Do you really need gators for your drysuit?

[Arnaud]

I started diving dry with ankle weights for a few months. After reading negative opinions on the board, I tried a dive without them. It felt great! So, I don't use anything anymore. My D suit fits well. Never had any problem.

 

[ERP]

I picked up a set of the Halcyon Gaitors recently, as part of an order from extreme exposure. I'd never used gaitors before, and it was really just out of curiosity.

My USIA suit is large in the legs and managing the air bubble is a doable, but it can be challenging at times. I was really surprised to find that diving with the Gaitors was like night and day, it was MUCH easier to manage the floaty feet issue.

If you have a drysuit with less than optimal fit, you don't need gaitors, but they can make diving the suit a lot easier.

Just my opinion.

Rob

 

[The Iceni]

Many replies to this thread are exactly the same advice as I received early in my dry-suit career. "I don't use them so you don't need to" (ankle weights that is) and "one size fits all".

It doesn't!

In my humble opinion, this is all about trim and preventing the instability caused by gas migration to the feet during a partial head-down position with the possibility of a runaway inverted buoyant ascent, to say nothing about comfort during a dive when trim is way out.

It may be the body size and shape and equipment configurations used by those who say "never needed" make this a correct statement for them but there are those of us who, for whatever reason, cannot achieve neutral trim without ankle weights.

I tried and tried without them but had to admit defeat in the end. I think this is because of a combination of

1. The weight of my kit (twin 300 bar cylinders and stages)
2. The inherent buoyancy in the legs from my thick 200g/M undersuit (obligatory in the N Sea)
3. My body size and shape (long legs?)
   [/list=1]all of which tended to produce head down trim even when subjected to a certain amount of squeeze.
   
   Diving dry is a complex art and I for one would never consider using an ill-fitting hired dry-suit simply because it takes quite a number of dives to get buoyancy and trim sorted and, of course, this needs to be repeated at every change of dry suit. During this learning phase it is unlikely that the diver is comfortable and is far less likely to enjoy the dive. In addition it reduces safety by adding to task loading.
   
   Dive dry with a good-fitting suit comfortably empty near to squeeze (with an autodump) properly weighted and trimmed (whether with ankle weights or not) in my opinion is the way to go. I see no place for gaiters as they cannot make a dangerous ill-fitting suit, less so. As for keeping the air out of the legs this is more efficiently provided by ambient water pressure.
   
   In my humble opinion, if you can attain perfect trim without ankle weights with the kit you use you clearly have no need to use them but for some this is just not possible and perfect trim is a positive safety factor and is far, far more important than appearing to score macho points.
   
   I eventually found heavy fins such as the old "jet fin" to be an excellent alternative.
   
   
   PS. don't 'gators have teeth and live in the Mississippi?

 

[kelpmermaid]

I must be bored on a Friday afternoon, but I actually broke out the dictionary on this one. According to Webster's, it's "gaiter." A gaiter is defined as " a leg covering that extends from the knee to the instep" as well as a few similar entries.

I do have a pair that I use - I have very dainty ankles.

I try to remain aware of my position, though, so I have yet to find out if they really do anything.