Specialty - Ice or Dry Suit

[LKunze]

Totally agree arcflash.  I remember my first time in Superior in a 7mil farmer john.  Temp was 41 degrees from the surface down...no thermoclines in the middle of August.  I froze and could hardly do a second dive even after warming up in the 80+ degree sunny day.

[aknelsonone]

I can second those say dry suit class first. Some stores are offering a pool session
prior to the ice dive.  Not only to refresh blowing bubbles but also to get folks used to the harnesses and procedures and for divers new to dry suits.
Keep in mind ice diving should make fun, a dry suit makes more sense than being cold.
Personally for a ice dive I would rent a dry suit if I do not owe one.

By the way: I never had a official dry suit class. And I do not think that a seasoned diver will need one if he has the time to figure the kinks in a confined water session (as mentioned above). Instructors remember it always depends how you ask .....and there not always rules saying you can not combine classes...

Andreas T

[arcFlash]

I'm cool man. I know it was just an expression.

[mcdiver]

I spoke to PADI last fall and inquired about offering a class combining the drysuit with ice diving certification.  They said under no circumstances, you are just setting yourself up for a liability issue.  Should the student panic and not be able to dump the air from their drysuit and go crashing into the bottom side of the ice, you can and probably will be held liabile.  If the student is injured, will your liability insurance cover you?

Back to the topic at hand, I would definately take a drysuit class prior to ice diving.  The drysuit extends your season and allows you to go ice diving more comfortably.  Ice diving also allows you to meet with some dive buddies, both new and old. 

I went ice diving last weekend and had an equipment malfunction, so I chose to end the day of diving with probably 2 minutes bottom time.  I probably had just as good of a time standing on the ice tending, shooting the breeze with a guy I met for the first time that day.  I met Arcflash for the first time last year doing an ice dive on Forest Lake, and since then have probably done about a half dozen dives with him, including a memorable night dive last Labor Day weekend.

It takes a certain breed of diver to want to go under the ice, it is not for everyone, but those that do tend to have a closer bond then the average diver.

Go Dry.

[arcFlash]

I'm surprised. I did PADI but then I was told that PADI allowed the use of a dry suit with pool work and an instructor so I did it. I did not get a dry card so maybe that's the diff. I'm an illegal dry diver.

Oh well, rules change... but it's still unanimous.

[mcdiver]

Yea, this is what PADI told me, however, the dive store required the students to wear a dive suit for the class, but they did not require the student to hold a dry suit certification, nor did PADI require the student to hold a dry suit cert.