Halcyon gaiters

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I got a pair about a year ago, and have really enjoyed them. They make it so ankle weights are not required if normally used, and they reduce air movement below and around the calves. I would suggest them. They are also useful for when working in environments in which you are not just kicking and in a horizontal position to make it easier to move around with you legs above you for a few seconds.
 
I own a set of Halcyon gaiters. The legs of my drysuit are baggy, so the gaiters hold in the extra material. You should know that Halcyon is not the only maker of gaiters. Golem Gear, Oxycheq, and Dive Rite make them, too. Non-Halcyon gaiters will be significantly cheaper than the Halcyon ones. If the gaiters incorporate an elastic band design (like the Halcyon ones), then that elastic will wear out over time. Just something to keep in mind...

Another thing to keep in mind is that gaiters are not strictly interchangeable with ankle weights. Assuming that you are already properly weighted (and you are, aren't you?), if you strap on ankle weights to address the floaty feet issue, you should be taking off the same amount of weight from somewhere else on your rig.

FWIW, divers often seek out a new gear solution (gaiters, ankle weights, more negatively buoyant fins) to the floaty feet problem before really understanding how body position, shifting other parts of their gear, and being properly weighted can affect trim. Being able to dive in good horizontal trim makes it a cinch to manage the air bubble inside a drysuit.

Hope this helps...
 
I have a pair of Halcyon gaiters that I am offering for sale.

As I stated in similar thread, drysuit gaiters do not prevent air from going to your feet, but the do trap air in your feet once the air gets there.

I use DUI turbo soles, not rock boots, so my setup is particularly prone to getting air in the feet.

After a trying a lot of different things in a lot of different environments, my final conclusion is that gaiters are unnecessary. A better solution is to use less air in your drysuit, or when you dive in cold water (45-50 degrees) like me, learn to manage the bubble more effectively.

Gaiters, like ankle weights, are gear solutions to technique problems. Maybe you can use gear solutions in the short term, but you should work in the long-term to solving the technique problems that force you use use gaiters and/or ankle weights.

My two cents.
 
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Gaiters, like ankle weights, are gear solutions to technique problems. Maybe you can use gear solutions in the short term, but you should work in the long-term to solving the technique problems that force you use use gaiters and/or ankle weights.

Difference is that gaiters actually prevent air from getting in your legs, thus "preventing" the problem. (Especially those of us with skinny legs)

Ankle weights on the other hand, do no nothing to prevent the problem of air getting in your legs. The merely provide a counter-weight.

Ultimately, I don't care how skilled you are, you can't fight the laws of physics. Air will get into your legs/feet if the suit is too roomy in those areas. In that respect, gaiters are more of a "gear solution to a gear problem."
 
Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread. I use minimal air in my dry suit, mainly to eliminate squeeze (I'm usually pretty warm). But I have had several instances last year where the squeeze in my thigh was so bad, the material was cutting into my leg and actually putting pressure on a pressure point and I had to abort the dive. I did try compensating by adding air to the suit and reducing the air in my BCD. Buoyancy was fine, but came very close to the run away feet scenario trying to get air into the lower part of the suit. Would gators help keep air above my knees without letting too much go to my feet. Thanks for the help.
 
I use minimal air in my dry suit, mainly to eliminate squeeze (I'm usually pretty warm). But I have had several instances last year where the squeeze in my thigh was so bad, the material was cutting into my leg and actually putting pressure on a pressure point and I had to abort the dive. I did try compensating by adding air to the suit and reducing the air in my BCD. Buoyancy was fine, but came very close to the run away feet scenario trying to get air into the lower part of the suit. Would gators help keep air above my knees without letting too much go to my feet. Thanks for the help.
@scuba_frog: First of all, does the drysuit really fit you? If your answer to that question is "yes," then I think it's pretty clear what the solution is. You need to run a little more gas in your suit and less in your BCD. Diving with proper horizontal trim will also help you manage the bubble better.

Newbie drysuit divers fear the possibility of a feet-first ascent. It won't happen as long as you:
  • Are properly weighted to begin with
  • Anticipate the expanding bubble inside your drysuit and vent early/often during ascent
  • Keep your gear well maintained and do thorough pre-dive checks on drysuit exhaust and inflater valves
  • Have good buoyancy control and can achieve proper horizontal trim
  • Know how to tuck and recover if your floaty feet get out of control
  • Prepare mentally to do an emergency vent through a neck/wrist seal.

I only recommend gaiters to people who have drysuits that are cut too baggy in the legs. If that describes the fit with your drysuit, then by all means give it a whirl.

I know that people are probably going to flame me for saying this, but I think newer drysuit divers should try diving the drysuit both of the following ways: (a) using the drysuit only for buoyancy and (b) inflating the drysuit just enough to offset squeeze but then adding/subtracting gas to the BCD above and beyond that. It's helpful to understand what it feels like to manage a larger than normal bubble in your suit. There will be times when you may want to run more air in your suit to loft your undergarments fully to stay warmer. You'll also see for yourself that, in a single tank rig on shallower dives (40 - 50fsw), adding enough air to offset squeeze in your drysuit is just about the right amount of air for adequate buoyancy compensation. At least, that's what I've found to be the case with my drysuit. YMMV.

I had a dive buddy who, in the beginning, would run so little air in his drysuit that he lost flexibility and couldn't kick normally. When I found out about this, I insisted that he run more air in his suit. Instantly, he had more flexibility and warmth.

Hope this helps...
 
As I stated in similar thread, drysuit gaiters do not prevent air from going to your feet, but the do trap air in your feet once the air gets there.
@Doc Harry: You must have some of those one-way check-valve gaiters. :D (just kidding)
I use DUI turbo soles, not rock boots, so my setup is particularly prone to getting air in the feet.
Yes, I can see how the turbo soles would make one prone to floaty feet syndrome. Wearing rockboots over attached neoprene booties addresses the too-much-air-in-feet issue but then, as you know, the rockboots usually don't fit into your favorite pair of fins...so you end up buying new fins with a bigger foot pocket. Ahhh, another hidden cost of drysuit diving...
Gaiters, like ankle weights, are gear solutions to technique problems. Maybe you can use gear solutions in the short term, but you should work in the long-term to solving the technique problems that force you use use gaiters and/or ankle weights.
In a perfect world, we would all have drysuits that were custom-tailored to our exact size specifications. My drysuit is pretty ill-fitting in the lower leg. I can dive without the gaiters, but I notice that the bubble shifts are more pronounced than when I use them.
 
My first dry suit was a stock large DUI TLS350SE with turbo soles. For the most part it fit quite well everywhere but the legs. The length would have been perfect if I were 6'4", but since I am just slightly under 6', I had a bit of extra material in the legs. I had two options to correct this that I could see; get the legs shortened or get a pair of gaiters. Since I had spent all of my budget on the suit, I opted for gaiters. Ignoring the third option of just diving the suit as it was. I tried that and it was not comfortable.

This was my simple, cost effective fix for an ill fitting suit, not to keep air out of my feet, but to prevent an excess of material from causing issues and keeping the suit as streamlined as a dry suit bag would allow.

The correct fix for this would be to get the suit fitted correctly to eliminate the issue with using equipment to correct an equipment/technique problem. If your suit fits properly, there is no reason to add gaiters to it.

If you are looking for a short term fix for something that can be corrected with some measurements and cutting, gaiters will work, but as you can see, there are better, more permanent solutions.

I have since moved to a custom Signature Series DUI TLS350 and have no further need for the gaiters.
 
I have a DUI TLS-350 with turbo soles that was cut for wearing a 400gm Thinsulate undergarment. In other words, it's a roomy suit.

I got rid of my gaiters and I no longer have any problems with air going to my feet.

Other than getting rid of the gaiters, I have not changed my configuration.

I cannot draw any conclusion except that I became a better dry suit diver, i.e., I improved my technique and no longer require a piece of gear to compensate.
 

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