Will drysuit diving suck less soon?

[IceBergSlim]

Bought a DUI clx 450 and tried it out today in OW- (Padi Course-Passed). Overall I had no real problems but it does irk me somewhat that I feel like a new cat under the water. As a wetsuit diver I was just starting to feel like a badass...Now I feel like a newbie!. Please tell me your learning curve on Drysuits. I would very much like to attain my previous diver skills with this new gear . What I am most interestend in is how long it took you to feel comfortable again with your Bouyancy. Again, I say that I had no problems with the Dry Suit today. I just wanted some info on other divers experience with the afored mentioned device. My next dry dives will be in a very remote location and therefore I look for whatever advice yall can provide. Thanks in advance, DG

 

[JohnF]

The first couple of dives sucked. After about 5 dives I forgot I was wearing a drysuit. The biggest problem then is remembering not to pee. Keep the faith.

JF

 

[Northeastwrecks]

After 5 - 10 dives, I felt like comfortable enough to resume my normal dives. I don't even notice it anymore.

At this point, I only dive wet when I'm someplace tropical.

 

[IceBergSlim]

keep the advice comming..Wanna love my 3K$ investment..

 

[JohnF]

"keep the advice coming..Wanna love my 3K$ investment.."

Don't worry. You will. Just be patient and don't push it. Learn to use it properly and you'll suddenly be comfortable, and happy.

JF

 

[GearHead]

After 4 dives in my drysuit, it felt like second nature. And part of what helped me was the advice of a friend to add as little gas to the suit as I needed to relieve squeeze. It feels a lot better to not have a big bubble in your suit to manage on the way back up.

 

[double125's]

I guess I would owe a big thanks to everyone on this board. I just got mine and did 2 training dives in it(less than an hour total) and never skipped a beat. I put the dump valve all the way counter-clockwise then add very little air. Dont even notice a difference except maybe a little more drag. My only concern is I am a little damp when I surface. I cant figure if it is just sweat or if I have a slight leak somwhere. My neck seal seams to be tight and my wrist seals are untouched so they are nice and snug. I am diving in 81 degree water and its 79 at depth (max depth in it so far is 40 ft.) I dove it the first time with shorts and a t-shirt then I tried it with thermals. Sorry for getting off subject by I am excited about my new purchase as well.
Even though I am comfortable enough to resume normal diving I am enjoying taking it slow. The key is to practice every drill known to man in it then go deeper. You need to know how you are going to react to a situation before it arises. Good luck and enjoy doing it dry.

 

[Soggy]

double125's once bubbled...
My only concern is I am a little damp when I surface. I cant figure if it is just sweat or if I have a slight leak somwhere.

If you have a neoprene neck seal and move your head around a lot, you may be letting in a bit of water. With the temperature that warm, you wouldn't notice it.

I've found that with my neoprene neck seal, I'm a little damp, too. Some of it is perspiration pre-dive, some of it is condensation caused by moving from 80 degree 80% humidity to 45 degrees, and some of it is 45 degree salt water that gets let in if I look down too far.

 

[Uncle Pug]

double125's once bubbled...
I am diving in 81 degree water and its 79 at depth (max depth in it so far is 40 ft.) I dove it the first time with shorts and a t-shirt then I tried it with thermals.

Without an UG I would think that you would need to add a bubble of air to the suit to keep from getting permanent suit hickies!

Diving a bubble is no good so I can see why you added the thermals... but then how did you stand the heat???

I think I would die of heat exhaustion if I had to live in a place that had air temps in the 80s for very long... much less put on a drysuit and dive in water that hot!

 

[double125's]

Thanks soggy but mine are latex seals. I guess I am just going to have to dive it some more, Darn. My only problem is finding time to dive it. I am going to try and dive on tues then my nitrox class is on sat. saturday afternoon I should be able to put about 3 hours on it in lake medina (much better than lake amistad). Tuesdays dive I am going to try and take it deep and see the resaults. By deep I am expecting no more than 80 ft. I still cant get out there soon enough.
Sorry if I hijacked your thread