DUI Rock boots and DIR

[jonnythan]

There is no DIR police. No one is going to look at the relief zipper on your suit, tell you it's not DIR compatible, and refuse to dive with you because of it.

I think you're making the mistake of being overly concerned with what "is DIR" and less with what is REALLY DIR: being a better, safer, more team-conscious diver. A relief zipper really makes no difference.. maybe it's more failure prone, but if you're not doing extended range cave exploration it's really not going to be THAT big a deal if you have to call a dive because of it.

Try to focus more on what makes sense for you at this point, not whether something is specifically by the book DIR or not.

Lots of DIR divers wear Rock Boots. If you're comfortable with them and like them, then use them.. again, no one is going to look at your Rock Boots and call you a stroke and refuse to dive with you or exclude you from the group.

I think that getting the right pockets on the suit is the biggest thing right now. Get the Turbo Soles if you want. Replace the Zip Seals with regular glued-on seals if you want to go that far. Install a P-valve (this is easy to do yourself, actually.. you can get the valve for $40 from www.salvodiving.com). The exhaust valve is fine where it is.

You keep asking what is "acceptable." Acceptable to whom is really the question here.

 

[RTodd]

Kinda curious on the scootering idea...
I have just begun getting into scootering a bit. Usually, we hold it only with the right hand, when the scooter cord is properly anchored to the crotch ring. In this case, the vent on the right arm would not be useful. What is the reasoning on the right arm for scootering?

JAG

Imagine going from 280 to 160 without ever letting off the trigger. By having it on the right side the suit will vent on ascents while still under power. More of a cave issue than an open water issue.

For $33, ditch the unneeded relief zipper.

 

[melfox26]

2 - Rock Boots have laces, which can become an entanglement issue.

I replaced my laces on my Rock Boots with bungee, a good way to go if you have Rock Boots and are worried about laces coming undone.


Mel

 

[mrobinson]

actually....
I'm having problems with my rock boots and are going to be replacing them this summer. I'm finding the ankle movement is too restricted to get the proper kick motion..

 

[Soggy]

A relief zipper really makes no difference.. maybe it's more failure prone, but if you're not doing extended range cave exploration it's really not going to be THAT big a deal if you have to call a dive because of it.

Ever seen someone with a relief zipper in the water? They have a pull thingy on them just like the main drysuit zipper....only when you are horizontal in the water, that thing hangs down a good 4 inches just waiting to catch on something or drag through the silt. You have to look past just the obvious "it might flood" and examine the other possible problems that it might cause.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Ever seen someone with a relief zipper in the water? They have a pull thingy on them just like the main drysuit zipper....only when you are horizontal in the water, that thing hangs down a good 4 inches just waiting to catch on something or drag through the silt. You have to look past just the obvious "it might flood" and examine the other possible problems that it might cause.

I have twice seen drysuits with relief zippers flood ... both times it was because the person wearing it had neglected to close the zipper after use ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Soggy]

If it was a guy, I imagine this resulted in his outtie turning into an innie.

I have twice seen drysuits with relief zippers flood ... both times it was because the person wearing it had neglected to close the zipper after use ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[melfox26]

It's not that I want a relief zipper, but when I bought the suit; I had it installed because I was told by a DM in my class that it was great to have. DUI will remove it and patch the hole for $33. My question is simply can I leave it there and still be DIR compatible or must I pay to have it removed? I am also still a little confused about the rock boots. I replaced the long laces with bungee so I don't think they are an entanglement hazard anymore and some of the shore dives I do have a long walk to the entry point, so the boot is great for the walk down. I have turtle fins now, if I had the turbo soles installed; the turtle would not fit anymore and I would need to by jets. I know DIR divers prefer turbo soles, but my question is; are rock boots acceptable?

My buddy and I were just signed off for our DIR-Fundamentals this past weekend. Both of us use the DUI Rockboots, there was no mention that they were unacceptable.

For $33-, I'd get the zipper removed. It just looks better IMHO.

Mel

 

[jagfish]

There is no DIR police. No one is going to look at the relief zipper on your suit, tell you it's not DIR compatible, and refuse to dive with you because of it.

I think you're making the mistake of being overly concerned with what "is DIR" and less with what is REALLY DIR: being a better, safer, more team-conscious diver. A relief zipper really makes no difference.. maybe it's more failure prone, but if you're not doing extended range cave exploration it's really not going to be THAT big a deal if you have to call a dive because of it.

Try to focus more on what makes sense for you at this point, not whether something is specifically by the book DIR or not.

Lots of DIR divers wear Rock Boots. If you're comfortable with them and like them, then use them.. again, no one is going to look at your Rock Boots and call you a stroke and refuse to dive with you or exclude you from the group.

I think that getting the right pockets on the suit is the biggest thing right now. Get the Turbo Soles if you want. Replace the Zip Seals with regular glued-on seals if you want to go that far. Install a P-valve (this is easy to do yourself, actually.. you can get the valve for $40 from www.salvodiving.com). The exhaust valve is fine where it is.

You keep asking what is "acceptable." Acceptable to whom is really the question here.

This sounds like good advice to me....

 

[vodolaz]

If you need the rock boots for your normal dive environment, use them. The tradeoff is that they can restrict your ankle movement and may cause foot cramping on long swimming dives. They also slow you down on gearing up/down, but that's beside the point.

I used them for awhile, then switched to the turbosoles. It feels like they trap a little more gas than the rock boots did, but overall I'm happier with them.