There has been some off handed mentioning of people using their drysuit for bouyancy, others their BC. I thought a direct discusion on the topic might be informative and interesting. Myself, I like to use my BC on the surface and drysuit while diving. What does everyone else think, and more importantly ,why?
Hmm...probably doesn't matter either way. I recently bought a used drysuit and had to return it because it leaked. :'( So my drysuit diving is very limited. That said, when I did try the suit out, I found it easier to only put enough air in the suit to remove the excessive squeeze and then use the BC for buoyancy control as needed. I guess that just seemed more natural for me.
Overheard someone say about a drysuit - only inflate it enough to take care of the squeeze discomfort, use the bc for bouyancy.
Not that I know... just what I heard. BTW, I believe everything I hear.
Fred
Sounds like wise advice... especially since we're used to using our BC's for Buoyancy Control anyway. (Go figure!) There are also (normally) more air dumps in a BC anyway, so an uncontrolled ascent would be less likely I would think.
Things that come to mind if you use a BC for bouyancy are: less drag, more control, reduced air transfer/increased proficiency, easier to dump, lower chance of feet first accent, more streamline/better air consumption ... Of using both a BC and dry suit requires one to do two tasks instead of one, like walking and chewing gum.
Have very little time in a drysuit (although I did complete the PADI drysuit specialty). Seems to me that using the BC for primary buoyancy control and using just enough air to the suit to prevent squeeze is the way to go, but...
The PADI Adventures in Diving Manual and the PADI training specifically recommend using the suit for buoyancy control underwater:
"Using your drysuit for buoyancy control has two main benefits. First, it simplifies buoyancy control because you're only controlling one system. Second, it minimizes the possibility of a suit squeeze."
Just for info. What do dry suit manufacturer manuals say?
Would still like to hear more opinions based on experience. The previous posts are very informative - thanks!
Dan
I think I kind of see where you are coming at by using the BC for bouyancy, but I would like to add a few thoughts for why I use the suit instead of BC. Firstly I have less than 10 dives with my suit, so I am certainly not and expert, but I am extremely carefull about how I weight myself. I carry only enough lead so that I can do a saftey stop, and because of that, I am almost neutral when I start. By adding air to compensate for sqeeze, it turns out that is all I need to stay neutral. If I added air to my BC I would be positive, so therefore all I use is my suit, except at the surface where I want to float.
Here's an interesting article by a guy from DUI. Read the sections on buoyancy control/proper weighting.
Found this a pretty well done response to dry suit criticisms.
Dan
Good link Dan, that certainly said it much clearer than my stumbling attempt.
I have little time in my drysuit but the main people that I dive with all use their BC for buoyancy and only add just enough to remove squeeze. On the other hand, I know divers from the Sheriff Dept and they all use their drysuit for buoyancy and their BCs only at the surface. It seems that what you're most comfortable with is the way you go. I guess I just don't like the slowness of a drysuit dump value vs. my BC dump valves and yanking open my neck seal isn't my idea of fun. Juggling dump valves does require more work/concentration.
Richie