W W Meixner
Banned
A dry suit has more inherent buoyancy and for some tech instructors is considered a back up to BC failure. You gain lift from a dry suit, it's why you wear more weight.
There's a whole lot more to wing lift selection and at 5 OW dives, I wouldn't concern yourself too much yet. When you start diving steel doubles, know that you better be thinking about that.
If you want to dive a dry suit, rent one or try one in a pool - it's weird at first but really a great way to dive, just takes a small amount of skills and knowledge - that's why they have the class.
Hey Chuck...
First of all...I dive a drysuit full-time...one of my AOW specialties was dry-suit...
To me...a dry-suit is 90% proper fit...and 10% everything else...a properly fitting dry-suit should be no more buoyant...than a properly fitting 7mm one piece wet-suit...a two piece 7mm wet suit is far more buoyant than a properly fitting dry-suit...
It's not the suit that's buoyant...it's the trapped air...and a properly fitting dry-suit will not trap air...
The attached photo is my suit...and how my suit fits me...
With single HP steel 117's I use 12 pounds of ballast...with double HP steel 100's/117's no ballast...with my light-weight rebreathers...24 pounds of ballast...
During my dive the only time my wing has any gas is ''surface pre-descent...and surface post ascent''...otherwise my wing is empty and neutral trim is maintained by dry-suit gas only...I have an inflator hose plugged into my bailout bottle reg for dry-suit inflation...
Just me...the art is not in the suit...the art is a properly fitting suit...or load up with ballast...which is incorrect and dangerous...
Just me...
Best...Warren