How much air?

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chickendiver

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Just want to get feedback from those using drysuits. How much air do you use foe your suit. Using a Whits shell it seems the amount of air I need not to fell squeezed is crazy...and of course where does it all end up...in the boots. I do feel the suit is too big and that is the problem, but tell me some of your stories....and do you on ascent increase your BC before your suit or vica versa=-) =-)
 
I run just enough air in the drysuit to keep a slight squeeze on it and allow freedom of movement.

If it restricts your movement, then you have too much squeeze.

I run my shoulder dump wide open, and use the wings for bouyancy. The only time I would use my suit for bouyancy would be in the event of a wing failure.
 
chickendiver once bubbled...
I do feel the suit is too big and that is the problem
...now that you know the problem what are you going to do about it?

Keep diving the suit with an unmanagable bubble of air in it?
Keep diving the suit with an unacceptable amount of squeeze?
Stop diving that suit and go without, wet or get a drysuit that fits?
 
Uncle Pug..

Thanks for the advice...your right..I shoulf have traded it in right away..but I thought at first ..hey this is normal? I had no expereince with a dry suit ..then as I talked to more people I then realized that the suit is too big. My solution just FYI..the suit is now on Ebay and i just bought a Bare ...customer fit, so that should help...I wil be dry for 2 weekd until I get it in.=-)
 
I think everyone finds a dry suit has these management problems until you get the hang of it. Although never having dove a laminate shell and by no means an expert in dry suit diving, I love my Whites Newtpro crushed neoprene which is also a big honking suit. What I have found:

Don't use your BCD for buoyancy. Pump up the suit as you descend to stay neutral. That way, you aren't trying to juggle venting both BCD and suit on the way up. The BCD becomes your redundent buoyancy source. After all, why put air into the BCD while your suit is squeezed when that air can be used in the suit to keep you warm? Suit should be slightly squeezed at depth or you are overweighted.

Put enought air in the feet so you automatically them to float up with bent knees, so you get a nice frog kick position so not silt up the bottom. Keep the body just slightly tilted bow up and knees below chest so that more air doesn't go into the legs causing inversion. Practice recovering from inversion. If you don't know how, e-mail me for courses.

Pump your left elbow above your head with valve open on the way up for automatic venting. Vent before the ascent so it is nice & relaxed.
Hope this helps, any more experienced dry suiters please contribute.
 
I'll echo the sentiment that a proper fit for a drysuit is essential. Living in a cold water environment (Prince Edward Island), the majority of my diving has been in drysuits.

Ideally, you should need to put very little air into the suit to prevent suit squeeze. However, the suit SHOULD be somewhat large, to allow room for thermal underwear. I know that my own suit can feel a bit bulky during the borderline time of year when it's almost, but not quite, wetsuit weather, and all I need to wear underneath is a very light set of longjohns. But when the water is around the freezing mark, I need the extra room for the big woolies and padding for inside the boots. I definitely recommend a custom fit suit, but make sure when you are getting your measurements done you keep in mind what you'll be needing to wear under the suit as well.

And, I know this is going to get me a well-deserved scolding by a few of you, but I never wear a BCD with my drysuit. I know, the suit shouldn't be used for buoyancy, but I find it bulky enough without adding a vest over the top. I tend to dive with as little weight as possible, and in fact sometimes have virtually no air in the suit, preferring to live with a bit of squeeze. At the surface, even after dumping the air, keeping at eye level isn't a problem. It's really a comfort thing, and since a lot of the dives I do are working dives around aquaculture leases, I like to wear as little as possible that could get tangled or caught on lines.

Personally, while I would never trade in my dry suit, I much prefer a wet suit when it comes to comfort and mobility, not to mention the added bonus of being able to dump 10-16 pounds of lead off my belt. As soon as the water is warm enough to bear it, the drysuit goes on the rack.
 
I'm like Cave Diver, except that I don't get to dive caves a lot :)

I inflate my Whites Catalyst enough to be confortable, but not too much. I find easier to keep buoyency with the BC. Although compared to my old one, my current dry suit is much more streamlined and I never have those problems with air in the feet.

I also prefer to have my dump valve on the forewarm than on the shoulder.... but that's just me.
 

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