I have some information concerning scuba dry suits. First there are two main types of dry suits, Ultralights and Neoprene suits. The ultralight suit consists of a thin layer of material .( rubber, nylon, etc. ) The insulation comes from the layers you wear under the suit. The main advantage of the ultralight suit is the light weight. The disadvantage ( depending on the material used ) is the fact that it is "light" and not very durable. They are not very easy to repair. The exception to the rule ( there is always an exception isn't there ) is the rubber ultralight worn by commercial divers. These suits are very good and of course very expensive $$$$$ and are easy to repair. As well as totally sealable. ( good for hazmat work ) My first dry suit was one of this type. It lasted approximately 100 dives. After that I swear a was catching fish in it. It was quite humorous having someone unzip my suit and watching about 3 gallons of water come out. Towards the end of that suit I had to wear a wet suit under my dry suit. Since I am a dive master, I can not say no I can't dive because my suit leaks. The other main type is the neoprene suit. They come in various thicknesses. ( 3mm, 4mm, and up ) The neoprene acts as an insulator as well as keeping the air in. These suits are very durable and inexpensive. ( They come in a large variety of attractive colors as well ) These are the main stream suits for cold water diving. Both types of suit have two valves on them. An inlet valve and an exhaust valve. This was my second dry suit and has lasted over 230 dives ( So far ) with out any MAJOR leaks. One misconception is the name "drysuit", it should be called a "damp suit". After a while just about every suit has a little leak somewhere. ( Neptune's way of reminding you who the boss is ) When you are diving in a dry suit, you are suppose to put enough air in the suit in get rid of the squeeze. That's it, no more. A dry suit is NOT a buoyancy device. ( I know people are going to disagree with this, but hear me out ) You can exhaust air out faster from a BCD than you can from a dry suit. Believe me, after watching students shoot for the surface like ballistic missiles because they didn't listen, you learn to use the dry suit the way it was designed. As a way to keep warm. Chuck had said a few things about dry suits as well ( No I am not dumping on you Chuck) Concerning the dreaded air in the feet syndrome. Yes under water this is a little annoyance, but manageable with some practice. ( It is amazing how many people don't practice the skills needed to dive properly ) On the surface it is not impossible to float upside down, but it is not that easy to do either, with a neoprene suit. ( An ultralight is another story ) I tried this with some students with just our dry suits on. We went out into the water and tried to flip upside down in the water. Of those who actually did it, they found it was easy to right themselves. I'm not saying it can't happen, just practise it in a controled enviroment ( pool ) so this won't be an issue if it happens. One last thing ( Sorry I keep rambling ) An extra argon tank is not common practise in recreational diving. In commericial diving maybe. My suggestion for using any dry suit is to think of the application you are going to use it in. Cold, really cold, or god i'm going to die cold. ( been there, done that ) as well as the duration in the water. ( Can you survive in the suit you have chosen until you can be rescued ) Then chose between comfort, ease of entry, and of course color. Darrell K. Pearse ! ! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Nov 03 1998 - 11:48:58 PST
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