrophobic the first time I put it on :) I like it just fine now.

Stick with it, and use the BC for buoyancy.

Henrik
 
I just did my first drysuit dives last week in my new Fusion, and had the exact opposite experience. I did an hour in a pool at about 8 ft, and it just seemed almost as natural as my wetsuit. My trim sucked until I moved the weight around but then got much better. I did 3 dives last Saturday at the oil rigs (800 ft bottom) and was really pleased with how it felt. I'm still getting used to the changes that happen as you go inverted (head down), and how to set the vents, but being warm sure was nice! On the advice of my instructor, I used the drysuit for buoyancy, but I'm not convinced that is best for me. It did seem easier than manipulating two separate buoyancy devices while getting used to the suit.

I found the fit of the suit very much like a wetsuit, and with the undergarments I was wearing (fleece) didn't feel the plastic bag effect, and only used the same amount of weight I use in salt water to dive in fresh (pool), adding 5 lbs for the ocean dive and had no issues.

Maybe they had you way over-weighted and you needed a lot of air in the suit to compensate?
 
My trim sucked until I moved the weight around but then got much better.

Just curious about what weight adjustments you made. I'm going to be trimming out my Fusion very soon, and planning on using a weighted STA with my usual 10lbs on a weight belt.
 
Just curious about what weight adjustments you made. I'm going to be trimming out my Fusion very soon, and planning on using a weighted STA with my usual 10lbs on a weight belt.

I have a steel tank (8lbs neg), & harness with steel plate (5 lbs neg). I'm leg heavy and in a wet suit typically have to wear my tank as far up toward my head as I can. I was able to lower the tank a few inches, and did two dives with ankle weights and one without. It was a bit harder without them but I felt like moving more weight around might fix the light feet. Its weird for me since it is the opposite of what I am used to.

If your legs get light you might get a non-weighted STA and move some weight to your belt.
 

Back
Top Bottom