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I'm glad you said this about dry gloves. I've been wondering about them. Having never actually even seen dry gloves ( everybody I know with a drysuit uses wet gloves) so I wasn't sure if dry gloves are more trouble than their worth.I know if I was doing longer dives they would certainly be necessary.I got certified in a dry suit . . . and I still think diving in a thin wetsuit is cheating.
I started out using my BC for buoyancy and suit only for squeeze, but over the years, I've migrated to "as much gas in the dry suit as possible" for maximal warmth. I leave the valve open (unless they're Apeks valves, which have to be clicked a couple of clicks closed, or they leak). If my trim is good, I can compensate for up to an HP 100 with just the suit (doubles requires the use of the wing as well).
I also vote in favor of dry gloves. Not only are they warmer, but they're MUCH easier to get on and off.
It's funny -- once you get accustomed to the dry suit, it doesn't bug you as much. Over the last seven years, I've gone from diving wet in a thin suit in warm water, to a thick suit and hooded vest, and finally, I've just gone dry. I'm so used to the suit that the differences just don't matter any more, and I love being warm.
I've been thinking about getting some for my drysuit because I hate wet gloves but my fingers haven't really ever been cold with the wet gloves ( even when i used to dive Puget Sound wet) so I wasn't sure if it was worth it.
Are there any good references that have good pictures and explanations of how dry gloves actually work?
---------- Post Merged at 10:37 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 10:25 AM ----------
I wonder if it's better to learn diving dry early in a dive career? Less frustrating, at least? Seems like I felt a lot like you and still have a ways to go.I can emphasize with the OP's drysuit learning experience. It is also my most expensive dive gear purchase to date. I don't own a scooter, yet, so the drysuit is the most expensive gear I own.
I struggled with my HUGE drysuit learning curve for over two dozen dives. I mistakenly thought I could handle a doubles class and a new drysuit at the same time and ended up with the instructor spending more time stopping my "sudden" ascents than teaching the class. Talk about an ego crushing weekend of doubles class. If not for the patience of my instructor or my wonderful classmate who was also my regular dive buddy at the time, I would have sold the damn drysuit and remained a wet suit diver after that horrible doubles class.
I spent the remainder of that year diving dry whenever possible to get use to the gas movement through the suit and anticipate when to vent. Everyone who dove with me that first year I was learning in my drysuit deserves some kind of humanitarian award for putting up with my sudden ascents. It was painful for me but more so for my patient buddies.
I knew I wanted to take cave training so had to get comfortable diving a drysuit. I also knew there were many more cold water destinations I wanted to dive. I successfully took a cave class in my drysuit the following year, a feat I never would have imagined possible a year earlier when I was yo-yo diving and turtling underwater in my drysuit.
I just returned from a trip where I was lucky enough to dive Vancouver Island and the Seattle-area sites. I cannot imagine doing those long cold dives wet as it would have compromised the dives for my buddy/buddies and I. Still hate my blue Smurf gloves because of the reduced dexterity but love them for the warmth they provide.
I do not use my drysuit for buoyancy. I only add gas to take the squeeze out of the suit. I am in the "always open vent" camp.
Unfortunately, until the air temperatures get a little bit below 105, I simply can't stand to practice in my drysuit. I don't tolerate heat, at all. I've had several heat injuries and really don't need to add any more.
This winter, though, hoping to spend a lot of time on my drysuit skills in the pool and lake.
How bad is the pool chlorine for the drysuit?