So What Is Everyone Doing To Pass Time

[stuartv]

You poor salt water folks...so much extra equipment maintenance...

You poor cold water folks ... so much money on drysuits and undies and hoods and pee valves and ... and ...

Then there are those of us that get the worst of both worlds... boo hoo!!!

I guess we should all just move to Tulum....

 

[kelemvor]

You poor cold water folks ... so much money on drysuits and undies and hoods and pee valves and ... and ...

Then there are those of us that get the worst of both worlds... boo hoo!!!

I guess we should all just move to Tulum....

I was under the impression the mainland there was a bit sketchy.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I was under the impression the mainland there was a bit sketchy.

sketchy how?

 

[Storker]

so much money on drysuits and undies and hoods and pee valves and ...

Pee valves aren't much needed for drysuit rec diving. A lot if us do quite fine without gluing some rubber contraption to our junk.

Shaving is thus optional and only dependent on personal preferences.

 

[stuartv]

Pee valves aren't much needed for drysuit rec diving. A lot if us do quite fine without gluing some rubber contraption to our junk.

Shaving is thus optional and only dependent on personal preferences.

Well, since you want to get all serious on me... I do way more rec diving in my drysuit than tech diving. My last two dive days are good examples. I went to Lake Phoenix. 50 degree water. I put on my drysuit (including hooking up my pee valve). I wore my drysuit for about 6 hours one day (and about 5, the other day, I think). We did 3 dives (on the longer day) and I kept it on and zipped up during my surface intervals. The air was cool, so it was very comfortable that way, with my boat coat on over it during the earlier hours.

I peed at least 3 times that day. Not having to unzip my drysuit at all, the whole day, was really nice. COULD I have done all that diving without a pee valve? Absolutely. Could I have unzipped my suit and taken it down or off, so I could still pee when I felt the urge? Sure! But, it sure was nice to not need to do any of that. Also nice to drink as much water as I wanted, all day, without ever thinking "maybe I should not drink another bottle of water right now, so I don't need to pee again so soon."

But, as my ex used to tell me - you do you.

And whether you have a pee valve or not, drysuit diving is still an expense and a hassle that those poor warm, salt water divers don't have. Between the two, I would definitely rather dive wet and do a little extra rinsing... But, when all I have available is a cold lake and a drysuit, I'll be happy to have those!

 

[lexvil]

I prefer to be 100% hydrated and remain so, peevalve is necessary for me for this and hour plus dives

 

[TMHeimer]

Pee valves aren't much needed for drysuit rec diving. A lot if us do quite fine without gluing some rubber contraption to our junk.

Shaving is thus optional and only dependent on personal preferences.

Quite descriptive. I just shove a hose down my wetsuit pant leg and out the bottom. "Attaching" only worked 60% of the time, the other 40% creating a bit of a mess.
I did use waterproof tape back then. Don't know what you drysuit folks mean by "gluing". Doesn't sound inviting to me.

 

[bletso]

Pee valve?! You betcha 1,2 or 3 pee dives are the norm. I own two suits, and 1/8 inch and a dry suit. If it's too cold for the 3 mm it's dry. 70% of my dives are dry. Some of us have no choice.

 

[dmaziuk]

Eating about a thousand of these every day. Also sunflower seeds. Time passes pretty quickly and they are addicting...

Ever tried these: https://www.amazon.com/ChaCha-Sunflower-Original-Flavor-3-45oz/dp/B07H6Q7J89 ?

 

[stuartv]

Quite descriptive. I just shove a hose down my wetsuit pant leg and out the bottom. "Attaching" only worked 60% of the time, the other 40% creating a bit of a mess.
I did use waterproof tape back then. Don't know what you drysuit folks mean by "gluing". Doesn't sound inviting to me.

A condom catheter is just like a regular condom except: One, it has a short tube sticking out from the end. Two, it has adhesive on the side that goes against your skin. Three, it is not as long, so it probably won't cover the whole length of your "equipment". Also, there are regular (shorter length - 1.5", I think) and "widebands", which cover more of your length (3", I think). And, four, they come in a lot of different sizes (for different thickness of equipment). You don't want it to be too loose and leak. But, too tight is not very comfortable, either. They are thicker and not as stretchy as regular condoms, so getting the right size is a good idea.

So, for guys using a drysuit pee valve, we roll the condom catheter on and make sure the adhesive is fully in contact, so pee can only go out the tube on the end. Then we connect the pee valve hose to the tube of the condom catheter. Simple - once you have the right size. And a quick disconnect fitting to make the final connection is also handy.

If you prep properly, when you finally go to remove it, it's only mildly uncomfortable. At least, for me that's how it is.

Manscaping definitely helps with comfort. And, I always use skin prep wipes that are specifically for prepping before donning a condom catheter. They supposedly help the CC to adhere more reliably, so you don't get a blowout when you pee and mess your suit. And, somehow, magically, at the same time, they make it easier to remove the CC when that time comes.

I suppose I should try donning a CC sometime with no skin prep wipe and see how the "comfort" of removal compares...

I never really realized this, but once I started researching and shopping for condom catheters, I discovered that there must be a whole lot of older men out there that basically can't control their bladder well enough anymore, so they wear a condom catheter and a bag somewhere pretty much all the time. I guess if lots of 80-year old men can handle wearing one every day, I can handle wearing one when I dive....