Diving with new wet suit & booties problem!!

[dpspaceman]

Hi all!!!

Finally got a dive in with the new gear as my wife and I are getting back into the sport. I did notice something that was quite odd and was hoping that maybe some of you could help

My new wet suit fits pretty snug throughout my body (O'neil) and because it's tight around my ankles I wear the booties over the wet suit. When I arrived at the surface and looked down. It looks like my calves had collected a lot of water, it looked like little balloons around my calves of water. Granted it was warm, but I was wondering if this added water was slowing me down, making me breath harder, wasting air. Wondering if I should try wearing the wet suit above the booties vs the opposite. Booties are EVO zipper ups.

Any advice would be great! Thanks

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

When diving a full wetsuit, I always put the suit over top the boots.

 

[Neoteric James]

First off I'll give you the disclaimer...I'm just certified but it is my understanding that a wet suit is designed to trap a layer of water between you and the suit. Now when you're in the water this trapped layer is spread out all over your body, when you exit the water the water follows gravity. I had the same issue, so if I wasn't removing my wetsuit I would just pull the suit away from my ankle and drain it.

 

[dpspaceman]

Hmmm, I think this makes sense. Thanks!!

 

[00wabbit]

Wetsuit over boots or you trap water in your legs.

Can make it difficult to climb a boat latter with 10 pounds of water in your feet.

 

[Neoteric James]

Mine traps water regardless if my boots are over or under, but my suit (SP everflex) has some tight ankle seals so I just wear my boots over the internal seal and under the external layer with zipper. Seems to be most comfortable for me.

 

[SKMoss]

I dive a semi-dry. So I have a seal and a cuff at the ankles and wrist. Boots go between the seal and the cuff (same with gloves). This is similar to Neo James above. Most of the time this isn't a big deal as it's so well sealed I get little to no water in.

Sometimes, if I'm overheating, I will break the seal at the neck and pump water into the suit to cool off. While on the dive the water will move around the inside where the suit is a little loose. It won't affect the dive with respect to how streamlined I am. At the end of the dive, the water will pool at the ankles or in the boots. Either way I just pull off the boots and let the water out of wet suit legs and pour out the boots.

 

[KeithG]

Hi all!!!

Finally got a dive in with the new gear as my wife and I are getting back into the sport. I did notice something that was quite odd and was hoping that maybe some of you could help

My new wet suit fits pretty snug throughout my body (O'neil) and because it's tight around my ankles I wear the booties over the wet suit. When I arrived at the surface and looked down. It looks like my calves had collected a lot of water, it looked like little balloons around my calves of water. Granted it was warm, but I was wondering if this added water was slowing me down, making me breath harder, wasting air. Wondering if I should try wearing the wet suit above the booties vs the opposite. Booties are EVO zipper ups.

Any advice would be great! Thanks

I would check the fit of the rest of your suit. Why do you have that much water inside your suit?

I claim your suit does not fit properly around some / many places and lets too much water inside.

A "thin layer" of water amounts to several spoons full, not several cups full...

 

[Neoteric James]

I would check the fit of the rest of your suit. Why do you have that much water inside your suit?

I claim your suit does not fit properly around some / many places and lets too much water inside.

A "thin layer" of water amounts to several spoons full, not several cups full...

I'll debate that.

The average skin area for human adults is between 1.5-2 square meters. I'll be conservative and say we're going to cover 1 square meter.

One square meter equals one million square millimeters.

Now let's assume the layer of water to be trapped between our wetsuits and us is 1mm or to be even more conservative .5mm

Five hundred thousand cubic mm is equal to 500 cubic centimeters or half a liter. Quite a bit more than a few spoons full.

Now I'm not trying to "stir the pot" but just presenting what sounds feasible to me.

Also before anyone reams me on it, I'll point out the holes with my math:
The .5mm layer of water, I pulled this number strait from my rear end.
Because the human figure has many curves, connected cubic mm are actually not cubes and are larger as they move away from the skin, now one to one this is not much but over five hundred thousand gives me a good margin for error.

I'm not a mathematician or wetsuit expert, I do however like to exercise my brain.

Cheers

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Wearing the wetsuit outside the dive boot helps prevent sand from entering the dive boot when shore diving (uncomfortable!!) and helps prevent the zipper on the boot from coming undone.

I find that less water will be retained in the wetsuit legs (and boots) with the wetsuit outside the boot.... but it really comes down to personal preference.

Oh, and wetsuit "out" prevents pee from running into your boots... not that I'd know anything about that, ahem.

Best wishes.