Miserable Westsuit Experience

[Scuba-Blue-13]

I am normally a warm water Caribbean diver - skins and 8lbs of weight with no air in my BCD and my buoyancy is near perfect.

This past weekend I decided to try some local diving, which required the use of a 7mm wetsuit, hood, and gloves.

I knew going in it was going to be a little more difficult due to the buoyancy and compression of the wetsuit and the addition of about 20lbs of weight, but I had no idea it was going to be as difficult as it was.

I felt I needed to overweight by a few pounds in order to get down under 15-20', but once I dropped below 30' I seemed to require what I considered to be a SIGNIFICANT amount of air in my BCD to stop sinking. I was able to level out at depth, but on ascent as I reached the 20' mark I couldn't dump air fast enough to not bottle rocket to the surface.

Kicker is when I did my buoyancy check at the surface, I was nearly perfectly weighted.

Is there a trick to adjusting to the compression / decompression of a wetsuit to make it easier?

Over 2 days I just couldn't get comfortable with it, to the point where in my mind today I will never try diving a wetsuit again.

Any advice from the diving gods would be appreciated.

 

[njdiverjoe]

If you keep diving it you will get used to it. The key is to detect those small changes in buoyancy and anticipating when you will need to add/vent air before getting too positive or negative.

 

[Texasguy]

Similarly, you'll probably will drop a bit of weight as you'll get used to such diving.

 

[TMHeimer]

If you used a relatively new wetsuit the "compression" of it is greater than an old beat up one. I had to add several pounds with my newer one to descend.

 

[PfcAJ]

There's no substitute for a proper weight check.

Empty tank, 15ft, empty BC. However much weight you need to be neutral, nothing more.

 

[Kharon]

I have a horrible time diving up here in central NY lakes. Both the insulation and the dive flag are my nemesis. I hate them!!!!! Up here I dive with small tanks because the constriction of the wetsuit and weight just wears me out so I really can't handle an 80cf. I also consider the line from the dive flag to be the most serious hazard I will ever encounter.

Diving in the caribbean in shorts and a t-shirt I can easily handle an 80cf, multiple times a day.

 

[Texasguy]

Please don't try with an empty tank. Have enough air for the user and for wing expansion, in case one is too heavy.

 

[mcohen1021]

Soak the wetsuit prior to putting it on

 

[PfcAJ]

Please don't try with an empty tank. Have enough air for the user and for wing expansion, in case one is too heavy.

ok "near empty tank".

Dont drown yourself.

 

[49north]

Welcome to cold water diving!