mike8405
New
Can any members offer input/feedback regarding the use of the Halcyon gaiters?
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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.
@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.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.
@Doc Harry: You must have some of those one-way check-valve gaiters. (just kidding)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.
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...I use DUI turbo soles, not rock boots, so my setup is particularly prone to getting air in the feet.
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.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.