What requires more weight: wetsuit or drysuit

[Shasta_man]

Quick question: what requires more added weight: using a 7MM wetsuit or a drysuit

I'm thinking of taking a drysuit class and initially thought it might lower the weighting requirements from being less buoyancy than the wetsuit, but now I realize the whole suit is buoyant.

Compared to diving a 7MM wetsuit here in CA, when you use a drysuit, do you reduce/stay the same/increase the weight you have to carry to get neutrally buoyant?

Thanks.

 

[j yaeger]

freshwater i'm 24# in a 2pc 7mm with a steel 72
i'm 32# with all my undies in a tri-lam and steely
i am oh so much happier in cold water,dry than wet!!!!!
i split my weight up between weightbelt and bc-makes life better!!!!!
i can't wait for the water to get back up to 50* though
much more agile and streamlined in a wetsuit than a dry!!!!
have fun
yaeg

 

[mathauck0814]

All else being equal, you'll wear more weight with a drysuit.

 

[fdog]

My experience is that "equivalent warmth" in a drysuit is about the same weight.

However, most wetsuits are actually quite cold....hence a thin layer of undergarments in a drysuit, that makes you about as cold as a wetsuit, doesn't take much weight.

Since all it takes is adding thicker undies to make you toasty warm, and toasty warm is soooo tempting, most generally find themselves adding more weight. How much weight is a matter of cold tolerance and body size.

As a generality, I carry about 12 to 14 lbs more lead in a drysuit for MoCal (Monterey) waters.


All the best, James

 

[boulderjohn]

Although you will wear more weight with a dry suit, during the dive the effect on you will be more like having less weight. I know that sounds crazy, and maybe I didn't say it exactly right, but let me explain.

A thick wet suit is very buoyant on the surface, so you will need a pretty fair amount of weight, as others have described, to descend and (later) to hold a safety stop on ascent. When you are actually doing your dive, though, the suit compresses considerably. That not only means you will get less thermal protection during that part of the dive, it also means you need less weight. Since you can't hand off your excess weight to a waiter (weighter?) when you reach depth and then get it back when you ascend, you have no choice but to be overweighted during the working part of your dive.

In contrast, although a dry suit does require more weight, its buoyancy is constant throughout the dive. Because you add air to it during the dive, its buoyancy is constant. The weight you need for the descent and ascent is the weight you need for the rest of the dive as well. If you are properly weighted, you will be properly weighted throughout the dive.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I am +6 lbs when I dive dry compared to a 7MM FJ+Jacket

The big difference I found was if I underweight a few lbs in a thick wetsuit I can cheat and dive down, the neoprene compresses and all is good.

If I underweight in my dry suit, I suffer squeeze the entire dive which is not comfortable. I quickly learned to error on the slightly heavy side.

 

[limeyx]

yes, compared to a 7MM wetsuit in general in California, you will use more lead in a drysuit (but you can also be significantly warmer)

When I dove 7MM wet in Socal (very few dives like that ! Way too cold!) I used 14 pounds of lead (approximately)
Going to a tri-laminate drysuit, I went to around 20-24 pounds of lead (with undergarments sufficient for temps 52-59F -- for me)

Going to a thicker undergarment for NorCal would add more lead yet again.

If you have a thicker drysuit (say a compressed neoprene), then I dont have too much info for you.
You get more warmth from the suit itself (so you can wear thinner undergarments) but you will also need a bit more lead to sink the suit so it may be a wash.

Also, everyone is build differently. I get cold very easily so I wear thick UG's
If you are used to a wetsuit, you may find you dont need as thick undergarments at first and dont need as much lead (until your blood thins out from all the warm diving of course

 

[boulderjohn]

Since all it takes is adding thicker undies to make you toasty warm, and toasty warm is soooo tempting, most generally find themselves adding more weight. How much weight is a matter of cold tolerance and body size.

When I was visiting in Seattle and dived Puget Sound,that temptation drove me to wear the thickest undies I had ever worn. I was absolutely shocked at how much lead I needed to submerge. On the other hand, after a one hour night dive, I was sweating slightly, so using up all the lead in that region for the dive was worth it.

 

[fdog]

<snip> Since you can't hand off your excess weight to a waiter (weighter?) when you reach depth and then get it back when you ascend, you have no choice but to be overweighted during the working part of your dive.

<snip>

I hope you don't mind but I am soooo stealing this!


Ha ha ha! <snaps fingers above head> "Weighter? Oh, weighter? We need another 2 pounds over here at the 30' stop, please"

Priceless.


All the best, James

 

[boulderjohn]

I hope you don't mind but I am soooo stealing this!
Ha ha ha! <snaps fingers above head> "Weighter? Oh, weighter? We need another 2 pounds over here at the 30' stop, please"

I would love to claim it, but I got it from one of my students Saturday. I was explaining the same thing as I did in the post, and I used the word "waiter." It was the student who pointed out the pun.