Suit Squeeze

[BigG]

Hi all - I just finished my Drysuit course this weekend and Im not too impressed with them (at the moment).

Here's some info on my dives:

Dive 1. 18m. 3mm Crushed neoprene, shoulder dump. Quilted undersuit. 16KG weight. Boyancy OK but started to feel light towards the end of the dive. Inflator vale seemed to be "all or nothing" with the air. Suit felt tight around my legs mostly.

Dive 2. 10m. 3mm Crushed neoprene, shoulder dump. Quilted undersuit. 16KG weight.
Bouyancy appalling. after 5 mins under water any adding of air made ascend (dodgy inflator??). Called the dive after 30 mins as I felt shrinkwrapped and any air in the suit casued me to become uncontrollable.

Dive 3. 10m. Membrane, cuff dump. Quilted undersuit. 16KG weight.
Boyancy was OK for the whole 40mins. Inflator seemed to work better.
Legs still felt squeezed (maybe a bit timid with inflation after dive 2).

Throughout all 3 dives I felt "uncomfortably squeezed" but I was told that you have to accept a certain amount of Squeezing, so my questions to you good people are

1. how much squeeze should there be (if any)
2. was the problem down to the rented suits (i.e. a MTM suit will eliminate squeeze?)
3. Was I over/underweighted (dive off 14 with a semi-dry in the sea)
4. Was I being over cautious with the suit inflation


I wasn't expecting to dive like the Michellen man , but I didn't think that there would be this amount of discomfort.

All comments appreciated

Gaz

[CotoChris]

16kg is a lot of lead, You say you normally use 14kg, I still reckon that a lot but then I don't know what you look like.

My first few dives with a dry suit were quite uncomfortable. It sounds as if you were aprehensive in adding air to reduce the squeeze. Suit squeeze is not not a laugh at all, if you ccan't remove the squeeze by adding more air than maybe it is small.

[stewbie]

Hmm, think that the answers to your questions will allways be - your mileage may vary!!

A certain amount of squeeze is going to be unavoidable, and yep - in my experience it is the legs that get the most of it. Having said that, I'd rather a bit of leg squeeze than an inverted ascent. The legs (probably) get the worst of it as most people (apart from the YD dive gods) seem to swim slightly head up, so the air naturally rises, and also if you have a weight belt on, it can stop the air bubble moving down to your legs.

Can't talk about MTM reducing it - haven't got a made to measure suit. I do have to say though that drysuit diving certainly does grow on you, albeit it is slightly more task loading than wetsuit, as you've found out!

[CotoChris]

Originally Posted by stewbie

A certain amount of squeeze is going to be unavoidable, and yep - in my experience it is the legs that get the most of it.

For me it's the waist, my first squeeze are my b*ll*cks. You can can bet I add the air after it's uncomfortable

As I descend I let it squeeze a bit, then air ab it of air and continue that until at final depth. For bouyancy I use mixture of suit and sometimes the BCD. I don't place more air than required, as I ascend I dump it bit by bit

[Reikimaster]

Originally Posted by BigG

1. how much squeeze should there be (if any)
2. was the problem down to the rented suits (i.e. a MTM suit will eliminate squeeze?)
3. Was I over/underweighted (dive off 14 with a semi-dry in the sea)
4. Was I being over cautious with the suit inflation


Gaz

1. none
2. squeeze is down to air (lack of) in the suit and not really the fit, a good fit prevents the air you do put in slopping about and heading straight for your feet.
3. would expect a couple of Kg difference between the crushed neo and membrane so would suggest your weighting could be worked on. But if you were on a course i would have thought they would have done this.
4. were you using your bcd for bouyancy as well?

[Scubee]

A couple of points....

The amount of squeeze you get depends on how much air you are putting in the suit to maintain buoyancy. Are you also using your BCD? Some people do, some don't. I sit in both camps depending on what rig I am using.... BCD - Dry suit only, wing - Dry suit only to keep unsqueezed. Either way, air goes into the suit as I descend to keep off off the squeeze. Squeeze is uncomfortable, and I don't believe there should be any when you are neutral at the bottom.

When air goes into the suit, IMHO it is easier to control if it goes in in little squirts.

If your legs were feeling more squeezed than the rest of you, there may be a couple of things here. Are your weights on a belt or harness? If they are on a belt, if it is too tight to stop it dropping off mid dive, it may be too tight to let sufficient air into the legs to take the squeeze off.

If you are carrying too much weight, you may also be in a 'head up' position. This may also mean that your legs are squeezed a bit more, because they are slightly deeper. This will also mean that your auto dump may be the highest point, and if it isn't correctly set, any air you put in may just come out again.

Correct weighting is the key. I can't tell if you are overweighted. I have 8kg in a crushed neo suit, but then I don't wear a quilted undersuit. More or less the same as when I am in a 7mm semi. The amount of weight you need depends on your build, what you are wearing and your kit. The undersuit may also stop the air in your suit escaping if it is a close fitting suit, which may explain why you seemed to have got on better with the membrane.

Practice will improve matters!

[SoggyFox]

Originally Posted by Reikimaster

4. were you using your bcd for bouyancy as well?

yeah did you get your bouyancy controlled on your jacket and then start adding air into your suit? i usually put air into my suit as i descend to get it comfortable and then use the jacket for bouyancy control once i'm at operating depth.

[calski]

Hi Gaz

I don't think you're alone in your experience here. When I did my drysuit course, I got squeezed around "el cajones" quite a bit, and of course, added too much air to compensate and thus had problems with buoyancy.

I was also heavily weighted during the course and dives immediately afterwards. I think I was using around 16Kg too and this was way too much. I now dive with 8Kg in a belt and 1kg on each ankle (to stop my buoyant feet!).

It is just a case of getting used to the drysuit - I was terrified of rapid ascents using one and so was timid in the amount of air I'd add but now "el cajones" get a good circulation of air during a dive as I'm a lot more confident with the suit.

My biggest problem has been, and continues to be, venting enough air whilst ascending although I'm beginning to trust my auto-dump a lot more now and gaining the benefit of sort of "standing up" in the water to get the air out of my feet.

Perserve with the suit and you'll not look back!

ATB

calski

[tom]

Gaz - the weighting thing, only you can answer by doing a proper weight check to find out exactly how much you do need.

As others have said, practice will improve things and you'll get a sense of how it's 'meant' to feel - quite different from a semi, as you've discovered.

FWIW, I think it took me at least 10-20 dives to become really comfortable in a drysuit, and probably 20 more to become competent at controlling it. That's not meant to put you off (it's worth it and it does come right in the end!) but there is a learning curve to be aware of.

[nigelH]

If the suit squeezes your manhood you haven't put enough air in.
If it squeezes your legs sort out your posture in the water.

Set the autodump wide open adjust the suit so it is comfortable and keep it that way. You need enough lead to stay down when the cylinder is virtually empty but by then the BCD should be empty. The suit should still be comfortable.