Putting OW students in drysuits

[Dmitchell]

One of the things Randy told me when I was wondering about it was that this way I know what it's like to use the wetsuit, which could be useful if I traveled somewhere and didn't lug along a drysuit.

Jim

Didn't you do pool sessions in a wetsuit? I don't buy that logic you can dive in shorts and t-shirt you can dive in a wetsuit.

It's a lot more work for the instructor to teach students who are in drysuits, but your students come out better divers just for having had to gain the extra knowledge and skills. Teaching in drysuits required me to spend another hour or 2 in the pool and 3+ hours in the classroom but here there is no choice. My students would get cold enough in drysuits, I cannot imagine what would have happened if we would have used wetsuits.

Pool sessions were swimsuit, plus gloves so I could get used to them. The wetsuit was used for the OW dives at Les Davis. I suppose the extra time to learn a drysuit would have been useful, but I certainly don't buy the "here there is no choice" argument. Obviously some us did go that route and it worked out...

Jim

Might want to check where my "here" is vs. your "here".

[RoxnDox]

One of the things Randy told me when I was wondering about it was that this way I know what it's like to use the wetsuit, which could be useful if I traveled somewhere and didn't lug along a drysuit.

Jim

Didn't you do pool sessions in a wetsuit? I don't buy that logic you can dive in shorts and t-shirt you can dive in a wetsuit.

It's a lot more work for the instructor to teach students who are in drysuits, but your students come out better divers just for having had to gain the extra knowledge and skills. Teaching in drysuits required me to spend another hour or 2 in the pool and 3+ hours in the classroom but here there is no choice. My students would get cold enough in drysuits, I cannot imagine what would have happened if we would have used wetsuits.

Pool sessions were swimsuit, plus gloves so I could get used to them. The wetsuit was used for the OW dives at Les Davis. I suppose the extra time to learn a drysuit would have been useful, but I certainly don't buy the "here there is no choice" argument. Obviously some us did go that route and it worked out...

Jim

Might want to check where my "here" is vs. your "here".

Hmm, yes I should... All I can say is "D'OH!"

Jim

[Peter Guy]

All things considered, I'd prefer to have all of my Open Water students dive dry although it does take a bit more time and effort on the instruction side. (I'd also like them to do the "fifth dive" and get their Dry Suit Card (PADI) since that is a dive that I can use to reinforce buoyancy control.)

The issue, of course, is $ -- both from the POV of the student and of the shop. There is also the issue of making sure the seals fit which is NOT a trivial issue for some students. (My last Dry Suit Open Water student valiantly survived her dive and told me she was cold but didn't tell me her suit was flooded! Once I discovered how wet she was, I was amazed she did what she did.)

It does require more time and if one's class is already crammed, then something needs to be rethought. I like to have at least two pool sessions dry before hitting the Open Water (but, unfortunately, that doesn't happen often -- only in a private class).

I am a big fan of the Fusion, especially with the new Sitech ring system, for students -- not only is it a very forgiving suit, but because each one fits so many body sizes, the inventory needed is reduced.

[Beefcake]

What's a drysuit? I dive wet and am plenty warm. The only problem I have is on surface intervals long enough to remove the wetsuit. My buddies use drysuits, and I can't remember the last dive that one of them wasn't complaining of a leak or when one didn't call the dive early because they were cold. I'll probably try a drysuit one of these days, but my budget is tighter than it used to be, and it isn't my first priority (my next purchase will be a pony since we end up "same ocean" diving due to the horrible viz in Oregon).

More importantly, I think drysuits require more instruction than most OW classes have time for. I took OW with my ex-gf from a well respected instructor that I'm pretty sure is a memeber here, and neither of us had proper buoyancy undersanding at the time of our checkout dives. My stepson took OW a few years later from a different "legend" instructor, and he had no clue about proper ascents after checkout. After answering another beginner's questions on a different forum, I received responses from several newbies that hadn't been taught to dump air upon ascent (or hadn't had it beat into them properly; I'm sure it was in all of our classes, but wasn't emphasised enough and wasn't evident in the pool sessions). Anyway, with the problems we all had with uncontrolled ascents on our first few post-cert dives, I am really glad we weren't in drysuits.

[Jeff Pack]

I dont tolerate cold well anymore, and my Fusion, with a MK3 and Under Armour Cold Gear Base Layer, and I' havent even remotely been cold.

And I can tell you from my experience, switching to a drysuit required no "class" to teach me, and all did was change my weight abit. It was a piece of cake to switch.

The horror stories about the difficulty of switching to dry are horribly overblown.

[BASSMAN]

I dont tolerate cold well anymore, and my Fusion, with a MK3 and Under Armour Cold Gear Base Layer, and I' havent even remotely been cold.

And I can tell you from my experience, switching to a drysuit required no "class" to teach me, and all did was change my weight abit. It was a piece of cake to switch.

The horror stories about the difficulty of switching to dry are horribly overblown.

I'm glad your training with Bob!

I wouldn't advise anyone to just go buy a Drysuit and dive it, with a change of a few weights.

One may not need an official "C" card, but it should be said, that some training and practice in a feet first ascent and other skills, should be learned from a certified trainer or at least a dive master! Or even a good "Dive Buddy" who is willing to take on, all responsibility, if anything should go wrong like, Wait for it............................Accidental Death!
I bought my first drysuit off Craigslist and gave $50.00 to my PADI Instructor to teach me. The $50.00 was with no "PADI Card! :angry: I was not interested in collecting cards, but the training was well worth it. I did not completely realize that untill a co-worker asked me to teach him how to use his new drysuit.
With too much undergarments, too less weight and inexperience in general diving, I had a panicked diver at the surface, who bit through his lip and totally forgot to re-inflate his BC after he could not drop entirely below the surface. So I came back up to some one with blood all over his face, trying to climb out of 10 feet of water yelling ,"Help Me!" I was able to use skills learned in rescue class, to help him, but my main lesson learned was, I'm glad we have instructors and divemasters! From now on, I let them do the training.
Thank You Instructors and Divemasters You provide an important service to our community!

[Jeff Pack]

If you remember, I prefaced my comment in the beginning, that I'm probably not quite the typical "new" diver.

But even with that said, excluding any other sort of newness issues, switching to a drysuit was no big deal, and thats what I am commenting on.

There is sort of this mass mentality, that if one switches to dry, its a total game changer, and from my experience specifically, I dont see that as valid.

Is it different, yes. But different easier in my opinion. Not cold and really comfortable makes a better dive.

[scubnewb]

Interesting post and comments... I cant say for everyone but I had a pretty great Dive Instructor named Dom up at Underwater Sports on Aurora, between him and Jon Stone (aso helped Alot With Pool Time) I felt extremely compfortable diving in general by the time we went out to Alki to get our final four dives in before getting our cards outside the general anxiety one gets jumping into the Pugeout Sound for the first time LOL.

That was back in May and I havent dived since till just this past weekend when i went with ZachSD out to Les Davis. I seem to handle the cold really well when diving wet but the reason I hadnt been out was because I was busy trying to build my gear up as I am not really into renting stuff (YUCK). I finally got all my gear now right down to two of my own tanks,and cant wait to get out as often as possible.

I also picked up a USIA Bioflex Drysuit from Matt up at NW Sports Divers and dove it when I went out to Les Davis. I never have dove a drysuit before obviously and this was only my 5th and 6th dives ever anyhow. Maybe its because I havent dove enough to really say i am switching from a wetsuit or the fact that i never really could say i was a wet suit diver and used to it or that I ever got all my gear situated and used to it being one way or another, or maybe its just cause I have a knack for being able to self teach most everything by watching, reading and mimicking but it really did not seem to be that big of a deal to me. Yes i did notice a few things here and there that seemed a little different but the whole thing was a peice of cake and to keep myself undercontrol didnt seem to be as big of a deal as it was projected out to be by listening to people talk. Zach did tell me that I did awesome from what he could tell and that he had been out with guys that have dove dry 10xs over and they still were all over the place lol...

Overall I would say its really only as hard as you make it, if you are a person who doesnt just jump into stuff and catch on really quick you might want to take it slow. If you are a person who can catch on really quick like myself then have at it... If you can afford the classes and so forth to get the cert I highly reccomend doing that as well, there is nothing wrong with aquiring as much knowledge as possible. i know I plan on doing the class eventually just to do it and get that certification just to have so i dont have to hear people say "oh you didnt do the class, shame on you" lol... Oh and yes diving dry was way more compfortable during the surface intravels and its nice to be able to get in and out your gear easier and quicker, was it much more warm, I am not really sure but I like it dry baby!!!

[Jeff Pack]

i know I plan on doing the class eventually just to do it and get that certification just to have so i dont have to hear people say "oh you didnt do the class, shame on you" lol...

Save your money for the certifcations you need. Heck save up for one of Bobs private lesson weekends Its the best 200$ I've ever spent on diving.

[Alexitt]

I did my first 30 dives(certified Jan 2010 15 degrees outside) in a F/J 2pc. wetsuit which I still have and sometimes use in the summer, bought my first drysuit for a couple hundred from a board member and taught myself the intricacies of diving dry (7 mil Oneill that leaked in L. arm and R. knee)... After much aquaseal and soggy undergarments(another 35 dives) I was finally able to get a new Bare D6 that I love... Learned mostly from watching and talking to drysuit divers then went out with a couple to do a checkout dive and never had any problems... Classes are great for those who might have difficulty picking things up on their own but I was brought up learning everything on a POS... after that upgrades are gravy... I use Neoprene seals as I have a latex allergy and VERY few shops would have been able to accommodate me for a drysuit in an OW class unless I bought my own in which case I still wouldn't be diving as the initial cost wouldn't work for me... 110 dives later I wouldn't stop now except under the direst of circumstances...

Just my 2 cents...

[Kelvininin]

I was certified this past summer, before then I have never dove. The only wet-suit dives I have done were in a pool so far. I do plan on doing a dive trip to somewhere warm but that's down the road. I have spent time in a wetsuit but that was for water skiing in the cold Michigan springs when the water was soft enough to do so. For diving in the PNW, I will take my drysuit, I can't imagine do it the other way.

I am also am an avid motorcyclist, and ride year round, much like diving its all about the gear. I can ride in the winter all day long an never get cold, and can say from experience before I had the money for good gear that getting too cold on a ride makes it an unpleasurable experience.

[Jeff Pack]

I am also am an avid motorcyclist, and ride year round, much like diving its all about the gear. I can ride in the winter all day long an never get cold, and can say from experience before I had the money for good gear that getting too cold on a ride makes it an unpleasurable experience.

I too ride year round,unless there's snow or ice.. Then I cage it. Thank you to my heated jacket/gloves from Gerbing's. I've ridden as low at 18d. Only part that gets cold now is my feet, just a little.

Its all about your gear.

[Pinkpadigal]

I prefer teaching students in drysuits. They are more comfortable and happier divers. Most divers who continue to dive in Puget Sound eventually get a drysuit for comfort and warmth, so why torture students with being cold and wet?