Dry suit - check list to avoid getting wet

[MasterMindDiver]

Hello Scubaboard,
Yesterday I was diving with new a dry suit for the first time (i am diving dry for quit some time but this time the suit was different ) and pull over dry gloves .. did 3 dives .. first 2 dives was fine .. and after that i unzipped the dry suit to get the keys to open the car to exchange the tank. after that i went diving my third dive , and I got wet .. my undergarments got completely wet...

I am sure that I zipped my suit very well .. but I played somewhat with the neck seal as it was rolling , also i was having some buoyancy problems due to changing from neoprene to thrilaminate suit .. and the suit got squeezed 2 times .. could it happen that the suit sucks sea water inside ??


willing to have a kind of check list of things i need to consider to avoid getting wet undergarment while diving dry.
Regards

 

[Gareth J]

If you messed up the neck seal you would certainly have got wet.

Similarly, if you have no air in the suit and shrink-wrap it to you during the descent then you are likely to Syphon water into the suit and suffer bruising from the suit squeeze.

Number one is to ensure the neck seal is folded over properly (for a neoprene seal). That nothing is trapped under the cuff seals and these are sitting flat against the skin with no folds.
Finally ensure that the zip is fully done up.

Also do the crouch and vent to remove excess air from the suit before kitting up and getting in the water.

 

[KevinNM]

Look at where the zipper closes. Is it really totally closed or does it just feel closed? That has greatly reduced the % of time I got seriously wet.

I've been shown a trick where you get in the water, close the exhaust valve, inflate the suit a lot, then lay flat and move around to let it shift and settle. I then roll on my back and pull the front material up so I have more arm movement. Then you fully open the valve and allow it to shrink wrap you.

 

[steady1570]

I've been shown a trick where you get in the water, close the exhaust valve, inflate the suit a lot, then lay flat and move around to let it shift and settle. I then roll on my back and pull the front material up so I have more arm movement. Then you fully open the valve and allow it to shrink wrap you.

This is a good tip. I find before opening the valve if I get into an upright position in the water you are shrink-wraped from the bottom up, both making sure that gas comes out of your feet and that the undersuit stays in the position you just manipulated it into.

-Mark

 

[sheeper]

there are lots of little things to pay attention to. For example, last year I got a new drysuit and discovered that my silicone reg necklace pulls down my silicone neck seal and yes...gives me an almost dry suit.
Answer was to lose the silicone necklace and use a bungee cord necklace.

Make sure your suit has enough of a bubble inside, your seals are clean and your valves are good.

 

[REP]

All good points above. Here are a few of my thoughts.

Always be meticulous with the zipper and neck seals. I've had many zipper leaks from having someone not zip it up to where it locks in place (usually from a non-diver helping out). Make sure you also don't have any under garment caught in your neck or wrist seals. For winter dives (1 to 2 deg C water) I just add an extra layer of fleece underwear (non-scuba type) and a bit more lead to allow me to fluff the suit more. Sometimes the fleece shirt gets into a seal. A minor issue, but a high end skiing fleece is still way less $ than an additional dry-suit undergarment.

Everyone seems to have a favorite type of dry-suit and seal type. ...my comments are also just my preferences.

Some seals don't seem to work well on some people. I personally favor the thin latex seals, even my backup suit with a very loose neck seal stays dry. I had a buddy who constantly got leaks from his folded neoprene neck seal, ...when he rotated his head to either extreme. It seemed to open up a path along his neck tendons. When he switched to a dry-suit with latex seals he had no issues. The thinned latex seal can conform into neck grooves easier than a thicker folded neoprene seal. Having said that I also know dives love their neoprene seals.

When you do get a leak, first try to determine where it came from; neck, zipper, wrist or hole. Understanding where your problems are occurring will help you stay dry. Total upper body soaking is often the zipper. Wrist seals can also leak along tendons when you grab something underwater. So it helps to pull the wrist seal up your arm slightly, since tendon gaps occur closer to your wrists. ...make a tight fist and look at your inside forarm and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Rob

 

[Bubblesong]

Is wax still used in dry suit zippers as I have read about in the past?what type and how does that work if you do use wax in zippers?

 

[REP]

I always use bees wax or zipper wax on metal zippers, it helps a lot. It seems to be less of an issues on the plastic zippers, but I still add it occasionally. They defiantly move smoother with wax. Just drag the wax back and forth over the zipper teeth. ...anything thing that lengthens the life of a zipper is good. A zipper is one of the most expensive dry-suit repairs and one of the trickiest to DIY.

Rob

 

[Bubblesong]

So zipper wax is not used on newer plastic zippers? Do those zippers have a good wax or something similar?

 

[stuartv]

My Bare suit has a plastic Ti-zip zipper and came with a tube of Ti-zip lube. It's more like a grease than a wax.