Some Basic Questions about Seals and Weighting

[guyharrisonphoto]

Hi, the DUI manual says to place the wrist seals "above" the wrist bones. Does this mean towards the hand, or towards the forearm from the wrist bone. I may be dense, but am a little confused on that.

Also, I have not yet trimmed my neck seal. The portion that is too narrow "rolls" down on the outside, but the seal is still comfortable once it reaches the appropriate area and it was dry in my pool test at home. Will this cause a problem with leaks until I get it dialed in and know exactly where I want to trim it?

On weighting, I am going to dial in my suit with various tanks and undergarments. When I get the tanks, I am going to get them with 600-800 psi so that they are at their maximum bouyancy. This is how I dialed in my wetsuit, and is this the same way to dial in the drysuit?

By the way, I am not using the drysuit for bouyancy, but only with just enough air to eliminate the squeeze and provide warmth, will be using my wing for buoyancy.

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[MSltr]

They mean towards your elbow. If you make a fist, you'll notice your skin collapse around the tendons in your wrist. I always place my wrist seals above (towards elbow) to reduce the risk of water seeping though the compressed area of your wrist. I'm assuming you have a latex neck seal. The advice often given is to remove a little at a time until you get past the gaging/choking effect. It won't leak if it is tight. Better yet, attend a DUI Dog Day and try their neck and wrist seal sizes until you find the one that works for you.

You weight yourself for making a level safey stop at 15' with at least 500 psi. I think you'll find out that you'll end up adding more air for comfort to offset compression due to change in depth, and the consequence is that will decrease the amount of air you need to add to your BC for buoyancy.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Thanks very much for that advice. That is why one of my wrists seeped when I first tested it. The narrow part of my neck seal rolls over so no gagging effect, so I will begin trimming after the dive until it seems just right.

I will be able to test my weighting in a protected shore dive at 15' and I am getting the tanks already at 600-800 psi. I will put enough air to feel warm and adjust my weight/trim that way. I will play with adjusting the exhaust valve to hold different volumes of air in the suit, but my inclination is to the minimum air possible in the suit.

 

[KathyIGH]

Great reply MSltr.

Just another note on the neck seal. They usually feel more comfortable in the water.

Thanks,

Kathy