Drysuit or BCD which to use for BC

[sibermike7]

I am a long time diver but only recently started diving dry. O.K. admittedly I am a little (ignore the snorting in the background as my wife chokes over the "a little" part) bull-headed. The course I took was PADI and PADI recommends using the suit for buoyancy control (BC). Now I am thinking to myself, "That's stupid."

First of all, what in the world do I have a wing or BCD for if not for BC!! What? Just a place to hang my other junk? I know, I know, "in case of catastrophic suit failure, I'll need it to remain afloat on the surface." Baloney. If I had a catastrophic suit failure and could not get to safety with all my junk, ditching weight would make me plenty buoyant in my 7mm neoprene suit!

Secondly, I rather like having a consistent amount of air in my suit and regulating the buoyancy with the BC. This allows me to be comfortable the entire dive and I am just bull-headed enough to just go ahead and use the BCD in spite of the course materials.

O.K. what am I missing here? WHY oh WHY does PADI instruct divers to use the suit for BC in the first place? I mean, why didn't they say why you should use the suit instead of the BCD?

Am I the only one that wants to know why? Am I wrong in my opinion about just saying, "Forget the stupid book, I'm using the BCD to maintain my BC"?

Oh, and 1 more stupid/goofy thing. After reading through the course materials and passing the knowledge reviews we headed to the pool for the first "wet" session. First thing we do is hook-unhook the hoses. next the instructor has me drop to the bottom and do the fin-tip pivot and his instructions were to use alternating short blasts of inflation with the BCD and suit. Huh??? Why in the world am I trying to adjust my buoyancy in the pool using both the BCD and suit if I am suppose to only use my suit in the wild? STUPID! Then I had to hover. Again, "short bursts alternating suit and BCD." What for???? I have a GREAT instructor and I am pretty sure that he is following the instructions laid down by PADI. Why would they tell you one thing in the book and have you demonstrate a skill contrary to that teaching??? Stupid if you ask me!!

Please enlighten me you SB gurus and tell me what I am missing!

 

[Land Locked]

My instructor advised we use the suit, the written materials with the course recommended using the bc. Don't ask, I didn't either. I found it is easier to control the air in my bc while adding just enough gas to the suit to avoid pinch...YMMV.

 

[ianr33]

I use my drysuit for buoyancy as much as I use my BC for warmth.

 

[tstormdiver]

I started out learning to use the suit for buoyancy control. As I have moved towards technical diving, I have learned to go back to the BC/ BP/W. Now I only put in enough air to get rid of some of the squeeze & to help loft the undergarments for warmth. Any more, I will use my drysuit only for emergency back- up buoyancy control.

 

[Tigerman]

I mainly use the suit, but on deeper dives I add some air to the BC to avoid having too much air in the suit.

Wether you use BC only, suit only or both is pretty much personal preference and might also have different pros and cons in different enviroments..

 

[sibermike7]

I use my drysuit for buoyancy as much as I use my BC for warmth.

 

[sibermike7]

might also have different pros and cons in different enviroments..

Would love to hear 'em!

 

[tgsmith]

There's good reason. Maybe PADI doesn't want divers getting confused in an emergency with which buoyancy source needs to be dumped. My friend from Massachusetts(cold water for our non-US divers) was taught, and still does, use the suit for buoyancy first. From his background, I can see it being reasonable. He's not diving in a physical overhead, so his trim can be slightly head up in order to keep the air bubble shifting to the feet. Also, this would provide a lot more warmth vs. how I do it, which is definitely much more valuable in low-30's open water than awesome horizontal trim required for physical overheads. By this time, he's got so much air in the suit it is compensating for his negative buoyancy so there isn't a need in the first place to use the BC.

Where I dive, that's not a choice. Well, it is and isn't. My local diving is also in the same Labrador current that Massachusetts is, but much warmer. I only put enough in my suit to take off the squeeze, then add to the BC for buoyancy. If I'm cold towards the end of the dive, I'll put some more in the suit and dump a little from the BC, but I don't go about using the suit as my primary buoyancy source either way. When I go cave diving, it's the same. I don't think a huge air bubble would work out so well in there......

 

[Tigerman]

Would love to hear 'em!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4030502-post86.html
How about starting there?
Shouldnt pose much trouble to find other "pros and cons"...

...
He's not diving in a physical overhead, so his trim can be slightly head up in order to keep the air bubble shifting to the feet.
...

You dont need to be head up in a DS to avoid air flowing to your feet..

 

[tgsmith]

You dont need to be head up in a DS to avoid air flowing to your feet..

Let me know how you fair cave diving while using your dry suit as your buoyancy compensator. If your feet are the highest point, the air will go to that highest point. Are you actually trying to argue that? Damn people on the internet will stop at nothing......