Dry suit gaitors

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renoun
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Dry suit gaitors

Post by renoun »

I just made my fourth dry suit dive today. Most things are working well and I am enjoying being warm and dry. I am diving a USIA shell suit with attached boots, a heavy undergarment, a Si-Tech shoulder dump open all the way, and no ankle weights.

I am diving with minimal air in the suit adding air to my BC as I descend if I need it. I am staying fairly horizontal as I dive and feel ok about my trim. As I ascend I am getting a bubble in my legs that I can't get to migrate to my shoulder dump valve. I am having a hell of a time controlling my ascents and breathing a whole lot of air in the process.

I am wondering if anybody has a set of gaiters I could try.
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Kalatin
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by Kalatin »

Have you tried fin keepers? These are the little black rubber triangles that cost just about nothing at a dive shop. They made a HUGE difference in keeping the air out of my feet. This was especially true in my USIA suit. For some reason, these suits seem to respond very well to fin keepers.
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Nwbrewer
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by Nwbrewer »

+1 for fin keepers, but they really only help if it's your boots that are swelling up. If the calfs are really loose, you can still trap a lot of air in that area.

renoun, it's OK to go out of trim to get the bubble to move. In time you'll get better at managing the bubble, but with 4 dives you're not there. (I'm not completly there with 60) Have you taken a DS class, or (my prefered method) gone out with a knowledgeable drysuit diver who can show you the tricks? Extending your legs a little and slightly breaking trim, tucking your legs some are way to get a big bubble moving. Eventually you get to where you can anticipate the bubble and prevent it from getting like that.

Good luck!

Jake
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spatman
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by spatman »

i have almost 100 dives on my usia drysuit, and i've been using fin keepers since the beginning. the keepers kept the air out of my boots, but since my suit is very baggy around the calves, when my bubble headed toward my legs it caused me to start going feet up. it wasn't until about 20 dives ago that i added gaiters. let me tell you it made an incredible difference.

i recommend the Golem Gear gaiters. the wide bands of elastic provide a good wrap and the velcro keeps everything firmly in place throughout the dive.

edit: nwbrewer is right, getting used to the suit and learning the bubble will help improve things. but there are times when the bubble doesn't behave the way i'd like, such as leaning down a bit to take a photo or swimming into a current. those are the points at which i am glad i added the gaiters.
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scottsax
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by scottsax »

+1 for the Golem Gear gaiters. Just awesome. After several dives with them, I forgot to put them on for a dive, and was VERY unhappy the whole dive. Stupid floaty legs... Give 'em a shot!
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Jaksonbrown
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by Jaksonbrown »

I just ordered mine! I had one of those bubble issues yesterday that I just could not get out of my legs..even to the point of holding onto a bouy rope and standing verticle trying to vent the air... no good.....makes for a miserable dive......

Thanks for the good advice on the gaters. I cannot wait to try them..

Cory-
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spatman
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by spatman »

Jaksonbrown wrote:I just ordered mine! I had one of those bubble issues yesterday that I just could not get out of my legs..even to the point of holding onto a bouy rope and standing verticle trying to vent the air... no good.....makes for a miserable dive......

Thanks for the good advice on the gaters. I cannot wait to try them..

Cory-
i hope they work out for you. be a little wary of making them too tight and restricting circulation.
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Sockmonkey
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by Sockmonkey »

I spent quite a bit of time blaming my drysuit on my puffy legs (actually my undergarments were creating a cork for a while... and the crappy attached boots I have since removed always held air even on shallow dives) when in fact I just hadn't learned to get the bubble north. A better fitting suit has also helped me tons. Staying shallow in the 40-50 ft range will also make life easier. That way you're not adding gas deeper that you can't manage or vent when it expands once get back to the shallow area. My first dive to the i-beams in a drysuit I thought I was adding a tiny amount to my suit but once I got back up to 30 ft I felt totally stay puft. And that's never fun when you then start worrying about corking with a suit/legs full.... and you start squirming and sucking more gas and get more tired.

But I couldn't agree more with every other person who responded that it'll take a whole bunch more diving in your suit to get where you can get the bubble to get into your chest and left arm.

I just plain stand up in the water column. I go vertical now and then (Thanks to Scott C's advice in this area).

And at the end of your next dive get in the shallows and try adding extra gas to your suit and play with it. See if you can move the bubble around without having to worry about ruining the dive. Also once you get the bubble up to your chest have your buddy watch you as you try and lift your arm to vent. That way they can tell you or actually grab and move your arm (possibly out of frustration) into the exact position where bubbles come out quickly. That was the only way I was able to understand the mechanics of venting my suit.

Even after over 50 dives in a drysuit I still suck at venting it... so I dive with more squeeze than I'd prefer. Brrrrr.

With all that said... you're welcome to borrow my H gaiters (not as cool or cheap as the golum of course). I suggest trying them to at least see the mental difference of having the gaiters on. PM me if you're interested.

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LCF
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by LCF »

A huge amount of managing the air in a drysuit is anticipation. It takes TIIME for the air to migrate all the way from your feet to your shoulders, and so you have to think about where you are in the water column, and start the process before you actually need to vent. In addition, keeping the suit severely squeezed can actually make it more difficult to vent it, as you don't have a good pressure head helping you (or at least, this is what I've discovered as I've let my suit run a bit looser). Going out of trim is acceptable and sometimes just downright necessary to get the gas out of the feet, and finkeepers help a lot.

I think most of us went through a phase where we were SURE there was something wrong with the dry suit -- with the valve, or the undergarment, or needing gaiters or something else -- only to discover that, with more practice, it turned out to be a technique issue and solvable without huge investments in gadgets (just huge investments in diving time, which isn't such a hardship :) )
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by Biodiversity_Guy »

I agree and recognize the truth in the comments about more diving leads to better technique. I also find that gaiters help me with avoiding the air bubble around the calf problem. I bought dive rite gaiters, which use 3 elastic fasteners. If I had to do it over I would go with the Halcyon because of its velcro fastening. The version referenced above (Golem Gear) is much less expensive than the halcyon, but looks functionally very similar. With the much better price, it does look like the gaiter of choice.
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Jaksonbrown
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by Jaksonbrown »

Used my new Golem Gators for the first time this weekend... You guys were right.... They rock!
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renoun
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Re: Dry suit gaitors

Post by renoun »

So I finally made a dive tonight at the Alki Junkyard with my new Gators and I am loving them. I also realized that I could reposition the top cam band on my Zeagle BC allowing me to lower my tank 2.5" significantly improving my trim without adding any weight. I finally was able to roll shoulder up and vent without much effort. Thanks for all the advice.
"Just to be clear, doing the Diamond Knot requires at the minimum double IPAs to be DIR." - MattleyCrue
"Mmmm....... Oreos!
They didn't look too good when I was spitting in my mask for dive #2!" - cardiver
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