Hi Everyone
So drysuits, arrrr, love the idea but can't seem to get used to it, 1st i have waxed my zipper a few tmes and now it seems at the end of the zip there is some **** like a white lump of snot - sorry to be so graphic but i need to explain! 1st i don;t think this is the wax as it's on the other side of the zip, so how many of you clean your zipper with a toothbrush after diving and how often? Also how do you care for your zip like waxing and the inside and what not?
Diving in the suit.
Seems fine for recreational diving put in the PADI dvd you hear "don't let your feet higher then your head" now as someone with nice trim i like to have my feet high? explain please.....?
Also it says ascend head up and with a twin and three stages you don;t do this.......explain please?
Any info appreciated.
Declan Long
Declan, what kind of zipper wax are you using? There's hard wax ... somewhat like parafin. The advantage to it is that it tends to be self-cleaning. But you need to use it more often ... every dive on new zippers, which tend to be stiff until they get some dives on 'em. Then there's soft wax ... the ones that look like crayons, or something like McNally ZipTech. These can get gummy if you overuse them and could account for what you're calling "snot". The key to using this kind of wax is to put it on sparingly ... remember, what you're really wanting to lubricate isn't the zipper so much as the car, which you do by lubricating the zipper teeth and pulling the car over the lubricant a time or two. Overdoing it will create a build-up which will show up at the end of the zipper. If that's what you're seeing it means you're using too much wax. Whatever you're using, avoid getting it on the sealing surfaces.
As a caution, don't use beeswax. Yeah, it's a great lubricant, but it tends to build up on the teeth and trap grit, sand and whatever else will stick to it. Zipper manufacturers and drysuit repair techs love for people to use beeswax because it generally causes the zipper to fail faster because of that buildup. So use either the hard or soft wax, and if the soft wax go easy on the application.
As for feet position, you will learn how to manage the bubble to your advantage ... it just takes a few dives. If your boots fit properly, there should be adequate room in them for some airspace, but without a danger of not being manageable. Some people use ankle weights to keep their feet down ... but more often than not that's just a crutch for an irrational fear. If you feel like there's too much air in your feet, look up (your body tends to go where your head goes), straighten your feet out, and the air will move to the highest point in your suit ... which will be away from your feet. It takes a bit of practice to do it smoothly, but again, a few dives should do it. If it gets to be too much of an issue, gaitors or
fin keepers will can help you manage air migration to your feet.
As for ascending head up ... no need to do this at all. The rationale behind this is because it's easier to maintain an air bubble up close to the vent valve, for ease in managing the bubble. But it's not necessary ... or even desireable ... it's just easier to learn how to do it that way. Wth a few dives you can easily learn to manage the bubble from the horizontal position and just roll your left shoulder up a bit when you want to vent. The key is to make the vent valve the highest point in the suit, but it doesn't have to be high by very much ... a couple inches higher than your torso will cause the bubble to move to the desired position and water pressure will do the rest.
I'd recommend practicing without the stages for a few dives, to get used to the feel and control of the drysuit ... then add the stages one at a time for a few dives to get used to the feel for what you're doing.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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