Drysuit Question

[Pitchblack]

If you've never dived with a drysuit before i'd recommend you to take a 'class' in other means do the PADI Drysuit Diver speciality.

There is a couple of techniques you'll have to master to manage to dive safe with a drysuit, and it will be more enjoyable for sure.

*What to do if you get too much air in your leg area
*How to make the 'roll' in order to regain controll of an uncontrolled ascend.
*What to do if your inlet vent freefloods
*Beeing proactive with releasing air from the suit to prevent an uncontrolled ascend
*Also maintence of a drysuit, foldings and taking care of the chain and sealings etc.

It's a bit tricky at first but once you get your buoyancy in place there is no better feeling in the world! A little advice, dont be afraid of having air in your leg area, the proper amount will get you in a perfect hoover.

Best regards.

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

I went through your exact thought process about two years ago. I had a friend who had been diving dry for 10 years and I wanted him to show me the ropes. Ended up I couldn't rent a suit without the cert. I took the course and learned much more than I thought I would. There is a learning curve and the course helps to shorten it. In the begining they take more time to adjust to than one would think.

I say take the course and don't second guess your decision.

Have fun!

PH

 

[Peter Guy]

Rick, if you haven't done a feet first ascent, you are really missing something!

Now, to the OP -- good advice here. Diving in a DrySuit IS different from diving wet and I highly suggest some (in)formal instruction AND some practice in shallow water (where the buoyancy bubble is the greatest).

I've used 3 different suits on a regular basis and each dive just a little bit differently and it has taken me some time to be comfortable diving each one. There are some tricks to diving a drysuit and it is easier to learn them from someone who has "been there, done that."

 

[Sas]

Once you have your buoyancy control where it is comfortable, the dry suit is no big deal - especially if you are weighted correctly and don't your your dry suit for buoyancy.

I learned to dive mine on the internet (true ), by reading lots of threads about dry suit diving. Then I went out to a shallow area and practiced. I tried some of those legendary feet-first recoveries (something that has never happened in real life), and that was pretty easy, too. Sure there was a learning curve over the next handful of dives. And there is nothing wrong with getting formal training, or mentoring from an experienced dry suit diver. But I never lost control and did a out of control ascent, or a feet-first ascent. Of course, I used my BC for buoyancy, and only put a small amount of gas into my drysuit to eliminate squeeze, so there wasn't much gas in my suit to lose control of. If you are overweighted and then blast a bunch of gas into your drysuit for buoyancy, you might need intense formal training to overcome that buffoonery.

Otherwise, unless you still don't have control of basic buoyancy, IMHO, the drysuit is no big deal.

Again, that's just my opinion. YMMV.

I agree with this. I learned to dive dry mostly off the net too I am generally quite slow at learning new dive skills but had zero issues from the first time I jumped in the water with a drysuit. There was a former instructor at the shop who went through maintenance with us and told us what skills to practice (same as what I had read online), not a formal class as it was free, just a bit of advice. At the pier he handed us weight until we sunk. That was the extent of my "hands-on" training. Me and my buddy went off and practiced the drysuit skills and they were really very easy (and trust me, I am not a fast learner when it comes to practical dive skills!) Things went very smoothly and I have had no issues diving dry since (other than a few seal leaks due to moving wrist/neck too fast!). My buddy was the same. However, I know very experienced divers who've taken a while to adjust so it really varies. If you have any doubts at all about whether you are comfortable diving dry alone first time (I didn't, for example, so did not even think to take a class), take a class. Won't hurt. Often stores will throw in a class for free with a drysuit purchase so might not even cost you anything.

Good luck!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

+2 what Rick said.

If you are comfortable in the water and have solid buoyancy skills, learning on your own is fine and learning with an experienced dry suit diving mentor is great. A class is not required and in some cases is not even ideal.

As Rick indicated you will refine your technique over the first 20 or so dives, so the class is at best just a start anyway and won't make you an instant expert.

 

[Tigerman]

Once you have your buoyancy control where it is comfortable, the dry suit is no big deal - especially if you are weighted correctly and don't your your dry suit for buoyancy.

I learned to dive mine on the internet (true ), by reading lots of threads about dry suit diving. Then I went out to a shallow area and practiced. I tried some of those legendary feet-first recoveries (something that has never happened in real life), and that was pretty easy, too. Sure there was a learning curve over the next handful of dives. And there is nothing wrong with getting formal training, or mentoring from an experienced dry suit diver. But I never lost control and did a out of control ascent, or a feet-first ascent. Of course, I used my BC for buoyancy, and only put a small amount of gas into my drysuit to eliminate squeeze, so there wasn't much gas in my suit to lose control of. If you are overweighted and then blast a bunch of gas into your drysuit for buoyancy, you might need intense formal training to overcome that buffoonery.

Otherwise, unless you still don't have control of basic buoyancy, IMHO, the drysuit is no big deal.

Again, that's just my opinion. YMMV.

You probably had more than 6 dives tho?

Personally I dont have the DS cert card, but I did my first drysuit dives with experienced DS divers, amongst others my OW/AOWD instructor.
I DO use my DS for bouyancy - the little of it that you actually need as long as youre not way overweighted. You shouldnt need to use much more air than you need to remove squeeze as long as youre properly weighted..

 

[knight diver]

Take the class! You won't regret it.

Chris ssi instructor

 

[Rick Inman]

Rick, if you haven't done a feet first ascent, you are really missing something!

Hee hee! Maybe Saturday I'll try one under the ice.

You probably had more than 6 dives tho?

Tru dat.

 

[reo]

OK, total newbie question here. I recently completed my OW training and have a grand total of 6 dives. I have family and friends in the Seattle area and have seen that many people drysuit dive the Puget Sound. My question is, can I drysuit dive without any further training? Is there that much new info? Would I be better off to take some kind of class before I go out with someone? My gut says that I should take a class on drysuits, but I was just wondering if it is so different that it would be dangerous if I didn't.

I suggest you get training. With a drysuit you have another buoyancy source to contend with. In your training, you'll learn how to deal with situations unique to drysuits. A good drysuit course will include some time in a pool to get you comfortable using the drysuit and practice recovering from drysuit unique problems. Drysuit diving is different enough that a newly certified diver could easily get into trouble if he or she weren't trained for drysuit diving.

The good news is that drysuit training doesn't take long. Once you have your weighting and buoyancy control dialed in, drysuit diving is easy and most importantly, nice and warm. I dive Puget Sound year round with my drysuit, and I've never been cold underwater.

Ron