It's all good - so much to see underwater and there is something for everyone!J...
Point taken...
W.W...
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It's all good - so much to see underwater and there is something for everyone!J...
Point taken...
W.W...
One thing I had on my old drysuit was a pee zipper. That was very handy to have especially when coming up from a dive and needing to pee really bad. No need to get fully out of the suit.???
The inflator and exhaust valves aren't "accessories", they're standard equipment on a drysuit, like the pedals and the steering wheel is on a car. And the suit hose comes with the suit, just unscrew one of the LP port plugs from your 1st stage and screw in the suit hose.
And you don't need a pee valve, nor do you need to glue a condom catheter to your junk to dive dry. I know very few non-tech divers who bother with that, we just make sure not to over-hydrate and to take a leak not too long before we zip up. Most of us are able to hold it for an hour or so, which is the typical run time for a rec dive in these waters. I have much less problems holding it in my drysuit than I have if I'm diving wet in warmer water.
Not all cold water diving is in fresh water. British Columbia rivals tropical reefs with its diversity and color. The size of the animals there are what amazed me the first time I dived there.Wolf eels with human size heads, octopus that could stretch out their arms over a car, etc.I know exactly what I'm missing and have no regrets. I like to dive to see the wonders of natural sealife underwater- not lifeless shipwrecks. No offense to those who do enjoy that type of diving - it's just not of interest to me
Beautiful stuff - maybe, someday, I’ll give it a try but there are so many warmer destinations to hit first for me - including Palau, Raja Ampat (and many trips to see all of that), Philippines, Maldives, Socorro and maybe Cocos. Next trip outside of the Caribbean is Fiji next August!Not all cold water diving is in fresh water. British Columbia rivals tropical reefs with its diversity and color. The size of the animals there are what amazed me the first time I dived there.Wolf eels with human size heads, octopus that could stretch out their arms over a car, etc.
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And you don't need a pee valve, nor do you need to glue a condom catheter to your junk to dive dry. I know very few non-tech divers who bother with that, we just make sure not to over-hydrate and to take a leak not too long before we zip up. Most of us are able to hold it for an hour or so, which is the typical run time for a rec dive in these waters. I have much less problems holding it in my drysuit than I have if I'm diving wet in warmer water.
There is so much drama around the pee valve, most of it unnecessary. .
I have one on my brand new suit too. Very handy for rear entry models, lets me keep the suit zipped up all day long.One thing I had on my old drysuit was a pee zipper.
As for dry suits vs. wet suits, the first thing to remember is that a proper wet suit for our conditions is 7mm farmer john plus jacket, giving you 14mm over the core.
I dove a wetsuit for my open waters many years ago in March on the Sunshine Coast, and then for the entire spring & summer until Aug when I took my AOW and then bought my first drysuit. After the OW, the spring/summer was all diving in Lake Minnewanka AB, which is a glacier fed VERY COLD lake year-round. <brrrr>
The thing about wetsuits that I found is they are just fine for 1 dive. It's the surface interval that starts chilling you, and then the second dive is misery. Also (don't ask how I know) - the worst thing you can do with a wetsuit is get in a hot tub to warm up between dives wearing the wetsuit. The dive after is almost guaranteed hypothermia because all the blood vessels are wide open thanks to the hot tub.
Would I dive wetsuit again in our waters? Nope. First, I like being dry. I love drygloves (no wrinkled fingertips). I love changing from dry undergarments. I'm also too old to like the cold anymore. Heck - I even have a heated vest that I'm about to use tomorrow (first time since last winter). I dove last Tuesday and it was just too cold to go without it anymore this year.
Unnecessary is the operative word.
I have never had the need for any of that specialized equipment, in forty-plus years of diving in cold water with either dry or wetsuits. A bit of proper planning; regularly hitting the head; and that dry air and activity causing vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) to kick in, solves a myriad of problems, regardless of water temperature.
All of that glad-handing old crap about "planning your dive" and "diving your plan" doesn't extend to preemptively taking a leak before hitting the water?
Further, any lengthy ride back, in either truck or boat, doesn't reek like the f**king urinal troughs at Pac Bell Park . . .