Me and my drysuit

MgicTwnger · 03-01-2008, 10:21 PM

Five years ago I figured that I had suffered enough in the chill waters of Lake Michigan and I finally bought my first drysuit. My main concerns in choosing on were fit, company reputation, and price.

After trying on some off-the-shelf suits I knew that I needed a custom cut to accommodate my short legs and long torso. When the brand carried by my LDS, USIA, went on sale I researched the brand since it was unfamiliar to me. I discovered that they are made on the west coast and are very popular there with both recreational and military/police divers. I settled on a shell suit packaged with medium thickness undergarment and soft boots that came in at around $950US with a drysuit class thrown in.

The most popular suit with the crowd I run with is DUI, but frankly I could not justify the cost. I ordered the suit with suspenders (good move) and added a thigh pocket myself.

Diving with a drysuit has a big learning curve. Since your buoyancy and trim are affected by both the air in the BC and the suit, and you must inflate/deflate both, it took me quite a few dives for the suit to become second nature. Here's a few things I learned:

Be mindful of you buoyancy. It is much easier and quicker to inflate and deflate a BC, and you're dealing with both all the time. Practice makes perfect.

Trim you neck seal to get a good fit without choking you, and make sure it is seated properly before you jump in. Also double check the zipper. A flooded suit is no fun!

Maintain the suit: wax the zipper, powder the seals, dry it out after every dive trip.

If you don't have a p-valve (and I don't) empty that bladder just before the dive, or suffer the consequences.

If you have a shell suit, layer undergarments like sweaters, thermal undies, etc. for additional warmth. Just remember the more bulk under the suit, the more weight you'll need.

With normal wear and tear you'll eventually have to put money into the suit. A couple of years back I had a seamstress replace the jammed zipper on the undergarment. I have replaced the neck seal myself, no easy task, but definitely doable. This month I had to send the suit out for a new zipper and pressure testing, big bucks but unavoidable.

So what's the upside to all this? I can dive year-round in comfort, most definitely worth it!

**dalehall** · 03-02-2008, 01:41 PM

Thanks Ken.. I'm going to try my first dry suit in the next month or so. I don't do any "real" dry suit diving locations, but I'm interested in how they work and feel. A dive buddy of mine has one and he's about my size, so I'm going to use his and my instructor will take me in the pool to show me how to work it. Plus, if I actually do my cave cert, a dry suit would make those long cave runs much more comfortable.

MgicTwnger · 03-02-2008, 01:57 PM

Good luck, Dale, and don't get discouraged. It takes quite a few dives to get the hang of it and feel comfortable.

fish hunter · 03-26-2008, 07:51 PM

the cold water dont cill the p*** out of you? and dont tell me you p** in your dry suit. thats why mines called a wet suit! ha! take care buddy

MgicTwnger · 03-26-2008, 08:03 PM

Yeah, it does chill me, that's why I have the drysuit. 40 degree water is still diveable.

**dalehall** · 03-27-2008, 01:01 PM

I was able to try on the dry suit this past weekend. Not too bad. A real pain to get in and out of. I tried it on one night and the wife was already in bed. Once I got ready to take it off, I couldn't get out of it by myself so I had to ask her to help. She pulled on the sleeve while I got my arm out of it. She told me, "You're lucky I could do that lying down. If I would have had to get up, you would have been sleeping in it." LOL..
Hoping to try it in the water in the next few weeks.

MgicTwnger · 03-27-2008, 01:11 PM

Yep, they can be a pain until you figure out the little "tricks" to using them.

I'll be up by Chicago taking a VIP class on Saturday, and plan to dive a quarry up there on Sunday to see if my suit's zipper replacement was done right. Man, I really hope it was!

**dalehall** · 03-27-2008, 01:13 PM

Ha.. That's gonna suck if it wasn't.

MgicTwnger · 04-22-2008, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalehall

Ha.. That's gonna suck if it wasn't.

It was fine.