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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 07:52:38 -0700
Subject: Re: Drysuits
From: Steve <sfkenney@ea*.ne*>
To: "Richards, Simon" <richardss@nm*.co*>,
     "'techdiver@aquanaut.com'"
on 7/12/01 11:08 AM, Richards, Simon at richardss@nm*.co* wrote:


1) I have only been diving the TLS350 with only about 25 dives but I'll
share my thoughts about the issue. I have only done single tank dives that
result in about 6 lbs of bouyancy swing so I have used just the drysuit and
not the BC to control bouyancy. This is the way DUI recommends in their
manual, it works fine for me. I don't have any large air bubble in the suit
it seems just about enough to prevent the squeeze when I add enough air to
equalize my bouyancy. If however I added another tank as in twins I would
use the BC along with the dry suit. I dropped weight from the very thick wet
suit I used to wear. I can dive with 12# lead with the 5# SS plate and a
single steel 100 tank with the 200 underwear, I weigh 205#.

Steve



> 
> 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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