Not going by feel - how, then? Tips? Tricks?

[Michael Guerrero]

I dive reasonably cold water all year round (39 degrees at the bottom of the lake in Jul). I think drygloves are overrated and my hands are warmer with my 5mms than my dry gloves if I don't move my fingers that much.

I put my spg under my armpit...probably gonna die, but whatever. And I do this carrying stages...no problems and still faster than the hip.

I dump from my inflator hose because going head down in my drysuit to dump out my tail is a pain in the butt. But you can dump your drysuit and wing at the same time by turning to your left a bit .

Digging crap out of my pockets...yeah...right. If it's not my spare mask then everything is coming out to find anything.

---------- Post added November 4th, 2014 at 09:33 PM ----------

I'm still trying to get my machinist to make a few more of those tail pieces for several interested parties.

I'm still one of them.

---------- Post added November 4th, 2014 at 09:39 PM ----------

If you have gone all DIR and removed the ball on the string

Instead of removing the ball, you can just make the leash really short so the ball is as close up against the opv as possible. That way you have something to grab but you don't have to worry about entanglement.

---------- Post added November 4th, 2014 at 09:45 PM ----------

Hrmf. IIRC, I can get about four to five good quality boltsnaps for the price of one pair of drygloves, so going dry is prolly cheaper than changing all my boltsnaps. Wasn't too motivated for another spending spree, tho'...

You can get good bolt snaps for $4 or $5 each. Moving to drygloves, even the ones with just the wrist seals on blue gloves is at least $70. Are you better off going dry or getting bigger clips?

---------- Post added November 4th, 2014 at 09:46 PM ----------

I've got the Halcyon weight pockets with a D-ring sewn onto the left one.

There's your problem

---------- Post added November 4th, 2014 at 09:48 PM ----------

I prefer to check my gear before the dive starts.

I do this too.

Let your buddy check yours.

I don't do this.

---------- Post added November 4th, 2014 at 09:54 PM ----------

The SPG clipped to the chest D-ring is probably a no-go for me. I'm getting rather presbyopic these days (+2 from my distance vision), so even my backup PDC - a Suunto Stinger on my wrist - is a bit of a pain to read. Even with progressive contacts; in low light I struggle to see close even if the prescription is as correct as techically possible (I'm also somewhat astigmatic, and they don't make progressives with astigmatism correction). Besides, I clip my camera rig to my right chest D-ring...

You can get lasik or PRK correction for just one eye (to improve your near vision) so you can see distance and near.

 

[Storker]

my apologies...

For what? The coldest I've ever dived is -10C air, 3C surface, 4C bottom, and I dive only in water that I don't have to make hole in before I enter. So compared to certain others in this thread, I AM a warm water wuss. I mean, we still have some 8-10 balmy degrees in the sea here!

My dexterityproblem with drygloves went away when I found the correct size (And they do feel way too small on land).

Good tip, thanks!



---------- Post added November 5th, 2014 at 07:49 AM ----------

Anyway, quite a few tips to think about from most of the posters in this thread. I'll try some of them out next time (which will be on Diversnight tomorrow, BTW )

 

[industrious95]

What do you attach to that?

R..

I put all my "every dive" stuff on it. Safety sausage, whistle, finger reel are connected to D rings on my harness belt. Here's a link to the item on the mftr's website: Gear Clip

Here's my gear setup:

game bag, lift bag, reel/flashlight, spare flashlight, etc....



Here's a little closer view of the D ring extender.

 

[Rich Keller]

Get rid of the bolt snaps and replace them with mountain climbing carabiners. They are larger, easier to find and work with. You can also get them with locking gates if you prefer but that should not be nessary. Make sure your D rings are in a fixed position and practice until you have established muscle memory.