My AN/DP/Helitrox course

[RayfromTX]

We have one mod that almost died from it and another fighting every day to save lives threatened by this virus and watching them die regularly. It's nothing to mess around with. Hoping you get to dive soon Marie and even more hoping you find a job you can work from home.

 

[stevensamler]

That sucks. I know exactly how you feel. I wonder if a certain member of the peanut gallery is going to say there's something wrong with you, too, since you can't get your course done!

You would have been better off with GUE training for the your tech route but I understand why you went the way you did.

 

[Mike1967]

You would have been better off with GUE training for the your tech route but I understand why you went the way you did.

 

[stevensamler]

At a boy.

 

[Marie13]

Online session tonight on Advanced Nitrox material.

We're discussing a weekend up at Wazee, the WI quarry, the last half of May. Wazee is open even now. Unknown about our local quarry opening. Everyone seems to think the IL stay at home order will be extended to sometime in May.

 

[Marie13]

I actually got to dive Friday and Saturday at White Star Quarry in OH. Had 4 good dives. Total of 3.5 hours underwater. On Saturday I dove with a friend from MI. He's doing his AN/DP/Helitrox class later this spring. It was a rare treat to dive with someone at my exact level, as he knew exactly what I was working on and pointed out things I asked him about. Frog kick is much improved. I was also able to drop 4lbs of lead, although I did feel a bit light on the last dive with 4lbs taken off. I might add 1lb to my V-weight (currently has 5lbs in it).

Had extreme difficulty trying to reach my valves. I suspected the culprit was my undersuit - Thermal Fusion. I had no issues reaching valves in the pool in drysuit with thin merino wool base layer.

Spent an hour at DRIS today with my instructor (who is also the sales manager), trying on different Fourth Element pieces. The women's sized tops they had in stock didn't fit me, so I tried some men's sizes. DRIS is a FE test center, which I wasn't aware of, so they have items you can borrow to actually dive them - Arctic one-piece and X-Core vest. I borrowed a men's Arctic one piece and the X-Core vest for under. The men's one piece is much too long on me, but the top fits pretty well. The shop did have women's bottoms in stock that fit me, that I'll buy if the Arctic experiment is a success. They were the "short" version and I will still have to have someone cut off the stirrups, shorten the legs, and reattach the stirrups so there isn't a lot of surplus material bunched up. I'll have to end up with a men's Arctic top and X-Core vest.

Added: I've talked with a friend today. She's tiny and admits the FE Arctic she has fits her weird. So apparently I'm not the only one!

When compared with the Thermal Fusion, I definitely have a lot better range of motion in the FE Arctic. I'm diving at Wazee Lake in WI in two weeks for class, so I'll be trying out the FE undersuit then. Doesn't count towards 10 official dives for class, but it will be a skills weekend with 2 other students, who are going SM. The stupid plague has interfered with us getting needed practice time.

I don't really want to spend the $$ right now (what with being out of work), but if I want to pass my class, it's necessary.

 

[Brett Hatch]

Hi Marie, we don't know each other, but I found your thread here very interesting. I had been looking at doing AN/DP myself soon, but with the covid-19 crisis, courses in my area are suspended indefinitely. Glad to hear that you're finding ways to to get in the water and continue your training. I wish you a safe journey, and hope that you're able to get all required dives in.

 

[Marie13]

Hi Marie, we don't know each other, but I found your thread here very interesting. I had been looking at doing AN/DP myself soon, but with the covid-19 crisis, courses in my area are suspended indefinitely. Glad to hear that you're finding ways to to get in the water and continue your training. I wish you a safe journey, and hope that you're able to get all required dives in.

Thanks! Quarries in WI and OH are open. Just have to drive minimum 4 hours. Our local IL quarry is not projected to open until 6/1 at the earliest. May I suggest getting the books from DGX (or your dive shop) or doing the eLearning (whichever is preferred by your instructor) now. Might as well make use of your time while cooped up!

 

[Scuba Cobra]

If you're having trouble reaching your manifold due to undergarment thickness, have you considered a heated undergarment?

It would keep you warm and reduce bulk that is making it hard to reach your manifold.

 

[Marie13]

If you're having trouble reaching your manifold due to undergarment thickness, have you considered a heated undergarment?

It would keep you warm and reduce bulk that is making it hard to reach your manifold.

I was permanently laid off March 25th. I was going to buy the Thermolution heated vest (I know a number of people in the Great Lakes area who use it and love it) - $850 - with my fed stimulus check, but then I got laid off. I'd love it, but I can't swing that outlay right now. I got a quote for the Arctic from someone that would save me $150 off retail and DRIS will match that if I buy it.

Even with a heated vest, I would still need a different undersuit in order to reach valves. The other one I have is the AL MK2, which is single layer and really thin. Even with merino wool base layer, I freeze in 50F water in the MK2. I had the Arctic in the past with my first drysuit, but I can't remember why I sold it!