emili
Newbie chick
Posts: 2
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Post by emili on May 8, 2010 17:58:47 GMT
hi im new here my name is emili and i have purchased a whites drysuit and am timid about useing it for the first time it is very cold where we dive.i have only used my wetsuit.any helpful tips would be great.thanks
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Post by Dive Bunnie on May 10, 2010 0:21:46 GMT
Hey Emili,
First of all welcome aboard and thanks for your first post.
As for trying out your drysuit... if you have never used one before. I recommend doing a drysuit speciality course with your local dive centre. That way you will learn tips on how to care for your suit, as well as getting to practice some handy buoyancy skills in the pool first and then in Open Water with an instructor before heading off with just a buddy for company.
Failing that, if you just pop along to the pool and get yourself oriented with the suit, with an instructor at least you would feel a little more prepared before heading into the sea.
I like diving in both a wetsuit or dry, and once you have mastered the buoyancy aspects, I am sure you will too. Especially if the water is cold near you! It will feel a little odd to start with, but persevere and you will be rewarded.
Enjoy, and let us know how you get on with your new suit.
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emili
Newbie chick
Posts: 2
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Post by emili on May 10, 2010 12:34:21 GMT
thanks for the reply.i think your right.but my hub who doest wear a drysuit thinks it will be easy .i think a drysuit is alot different to use.i am trying to join in a drysuit coarse but will have to travel out of my province to do it.
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Post by waterbabe on May 10, 2010 17:40:53 GMT
Hiya how many dives do you have? There are some fundamental differences between drysuit diving and wetsuit diving and for the less experienced diver, these differences are more noticeable. When you dive with a drysuit, you have to add air to the suit to prevent a squeeze, so to simplify things most people use the suit for buoyancy whilst underwater (only one dump valve to worry about when you ascend). Either way, there is quite an important exercise to master before you go off on your own, and that is righting yourself in order to dump air if you get caught upside down and positively buoyant. If you have loads of dives logged and are in the water most days, you will probably find it really easy to play about with it a little and sort yourself out, but believe me if you don't, you don't want to find yourself caught out without even having had a practice with the suit in a pool or gentle conditions. From the fact that you have asked here though, I'm thinking you are a little nervous about using the suit, so why not make life easy for yourself? Have a play in the pool with it before you head off on a dive. Better safe than sorry. Good luck
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Post by Dive Bunnie on May 13, 2010 3:54:15 GMT
Hey Emili, Not wishing to be harsh, but if your hub doesn't wear a drysuit himself, why does he think it will be so easy for you to use one without any training at all? It is easy to use a drysuit, however as has been mentioned there are a couple of skills that you should get sussed before taking your lovely cosy suit out into deeper open waters. The main issue is that you cannot dump air if you are upside down.. fine if you are neutrally buoyant, however if you accidentally get caught out in an uncontrolled upside down ascent, you need to know that you can roll yourself back into an upright position and dump the air quickly enough to prevent any injuries. This all sounds very dramatic, but it is a very easy process, you just need to practice it a couple of times first. You could even try it in the shallows at the beginning of your dive first, if you really don't want to do the whole pool session thing. Anyway, at the end of the day, it is your choice. I love wearing both wet and drysuits equally, and if it gets you diving in the cool waters near you, then that is a good thing. Let us know how you get along.
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