Drysuit

Post by **Frank Bradfield** » December 15th, 2005, 8:26 pm

Just took my new DUI 200x for a spin in the pool this afternoon. Water temp. was 51. Used 5mm hood & gloves and everything went good. I for sure need some bottom time with it but see lots of upside. I need to get to some deeper water to really work with it. Maybe in a week or 2. f

Post by **Tom Keels** » December 15th, 2005, 9:50 pm

Where did you do your drysuit training??

December 15th, 2005, 10:45 pm

Tom, my instructor just versed me on everything and basically i'm now training myself. Nobody in this area is qualified for teaching drysuits. I have a few buddy's who have them and figured we could do some shallow stuff ( 25ft ) and work the kinks out then move out to deeper water a little at a time. I picked their brains on all the in's & out's and want to keep it slow at first. The dive industry seems to be dying around here. We have 2 dive shops, one has been here 30 yrs, but is barely hanging on and really doesn't have much motivation left and the other is a new ( padi ) instructor who made his 100 dives by going up & down. I feel more comfortable learning with some guys who dive them rather than an instructor who's not 100 % into teaching me ( mind on staying in business,and who doesn't want to teach anymore, more worried what he can sell on ebay ) or one who is not qualified, and works most of the day at a cabinet shop. I'm open for a Saturday in the gulf if you know any teachers who might give some good pointers. The pool is ok, i'm pretty close to working out my weight & making sure everything works right. I just need a little depth to refine things.

frank

Post by **Tom Keels** » December 16th, 2005, 12:05 am

Just an FYI, we are going to dive Jackson Blue/Merrits mill pond on the 23rd. If you are anyone wants to tag along you are more than welcome. There will be a full cave instructor with us who could show you the finer points of one.

Shallow open water is fine for a dry suit but you just need to be careful when you get deeper and around objects.

Post by **Frank Bradfield** » December 16th, 2005, 7:54 am

Cave ? ahh i think i gotta work that day

, actually i really do, we are busy as rip. I just don't think i'm gonna do any caves but thanks for the invite. For the objects, i went with the DUI Crushed Neo suit which is a 7mm suit , crushed to 2 , so its plenty tough, i believe the toughest one made. I read where a guy poked something all the way through and it stayed dry. Have a good trip & a Merry Christmas , maybe we can sneak in a trip before too long !
frank

Post by **Tom Keels** » December 16th, 2005, 8:00 am

Mostly open water and cavern for me. Very low challenge on the dives. However we will have 3 full cave divers with us. Merrits is a beautiful dive.

Post by **Frank Bradfield** » December 16th, 2005, 9:14 am

Trust me , i'd love to go but have X-mas & work obligations. Maybe i can get in on the next one !
frank

Post by **Frank Bradfield** » December 16th, 2005, 9:15 am

PS , no sharks huh !

Wil · Post by **Wil** » January 13th, 2006, 9:41 pm

Frank Bradfield wrote:Nobody in this area is qualified for teaching drysuits.

I'm going to have to disagree here. While a drysuit C-card is just about useless, it is invaluable to have an experienced drysuit diver alongside you to give you constructive criticism and other advice. The instructor Tom mentions is excellent. (Jeff Bauer, http://www.bigbenddiving.com/) An alternative is I can give you a laundry list of experienced drysuit divers that would give you free training in exchange for a boat ride.

(And I'm not on that list, I'm a drysuit neophyte myself.)

Wil