So i bought a drysuit, now what?

[D_O_H]

1) As sort of mentioned above, use a toothbrush to remove any excess wax on the zipper. Otherwise, it will collect gunk. I lightly wax my zipper before and after every dive day (why does that sound dirty to me for some reason?). I use a big hanger that I bought from Scubatoys (I think) to store/dry my drysuit for short periods. If I'm not going to be diving for more than a month or so, I'll let it completely dry/air out and store it loosely folded with powder on the seals.

2) My suit has latex wrist and neck seals and I trimmed them myself with no problems. I'm normally so bad with this sort of thing that I'm not allowed to wrap christmas presents (I wrap at the level of a mentally challenged 5 year old). If I can do it, you can too. As mentioned above, trim a little bit off, try the suit on and then trim a little bit more if necessary until you get the right fit.

3) Good advice on maintenance above - don't really have anything to add.

4) I didn't feel like coughing up the money/time for a drysuit course, so I paid an instructor for a half hour of mentoring in his pool. It was useful, but not totally necessary. I don't think he showed me anything I didn't pick up from reading all the drysuit threads on the board. Practice recovering from a feet up michelin man scenario under controlled conditions and you should be good to go. FWIW I have yet to have this even come close to happening in a real diving scenario.

5) Yes.

 

[james croft]

I was going to say "And please don't tell me not to pee in it, i'm not a total idiot"; i knew it would happen, i didn't expect it'd be the first reply!

If you took a poll, you may find a few folks who have made that mistake.

 

[Tigerman]

...
1) What accessories will i need for the suit? Wax is a must, right? Any specific recommendations such as brands and tips for usage? I'm assuming the suit is to be hung upside down to dry, right? What type of hanger do i need for that or is a hanger unnecessary? Do i need an additional hanger for storage or should it stored folded?

Did you not get wax with the suit? I did with my BARE and the instruction manual told me to "apply wax and open and close the zipper a few times" before each dive. The part with open/close the zipper being done in order to let the friction melt the wax so it seap into the zipper properly.
As for storage, my manual said preferrably hang it on a metal tube. If you need to store it otherwise, roll the suit from feet up and fold the arms around the outside of the bundle with the zipper open. My CD4 ProDry is a back entry suit.

2) The suit tried to strangle me when i first put it on! The seals are way too tight both wrist and neck. I'm assuming i need to trim them and that will help with the tightness. Is there any specific guideline for this? Can one go too far in trimming? I'm just scared i'll ruin the suit if i don't know what i'm doing.

There is specific guidelines for this and I think they have already been mentioned. Personally I would ask where I bought the suit as well tho.

3) What type of maintainance is required/advisable? Pre-dive, post-dive? Do i need to wash the inside of the suit? I use a combo of Woolite and Listerine when washing my wetsuits (Dettol when i'm in Europe which is a magic liquid), should i keep doing that?

I dont clean the inside of the suit and from what Ive been told by others that dive dry, you shouldnt unless its absolutely neccesary. As if you have peed there for example

4) Is drysuit training absolutely necessary or something that one can pick up with practice?

I dont know if some dive ops wont let you dive if you dont have some sort of training that is signed, but no, you dont really HAVE to take the training.
The manual I got with my suit actually had a chapter on how to handle certain possible scenarios with a drysuit IIRC.
However, there is a few things that is different diving with a drysuit and a wetsuit and you should be aware what they are and practice the skills for them, just as with the rest of your diving. Diving with an experienced drysuit diver the first few dives wouldnt be a bad idea either, as well as getting some pool-time.

5) Will the ability to dive year round change my life? Can you tell i'm excited?

Yes, it will change your life and yeah, I can see youre quite excited.. Which is GOOD

Thanks.

For what my answer is worth, youre welcome

 

[theatis]

Excellent advice guys. I searched on each individual point last night after reading your replies and now i have a much better picture of what to do but i still have some follow-ups.

As some other threads suggest, i put cans inside the wrist seals and a large canister (about the diameter of a scuba tank since i don't have my own tanks to use as suggested) in the neck seal. I left them there overnight and will try the suit on again when i get home to see if it stretched enough. Will the stretch remain at that point or will it eventually start shrinking again so that i'll have to repeat the process?

I realize now (had absolutely no idea) that i need to fold the neoprene seals over (both neck and wrist i assume?). So they may not be too long as i initially thought. Any guidelines as to how much to fold or is it too different for each person? BTW, the suit is second-hand (even though it's claimed to be and looks brand new) so there's no "shop where i bought it" to go back to as some suggested.

Floater mentioned bob3's drysuit care package, i've no idea what that is, could someone elaborate?

A question on powdering; i see people advising that seals should be stored powdered and others advising powdered seals for ease of entry. The second one doesn't really matter to me, it was very easy to get into the suit; sure, the seals required some wringing but not too bad. As for storage, i'm getting the impression that it refers to latex seals, is it also recommended for neoprene seals?

I'm taking the suit diving on Saturday with a couple of guys who agreed to mentor a drysuit rookie, let's hope it all goes well and i don't annoy the hell out of them!

Thanks again everyone.

 

[*Floater*]

Floater mentioned bob3's drysuit care package, i've no idea what that is, could someone elaborate?

The package I got from him included a bottle of talc powder (roughly the size of a small ketchup bottle), 25g piece of bee wax, McNett Zip Care lube and a free zipper "toothbrush."

I don't know if I should post the price, but I'll send you a PM.

I was under the impression that people only used the talc with latex seals. After all, no one puts talc on their neoprene wetsuits.

 

[Tigerman]

Just a clarification.. The seals should not be folded OVER, but UNDER..
You fold about the outer inch of the seal UNDER the rest of the seal. This fold need to be smooth as its whats supposed to keep the water from getting into the suit.. Im sure the guys youll be diving with on saturday will show you tho.
Have a nice, dry dive

 

[theatis]

Thanks again. Floater, i got your PM.

Tigerman, yeah i saw that about the seals but i'm still having a problem with them. This makes no sense to me. According to the O'Neill website, the size chart gives a neck size of 15 1/2" for medium which is exactly my neck size. Yet still, when putting it on it's so tight that my voice changes! If i'm not supposed to trim neoprene seals what else can i do? I put the cans back in and i'll let it stretch overnight again. If that doesn't work do i have any other option?

 

[Tigerman]

Thanks again. Floater, i got your PM.

Tigerman, yeah i saw that about the seals but i'm still having a problem with them. This makes no sense to me. According to the O'Neill website, the size chart gives a neck size of 15 1/2" for medium which is exactly my neck size. Yet still, when putting it on it's so tight that my voice changes! If i'm not supposed to trim neoprene seals what else can i do? I put the cans back in and i'll let it stretch overnight again. If that doesn't work do i have any other option?

IIRC I asked when i bought my drysuit about trimming the seals and got the answe "its normally not neccesary" wich would suggest to me that "people do it"..
Id ask the shop where I bought it about it..

 

[divingbuddy]

As others have mentioned...the shop where you purchased said drysuit should ensure proper fit for your seals before sending you out the door with your new purchase. You shouldn't be expected to, nor should you have to deal with this yourself as a new suit owner.

Many stores also offer the drysuit course free with the purchase of a drysuit - you might ask....

As for peeing in the drysuit - I do this regularly. Dehydration is a main risk factor for DCS, so I drink plenty of water before, between and after dives. I must have peed in my drysuit 3 or 4 times on my last dive. Thank God for the p-valve!

Enjoy the drysuit! Just my two cents...Cheers!

 

[theatis]

Like i said the suit is a secondhand buy, there's no store involved.