I would like to know where this "use your drysuit for buoyancy and not your
wings" bullshit started as it makes no sense at all. I have tried it both
ways and trying to get anything done with a huge bubble of air rolling
around your drysuit is futile. I do understand the feet-first ascent issue
that everybody warns you about, it comes from using your drysuit as primary
buoyancy.

I think that the best way to use a drysuit is to have just enough air to
prevent squeeze and then use your wings for everything else. With a proper
drysuit this means adding a squirt of two of air on the way down and then
letting your auto-deflate valve on your shoulder handle the drysuit on the
way up, while deflating your wings manually. Personally I like to be on the
negative side when going up an anchorline and of course as neutral as
possible and finning up when doing a free ascent (drift dive). It's not a
good idea to use either your suit or wings as an elevator as this can get in
trouble real fast.

I have also discovered that having a proper fitting drysuit is desirable. If
your suit is too small you will constantly be pumping air out of it whenever
you bend or flex your back. Then you get cold from constantly blowing the
air back in. If it is too large the air tends to hang out in the legs or one
arm or the other and you have to expend a lot of effort to move the air back
to where it belongs.

As to manufacturer from personal knowledge I know that the life expectancy
of a neoprene suit is about 3 seasons. I suspect you get what you pay for in
this area. For balance and less mucking around with your buoyancy during the
dive the trilam works better hands down over neoprene.

  Jim
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
 Learn About Trimix at http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/

> From: "Richards, Simon" <richardss@nm*.co*>
> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 14:08:27 -0400
> To: "'techdiver@aquanaut.com'" <techdiver@aquanaut.com>
> Subject: Drysuits
> 
> 
> Hi.  I've been reading this site for a while, and I have found some very
> useful advice here (someone said "A wise man does not learn from his
> mistakes", and this must be true for technical diving as you often don't
> survive your mistakes).
> 
> For background, I have about 4 years open water experience and am a keen
> (and OK) photographer.  This year I started cave diving (intro to cave in
> Mexico, in a wetsuit), which was an eye-opener.  I am sorting out my gear in
> a local quarry for a return trip to Mexico and hopefully full cave, and then
> I hope to try Florida (do the whole course again in a drysuit?).  My kit is
> basically configured DIR style, but this is because it seems to make sense
> to me and I can't see any obvious fatal flaws, not because of "religion"
> (but I do rather like the idea that I have the WKPP team testing "my" gear
> configuration "for me" at 300 feet at no risk or cost to myself - thanks
> guys!).
> 
> I would appreciate views on two questions:
> 
> (1)  I have a DUI CF200 drysuit, and I think I was originally taught not to
> use the wings underwater for buoyancy control, just the suit.  I have seen
> the occasional reference here to using the wings underwater, but I have done
> a search and couldn't see any definitive advice.  A couple of times (but not
> always) I have felt that I couldn't get enough buoyancy on the drysuit
> alone, and have got through a lot of air inflating the suit and then having
> it blow out of the neck seal (I've never had any water come in).  Was this
> the wrong body position, overweighting, neck seal cut too loose, or just bad
> diving?  Should I have put some air into my wings?  Basically, I think I'm
> asking "how do I dive (properly, in the real world with big buoyancy changes
> during a dive as air is used) in a drysuit?"
> 
> (2)  My buddy wants a drysuit and her funds are limited.  She is looking at
> something called an "Otter", which is a laminate I believe.  I think George
> Irvine has recommended DUI TLS on this site, but she cannot afford one.
> Does anyone have any good or bad experiences with Otters?
> 
> You can see that we are a long way off doing any serious dives yet, but we
> would like to get there slowly over the next year or two and to buy the
> right equipment now.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Simon Richards
> 
> 
> --
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