new to dry suit

[treeguy]

I just got a new used drysuit and would like to get some of your opinions on weather or not I need to be dry suit certified to safely use it.  I have about 105 logged dives, but most of them are warm water and none are in a dry suit.  I am certified as an advanced open water diver.  I usually believe in always getting trained in everything you do, but I'm not sure if it is worth the time and money to get dry suit certified.  I guess I would rather persue Rescue Diver and Master Diver certifications.  I would like to get up to Superior soon to try it out, anybody have any suggestions on what I should do?  Is there anything majorly different you need to do in a dry suit as compared to a wetsuit? Thanks for any replies.

[LKunze]

A drysuit is much different than diving wet.  The main thing is that it is more task loading.  I personally did not take an official drysuit course but got some helpful tips from other drysuit divers.  I would not recommend trying the drysuit out for the first time in Lake Superior.  It would be better to do a couple dives in an easier environment...maybe in a pool or in a shallower lake preferably with training platforms like at Square Lake.  I found the transition pretty easy myself but I did a pool dive first and then did some shallower dives to gain some confidence before doing deeper dives.  You need to learn and practice some important skills like the tuck and roll to recover from an inverted position.  You also need to get used to dumping air from the suit on ascents since the air in the suit expands as you go up.  Good luck, you'll like diving dry.  It is definately the way to go for diving in MN.

[beeger]

Treeguy - I agree with Lonnie. I’ll also expand on this topic a bit: There really is nothing complicated about diving a drysuit. The techniques are simple enough, but the execution can take some getting used to in order to be proficient. Should you take a class? I’d say absolutely provided that you can find an instructor who is really going to “teach” a class as opposed to just going through the motions of “here’s-how-to-add-air” and “here’s-how-to-remove-air” from the suit. The instructor should start by covering topics like the relative merits and disadvantages of different types of drysuits and underwear, care and maintenance of your specific suit, how different types of drysuits affect your weighting in terms of total weight and the ratio of “ditchable” to “non-ditchable,” use of dry suit accessories (dry gloves, hoods, argon, etc.), the relationship between BCs and drysuits for buoyancy control, among other topics. In the water (preferably in a controlled, relatively shallow environment like Square) demonstrate and have you perform a number of skills repeatedly: basic adding and removing air, dealing with a stuck inflator valve, dealing with a stuck exhaust vale, feet first ascents, trapped air, dealing with trim issues, etc.. A good instructor will not just have you do these things but will help you become comfortable by fine tuning your techniques. Unfortunately most dry suit classes I’ve seen are not anywhere near this thorough either in terms of knowledge or skills. This is too bad because the diver then goes away without the knowledge and skills to 1) really get the most enjoyment out of their drysuit diving from the beginning; 2) save money in the future by understanding the trade-off’s between drysuit accessories and possibly even drysuit/underwear purchases; 3) be as safe as possible.

There are many good drysuit divers out there who have never taken a class. And that’s fine. It’s just a shame that better drysuit education is not readily available. The premise is not that someone “needs” to take a drysuit class … it’s that someone should “want” to take a drysuit class because of the knowledge and skills transfer that should occur. However, that “wanting” should be based on having excellent educational opportunities readily available.

[eric myers 2]

I agree that the first time you use your drysuit should probably not be in Superior. I personally have not taken the drysuit certification class and I did not receive or have the chance to heed the warning about not using your drysuit at Superior for the first time but I wish I had.

On my first time out with my drysuit, at Superior, I experienced an issue where my foot pulled out of the foot pocket in the drysuit and caused me to lose a fin. Not a common occuring problem put the situation was made worse by extremely cold water etc. Without going into too much detail the situation was a little hairy there for a while. 

Now I have had some time to become more comfortable with my drysuit and its functionality and everything is under control these days but it still makes wish I would have worked all the bugs out before tyring it in a more challenging environment. Definitely consider trying your drysuit out in a less challenging environment first!

As to the question about the drysuit certification itself. I say to each his own! If you are and it sounds like you are one of those "if its worth doing its worth doing well," kind of guys then definitely take the course. Think of it this way, "it can't hurt and can only help."

With that said I have always seemingly had this issue with the plethora of certifications out there. I think it comes from the fact that I have limited financial resources but unlimited opportunities to dive! For me the question is...should I pay $175 to take the Wreck Diver specialty class when I have already completed over 39 wreck dives? I even asked that question to an instructor, whose interest is to try and sell me the course and make themselves some money, and they didn't really have an answer! Some certifications seem to be borderline and some are very important. I mean does anyone really need to take the "Boat Diver" certification offered by SSI? I don't think so...there is the boat, there is the water, get on get geared up, jump in, get out...I mean that is all there is too it!

However, I did notice you said you might like to go for your Master Scuba Diver Cert. That cert is basically a Rescue diver with 5 specialty certs and the drysuit would count torward one of those specialties.

If I were you I would take the Rescue Diver class, it was the best class I ever took, and consider the Drysuit class, then reexamine your goals after that class!

[treeguy]

Thanks for the great replies.  Eric, you mentioned that part of the master scuba class is getting dry suit certified.  If I take the dry suit class before the Rescue Diver class and Master scuba class would that still count to that certification?
One other question, any dive shops doing a recue class in October or November yet?

[wtdrm]

While some Certs do seem superfluous,  I dont think the drysuit is one of them. I have observed lots of divers taking the drysuit class and lots of divers that should have taken the class. The biggest difference is the diver taking the class is about 15 dives closer to being efficient in the water with the drysuit. There are lots of tips in the class that the non cert diver just has to learn on their own. I love watching new divers taking the advanced class with a drysuit being one of their specialties. From the 1st dive of the weekend to the last dive of their advanced cert.,,there is a world of difference.
The class also teaches a person the correct way to doff and don, making the experience much more enjoyable. Not to mention tips on weighting depending on undergarments. The pros and cons of wetgloves vs. Drygloves. The student has the opportunity to ask questions of the instructor and getting the correct answer, instead of asking another drysuit diver and possibly getting the incorrect answer.
Remember, nobody can ever take education away from you.
CJ

[Mark Y]

Plus, you get to add another C-Card to your collection!  ;D

[jafo]

Take the class you'll be glad you did in the long run.

jafo