First dry-suit experience...

[Justin Owen]

Blinkin flip...

Well, I got to try out all my shiny new equipment on Wednesday night in the pool - and all I can say is I was bloody knackered! After picking up BC control almost immediately and swimming round the pool in a shorty wetsuit almost salmon-like for 6 weeks, it was a massive shock being in a dry suit for the first time, and i'm still aching all over!

Biggest problem I had was dumping air from the suit, i've got a shoulder dump valve, but found it awkward rolling over and back to get the air to the dump, had to be careful not to let the weight of the cylinder pull me on to my back. Then there's the <ahem> feet in the air situation, jeez thats hard work to get out of (or it may have been 'cause I had to do it so many times - on purpose of course!).

Anyway, i'll be having a few more practices in the pool before i hit open water, and I will be getting myself some ankle weights me thinks!

[Gavin Yates]

Justin - don't do the ankle weights! You honestly don't need 'em. Just practice and practice again.

Diving a drybag in a pool is more difficult that in open water IMHO.

I was diving recently with someone with ankle weights on and watched them bicycle through the water stirring up sh*te like nobodies business.

Ankle weights cause bad body position and they make finnig harder.

I'm sure someone on here will be a devotee but I've seen too many people with 'em struggle.

[MATTBIN]

Agree with Gavin there.
I bought a suit pre-Xmas and struggled (still do a bit) but I really dont like the idea of trying to fin with extra lead on my legs. My suit has neoprene lined boots so has even more of a tendency to 'float' but I am determined to not use weights if I dont have to. Have a few goes in Open water before you decide, but remember buoyancy is most difficult near the surface (to about 6/10m IMHO).
Matt

[Justin Owen]

Thanks for the advice - thats one of the problems with our pool, only 7ft at the "deep" end... The diving officer seems quite keen to get me open water now i've got all my kit, so i may get to try things in slightly deeper water next weekend!

Cool, i've got two balls...! (And I mean by my pic/name on the left!)

[MATTBIN]

If your dry-suit leaks you'll have two frozen balls!
I didnt much like my dry suit when I first dived with it, now I want to sleep in it.
Have fun.
Matt

(Edited by MATTBIN at 12:26 pm on Feb. 21, 2003)

[daz]

You will probably find this whole idea of rolling in the water to dump air less hassle in open water anyway.  If you have a standard shoulder autodump you will find that as you descend you will be adding little squirts of air on the way down until neutral.  When ascending you will normally be in a head up position and it will dump anyway (Keep practicing those inversion exercises ;) ).

Also inversion exercises are more difficult in a 7ft pool where your legs have a tendancy to flap above the water.

When you do get chance to do your first OW dive in the drysuit I would find a buddy who is pretty switched on, go somewhere reasonably shallow 5m ish and get them to go fairly negatively bouyant, hold onto a convenient part of you ;) and then you can practice your inversion exercise again.

Daz

[Dr Stevil]

IME, there's nowt wrong with using "manacles" until you've got a bit of experience, just like stabilisers on your first bike, but don't hang on to the "crutches" too long.
Last year I had a trainee who had some serious "feet " issues, used leg irons for a while but seemed happy enough without them last time I saw him
Chee-az
Steve

[Gavin Yates]

Point taken Steve - I'll bow to your instructing experience on this one.

Fi used ankle weights for a while but that was to compensate for too big boots - since she got the boots changed the manacles came off.

I think that not enough time is spent during O/W training on the importance of body position. It's a skill like anything else and assists in so many ways.

[Mdemon]

Big boots caused me to get (make) myself some ankle weights.  Bits of lead piping, nice and cheap, all described on another thread somewhere.

Went to the Red Sea some weeks back, and didn't take the weights.  Found, to my delight, that I didn't need them!

However, on my return, when diving with a lot more insulation, I found that I was more prone to floaty feet - I think due to the increase in air volume in suit.  Managed OK, but did the last dive with the leg irons and did find life easier.  The Jury is still out for me, but if you can avoid them, do so.

I find venting air is also a pain, although the autodump works well enough at depth.  I use my wing for buoyancy for the first five or six meters, then thereafter use the suit.  This means that I know I can dump air quickly from my wing if I have to and won't go screaming to the surface uncontrollably.  You'll find that the biggest problems come above 5 or so metres, and this is the range to hone your skills first, IMHO.  

Most people seem to use just the DS once they've perfected their buoyancy control, and this seems to be something to aim for.  There is a great thread on here with lots of tips for correcting floaty feet, "kicking out" of trouble and inversion handling. I think it's titled "Dry suit course".  Have a look, and best of luck.  Dry suits are great, but do take some getting used to.

[Pierre Farrugia]

Hello,
I think I am the expert on this subject,...wait..let me explain, as I said many times I dive in a wet suit but due to extended range dives I changed to a drysuit and was shocked, as if I started to dive from scretch. I use a membrane drysuit and felt very restricted compared to my lovely 5mm. Now with some practice and some help from this forum I am getting used to it. Also as my suit have gaters in the legs I don't have problems even if inverted, I only feel the boots expanding and nothing else. Another problem I had was putting too much lead which made my diving horrible, so best practice with a buddy and ask advise, I don't think there you should have a problem asking about drysuits compared to here Malta where only few use them.
Good luck