cold water exposure suit debate

[dumpsterDiver]

But it is extremely difficult to find XL or XXL sizes in free diving suits

I wear an XXL MAKO freedive suit. I am a little short for my weight, if you know what I mean, but it works.

 

[BoltSnap]

I wear an XXL MAKO freedive suit. I am a little short for my weight, if you know what I mean, but it works.

I know what you mean for sure

I think that US suit makers address the issue better than the Europeans. I have looked at free diving suits from most European manufacturers and they don't have suits for the prosperous bodies at all.

 

[tbone1004]

LOL, I don't know where to start to pick on this.

i know it is a strange comment.... I hate diving dry because I much prefer the experience of diving wet, it's a weird mental thing where my body gets confused when it is dry but I am submersed. I dive wet whenever possible, but if the surface conditions are cold and windy, or the exposure is going to be longer than about 90 minutes with water temps below 70, then drysuit is really the safest option and is what I dive.

 

[2airishuman]

But it is extremely difficult to find XL or XXL sizes in free diving suits

freedivestore.com has freedivng suits in xl, 2xl, and 3xl. I wear their 3xl. They ship worldwide.

Eliosssub.com makes custom wetsuits in any size and thickness up to 8mm. Prices are reasonable, maybe 50% above non-custom depending on the exchange rate. They are in Italy and ship worldwide.

 

[Johanan]

drysuits can't dump air quite as fast as wings can because they rely on air pressure so it is easier to get into a runaway situation if you use your drysuit as a buoyancy compensator if you are using large tanks. With al80's or lp72's the amount of extra gas in the suit is negligible anyway so it doesn't matter, but PADI teaches to use drysuit as the primary BC because it is easier, not because it is safer. In technical diving you can't use your suit as a BC, it's very unsafe because of the runaway mentioned above, is a very good way to get very wet as the seals will burp from the extra pressure behind them if you have to go head up or hand up for some reason, and is also a horrible way to kick around. With extra air in the suit, it will want to naturally migrate to your feet where you are at a higher risk of an uncontrolled foot up ascent, and you lose efficiency because your feet have big bags around them that cause unnecessary drag in the water and that bubble is far better controlled by the wing.

Thanks for explanation. Yes, I have heard this argument before. However, I could never verify it in praxis. I have not dived with 8 cylinders and probably never will, but with two steel 12L + one Al 80 I experienced none of the problems you described. No balloons around legs or elsewhere. Therefore I wonder whether it is a merely hypothetical or a real danger. I will continue to think and read about it. In addition to that, using the wing for BC will not eliminate the possibility of a runaway ascent as the air in the suit will expand anyway while the diver is kept busy with dumping from the wing. And dumping from the wing keeps occupied your hand, which might be needed to solve an urgent problem, whereas dumping from the suit does not. Just a consideration.

 

[tbone1004]

when dumping from the wing, you can simultaneously dump from the suit since you use your left hand to deflate the wing and by rolling to the right, you can dump the suit at the same time which gives you at least 2x the speed of dumping gas from the two bubbles. Typically we will dump the wing first, then dump the suit and kind of slinky our way up the ascent if there is a large depth change.
With a pair of steel 12l's and a single al80, you are compensating for well over 20lbs of ballast in your suit. That's a rather large amount of gas in the suit assuming you are properly weighted. and that strikes me as surprising that you aren't having issues inside of the suit unless you dive with a fairly full suit to begin with. The bigger danger to me in this type of diving is from a thermal stress standpoint. More air in the suit means you should be warmer during the beginning of the dive which increases your inert gas uptake and then you get progressively cooler during the dive which slows your off gassing during ascent putting you at increased risk for DCS. 20lbs of air is a significant amount of air and that can be a pretty significant difference in your thermal comfort and inert gas loading rates.

 

[BoltSnap]

Eliosssub.com makes custom wetsuits in any size and thickness up to 8mm

Did you verify the link, Eliosssub.com? It doesn't load for me here in Libya. This link is most important since I am looking for this type of vendors that are close to me in Libya. I can use them for other type of suits.

If you have more links for this type of vendors in Europe, please let me know.

Thank you for all of the information!!

 

[BoltSnap]

Never mind, I found the problem, the link you gave had an extra "s" Now it works, thanks!!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Elios is somewhat slow in getting the custom suits made and the last I looked their website was not that great AND they offer a huge selection of potential neoprene materials to use, allowing you to select density of rubber, thickness, manufacturer, nylon covering options, colors etc.

However, they do quality work and if you need a custom suit, it is probably worth the wait and trouble. They cater to Europeans mostly I think.

I sent in my measurements for a custom jacket and they wrote back and said the chest measurement was supposed to be taken UNDER the arms - not over them. I double checked my numbers, sent them a picture of me in my underwear and without any more communication, they sent me back a really nice, well fitting suit.

 

[BoltSnap]

I sent in my measurements for a custom jacket and they wrote back and said the chest measurement was supposed to be taken UNDER the arms - not over them. I double checked my numbers, sent them a picture of me in my underwear and without any more communication, they sent me back a really nice, well fitting suit.

They didn't know how "prosperous" an American can be I guess