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I recently bought a drysuit. Its a dui suit and I have dove dry only a couple times before. Does anyone have any tips for a beginner dry diver? Also, does anyone know if its possible to change boots on a suit? Any info helps!
1) Take a drysuit course or at least find a mentor. The course includes a lot of buying, care & feeding information and donning methods. Probably more on that stuff than diving!
2) Yes boots can be replaced with other boots or socks.
3) If you choose to ignore #1 take it slow so you can learn the quirks and responses in shallow water.
I'm in the same position, having just purchased a used DUI drysuit. I heartily agree with finding a mentor to help with the quirks. I have been very fortunate to have at least three such people working with me, and I'm really enjoying getting in the water a full month before I usually do. I asked the same question about the boots, and was told the best thing would be to take it to an authorized dealer for evaluation, and to be prepared in case it had to be sent back to DUI for changing the boots out.
For swapping boots, Steve Gamble is the man: Gamble Scuba
Other than that, the biggest thing I do is only put in air to reduce squeeze and use my BC to do all the buoyancy control. This works well in the springs in Florida but obviously doesn't work well in colder water when you need a larger separation between you and the water.
I feel that the area between 3 and 6 meters of water is the most difficult area to control buoyancy. This was exactly the depths of the pool that I trained in when I took my drysuit class.
Like what was suggested by others; Take a drysuit class. It's well worth it if you have a good instructor.
I'm gonna vote against a class. I didn't take one. It took me about 10 dives to get the hang of it and after 20 dives my buoyancy control was pretty good.
I say get in the water (shallow) and experiment!
ps. do not do a 20m dive the first time you wear the suit!!
Other than that, the biggest thing I do is only put in air to reduce squeeze and use my BC to do all the buoyancy control. This works well in the springs in Florida but obviously doesn't work well in colder water when you need a larger separation between you and the water.
With the right garments this works well anyplace. Appropriate garments do not need substantial amounts of air to maintain loft. They are relatively incompressible. We may add a little more than "just enough to relive squeeze" but not enough to make the suit unstable.
I'm gonna vote against a class. I didn't take one. It took me about 10 dives to get the hang of it and after 20 dives my buoyancy control was pretty good.
I say get in the water (shallow) and experiment!
ps. do not do a 20m dive the first time you wear the suit!!
While of course it can be done solo, why vote against a class?? I took you about 10 dives, but with a good instructor and class, it could have been even less...and more safe if you did have any issues.
I skipped the class. I listened to some advice from dry diving friends, read a book, read a little SB and used some common sense to keep myself out of trouble.
Its not brain surgery. It may have taken a few more dives to learn, but I enjoy diving, so the extra time was fun.
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Originally Posted by spectrum
