[Paddlewise] FW: Dry suits.

 -----Original Message-----
From: James David Harvey [mailto:ve3xqt_at_sympatico.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 1998 9:59 AM
To: paddlewise
Subject: [Paddlewise] Dry suits.

>>
I thought I would pose this question to the field of experts or at the   very
least, those with considerable more experience than me. Does anyone use a
SCUBA
dry suit when cold water Kayaking and if so, how do you add air to it   prior to
departure? Do you take a tank with you and top it up or just suit up and   go?
    I am not as fortunate as I see some are to live/paddle in warm waters   at
this time of year here in Ontario Canada. Any help would be appreciated.
James.
>>

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In cold water, I wear a Kokatat Goretex dry suit designed for kayaking.
Far from adding air to it, I always try to remove as much air as possible   
by squatting on land or in the water and pulling away the neck seal to
"burp" the suit. If you have too much air in the suit, it tends to   balloon
uncomfortably when you sit, and if you should have to make a wet exit,
excess air makes you float prone on the surface like a beach toy, making
it harder to do a self-rescue. There is also the risk that if too much   air
is trapped in the legs, you will float upside down, especially if you are   
not wearing a PFD -- what the Gemini astronauts called the "Stable Two"
position.

I don't understand why a SCUBA diver would want to add air to a dry suit,   
since I would think it would make the diver dangerously buoyant.

Perhaps you you think the air provides insulation. But if you think about   
it, any air inside the suit will migrate to the topmost part, leaving   your
nether regions to be squeezed -- and chilled -- by the pressure of the
cold water. Instead, insulation in dry suits is provided by various
combinations of polypro and pile undergarments, depending on air and   water temperatures. A wet suit without insulation has about as much   thermal
protection as a shower curtain.

Chuck Holst  
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