debdiver:
Just get your trim right. That should solve it.
IMHO... folks that use their BC underwater just never figured out their trim and use the BC as a crutch. If it works, go for it. But if you are weighted properly and you have good boyancy control, you will not need much air in your drysuit to stay neutral.
Don't forget, back to basics here, but your boyancy is controlled by ALL your airspaces. Even if you just "use" your BC underwater, there is some air in your drysuit. In another thread some one joked that the air in your drysuit doesn't know how NOT to be part of your boyancy.
Um ... no. The point is to use as little gas in your drysuit as you need for warmth.
I learned to use my drysuit for buoyancy, and did it that way for several hundred dives. I think I can comfortably say I was pretty darn good at it.
However ... when I started using my wing for buoyancy, I came to realize that using my drysuit had some inherent limitations.
When you want to invert to peer under a ledge, all the air in your drysuit migrates to your boots.
When you want to barrel roll, the air in your drysuit is going to vent out your dump valve as your left side rotates upward.
When you want to flip over on your back and peer at something above you, the air migrates to your chest and legs, making proper trim more difficult.
None of those things happen when you're using your BCD for trim ... or more accurate I guess would be to say the air migration is less, making proper trim more efficient.
Diving is about more than just getting horizontal and staying there. It's a 3-D experience. Although I was able do all the things I mentioned above while using my drysuit for buoyancy, I have to say it's far easier and more stable with less air in the drysuit, and a little air in the wing.
It's not about "using a crutch" ... it's about using the best tool for the job.
And Boogie's right ... this is the DIR forum. We should not be promoting non-DIR methods here.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)