Requirement to "remove and replace" scuba unit and weight system for dry suit cert.

[Edward3c]

The dry suit is there to keep you dry and warm, not to control buoyancy with. That's what the bcd/wing is for. The dry suit should only hold enough air to avoid squeeze and give loft to your insulation. All you buoyancy needs should be covered by the bcd. This minimises workload and reduces the amount of air you need to juggle.

In my opinion using the wing/bcd for buoyancy with a drysuit increases the workload. In that the diver now has to manage two air spaces, not one. I've seen a number of uncontrolled ascents when divers (including instructors) forgot to dump gas from either the suit or wing/bcd.

The only time I put gas in both is when diving below 35m, but when back above this depth I'm back to suit only.

 

[Steveed]

Donning and doffing has come in useful for me. My scuba unit is too heavy for me to climb a ladder unassisted, but if I remove the rig, clip it off to a line, and then come aboard the boat, I can then pull my unit over the side.

With regard to buoyancy, as I learn to improve my buoyancy performance, I lean more towards using the buoyancy device for bouyancy more than the drysuit. I am keeping the suit exhaust valve adjusted almost all the way open, just enough to hold air in a neutral position. If I move the bubble towards the valve, it vents. When I raise the buoyancy wing's exhaust valve to vent that, the suit's exhaust valve also tends to vent. It's a pretty simple set of actions. I carry enough lead so that I am a little negative with a comfortable ( not excessive) amount of air in the suit.

It's simple: when I'm cold or squeezed, air goes in the suit. For buoyancy control, use buoyancy device.

 

[Jack Hammer]

In my opinion using the wing/bcd for buoyancy with a drysuit increases the workload. In that the diver now has to manage two air spaces, not one. I've seen a number of uncontrolled ascents when divers (including instructors) forgot to dump gas from either the suit or wing/bcd.

The only time I put gas in both is when diving below 35m, but when back above this depth I'm back to suit only.

Regardless of whether they prefer to control bouyancy with their wing or drysuit, if divers are unable to manage the gear they are using they shouldn't be using it, especially so for instructors.

 

[rjgiddings]

Just a few years ago there was a poor soul in Seattle at Cove 2 who got wrapped up in a buoy chain about 10 feet from the surface. He drowned. If he had slowed down and took off his gear, unhooked the drysuit hose from his chest inflate he could have easily swam to the surface. I think PADI just has you do this drill on the surface because they want you and the gear positive, and its easier to manage getting in and out while on the surface.

 

[KenGordon]

Clearly there are cases when you have to take it off, but putting it back on?

Sounds like a test of comfort in the water rather than a practical application.

 

[spc751]

The dry suit is there to keep you dry and warm, not to control buoyancy with. That's what the bcd/wing is for. The dry suit should only hold enough air to avoid squeeze and give loft to your insulation. All you buoyancy needs should be covered by the bcd. This minimises workload and reduces the amount of air you need to juggle.

Unfortunately that method does not work for me. As long as I an not over weighted I need very little air in my suit. Just enough to loft my undergarment. And it is easy to control the bubble. Using the bcd for buoyancy does not work for me. That is why I want to know why the method that works for me is "wrong ".

 

[spc751]

I had to take my bcd off at the surface as part of my drysuit training and I have seen students doing it as part of their open water training.

 

[KevinNM]

Unfortunately that method does not work for me. As long as I an not over weighted I need very little air in my suit. Just enough to loft my undergarment. And it is easy to control the bubble. Using the bcd for buoyancy does not work for me. That is why I want to know why the method that works for me is "wrong ".

I'm not going to tell you that you have bad fun, but it's a lot easier to vent gas out of the BCD than the suit. Minimizing the air in the suit makes life easier for me. And at the start of a dive I need a decent amount of gas in the bcd to keep my rig more or less neutral on decent, but I don't add any to the suit until 20 feet or so.

 

[Peter Guy]

Re which is "right" -- using the BCD for buoyancy control or the dry suit?

It is my belief, based on personal experience and teaching students to dive dry, that the "right" answer is one of the two most important, and common, answers to any scuba question:

"It depends." (BTW, the other answer is Boyles Law -- or in "PADI Land" K.R. Ch. 1, Q 5.)

Why "It depends" as the "right" answer? Because there are too many variables for one to make a flat statement of "what is right." There doesn't appear to be any consensus answer to this issue amongst either Dry Suit manufacturers OR the various agencies and for many good reasons.

IF you are more comfortable using your BCD underwater for control, use your BCD. If you are more comfortable using your dry suit, use your dry suit. If you have a dry suit that doesn't lend itself to being a buoyancy control device (like some neoprene suits), use your BCD. If you are weighted such you need more lift than your suit can provide, use your BCD (this is frequent when diving doubles and stages).

But to make a flat statement that "This is the right way" just says to me the person doesn't have enough experience/experiences to know the correct answer.

At least that's my two cents on the subject.

 

[Steveed]

When I drysuit dive off my dinghy I throw my gear in the water then jump in and put on my gear. It's much easier than struggling to get your gear on in a little inflatable.

Second to this, the same goes for kayak diving. It seems like if you're paying for a class, that would be a worthwhile item to include.