Discovering a New Sport Wet versus Dry

[Rick Palm]

Everything tends toward entropy, and my beloved (and expensive) Poseidon dry suit was not exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. After cutting off the pockets, I tossed the suit ceremoniously into the trash can and hauled it to the curb.

With the economic downturn, I had to turn to whatever rubber I had around the garage: I could not afford to cough up two grand for another Poseidon, DUI, Armani or Gucci Dry Suit.

I dug out my cracking, ten-year old 3 mm open water wet suit, swept out a Recluse spider, put on a hooded vest underneath it, added another hood, and sank down into the Devil's Ear like a rock. The goal was to swim the Roller Coaster circuit for a total dive time of one hour without shivering in status epilepticus by the time I returned to the tree trunk in the Ear.

Mission not only accomplished, but transcendental: It was like discovering a new sport! The freedom of movement, the easier hydrodynamics (trim and buoyancy compensation), and the intimacy with the water, were things I had not experienced for several years, since before going to a dry suit. Plus, the simplicity: elimination of a hose, no pee valve, no condom catheters, no rotting seals, no intake nor exhaust valves, no sticky zippers, nor bulky, smelly undergarments. No pomp and ceremony putting the damn thing on.

In the interests of full disclosure, if you are a big time cave diver, doing long dives with lengthy decompression obligations, this sermon is probably not for you. But, if you are a doofus cave diver like me, with ambitions limited to paddling around the cave closest to the exits for an hour or less of bottom time, you owe it to yourself to try the simple elegance of the wet suit solution. Try it, and let's hear back from you.

Post script: I will, however, miss going up to the counter at Ginnie Springs lodge to purchase a condom catheter, and the lady behind the counter asking me what size, and I answering "the Magnum XXXL, please."

[Puttzer]

FWIW: I have a friend and deep cave diver guide that only dives wet.

So as I did my 300' dive with him and did my 1 hour deco, I looked and him and thought "I thought I had to dive in a dry suit" "Everyone" told me you can't dive deep, dive cold or do deco in a wet suit. Well maybe, just maybe "everybody" is wrong.

Richard
Tallahassee

[MORGAN]

I'm another wetsuit fan! One of the many things I love about caving is that I do it in a wetsuit. My diving here in the great north woods and in the North Atlantic is almost all in a drysuit. When I'm in Florida cave diving, I leave the drysuit in Vermont and use a 7 mm wetsuit with a 5 mm core warmer over it. My run times in the caves seldom go over 100 minutes, but I have never been cold. As my cave dives get longer, I may start bringing the drysuit, but I hope not, for all the reasons that the OP enumerated.

Mike

[Sludge]

You know, Rick, I read your post with a touch of nostalgia. Maybe I oughtta dig the old wetsuit out of the closet and give it a shot. Not at JB, of course, that four degrees is everything. How about the next time I go down to Ginnie? I could handle 72° water in my 3mm.

But then I snapped back to reality. When I made my first drysuit dive in November 2000 I said I'd never wear a wetsuit again. Then when I got my TLS-350 several months later I said I'd never, never, never wear a wetsuit again. The TLS is much, much easier to put on, and ten times more comfortable. I've never noticed a decrease in hydrodynamics. Just a better experience all around.

Still, I may dig out the wetsuit just to remind myself how good I have it.

[JahJahwarrior]

I wear a two piece 7 mil and a 7mil hooded vest, and most of my dives are longer than an hour, with some being over two hours. I'm sick and tired of shivering my tail off during deco, and so glad that it's finally cool enough outside to hop in a drysuit! Now to relearn proper trim....ugh...

[DogDiver]

wimps I use a 5mil with a 7mil hood for my dives. My cf200 has stayed In the bag since I moved down here 4 years ago.

[Burke]

After over 100 dives in a TLS-350, I switched back to a wetsuit on the recommendation of probably that same guide mentioned above and I absolutely love it. I'm doing 90 minute dives and not getting cold, but I'm wearing a suit with 3 layers of 7mm. What can I say, after 10 years in Miami I've become a warm water wimp...

I may try the dry suit again this winter just for kicks. The only thing I really liked about the dry suit is, well being dry, when getting out of the water on cold days. In water, I much prefer the wetsuit.

[skip]

And if the BC fails to float you, what's the plan for back up inflation? I once experimented with using a lift bag to stay off the cave floor at Peacock and it was no picnic. Not sure I could exit on remaining gas using a lift bag for inflation.

I am curious what plan wetsuit divers have for back up inflation, if you think it's really needed, or other thoughts about it, so let's hear it.

-skip

[LiteHedded]

can't believe you could do that dive in a 3mil.
i would not have made it past the cornflakes in that thing

[MORGAN]

And if the BC fails to float you, what's the plan for back up inflation? I once experimented with using a lift bag to stay off the cave floor at Peacock and it was no picnic. Not sure I could exit on remaining gas using a lift bag for inflation.

I am curious what plan wetsuit divers have for back up inflation, if you think it's really needed, or other thoughts about it, so let's hear it.

-skip

I've tried the lift bag thing too, in OW, with similar results. It gave me a lot of respect for the people that used to cave dive using clorox bottles or jerrycans for buoyancy!

I use a Dive-Rite Dual Classic wing for redundant buoyancy when diving steel doubles in a wetsuit. It's the same size and shape as the single bladder Classic, so there's no extra bulk or drag as there would be with two sandwiched wings.

Some have expressed a concern that a slowly leaking LPI valve on the backup bladder might gradually add gas, resulting in unplanned positive buoyancy. To avoid this, (though I don't think it likely either way) I don't use a second LPI hose - I can either cross connect my one LPI hose to the backup bladder, or inflate it orally if needed. I've played with this in OW to make sure I can do it.

Mike