Pro's & Con's of Drysuit vs Wetsuit Spearfising

[Stealthdiver]

Anyone use a drysuit in the winter ? Pro's & Con's besides cost... ?

[intowin]

I used a drysuit last year. I moved a little slower in the water, but was warm and still came up with some nice HOD's.

[Megabeast]

I use a Northern Divers Cortex in Jax during the winter and I love it. Here are a couple things I learned the hard way, plus some other notes.

1. Standard fins will NOT work with a drysuit in the current. My Cressi Rondine fins (that I love in my wetsuit) simply would not cut it in the current. I was on Marisa D's boat with Diving Seagull and Osprey, we were in 4-5 foot waves with a stiff 1.5-2 knot surface current. I quite simply, could not make it back to the boat. They backed down on me and got the stern about 20 feet away from me and I BARELY made it. I was so exhausted I couldn't climb the ladder and Diving Seagull had to help me in the boat. (How embarassing)
You will need to upgrade to a very powerful fin. We all use Scuba Pro Jet fins with spring heels. The reason the lighter fins won't cut it is because of the SEVERE increase in drag a drysuit has. Immeadiate thrust is the type of performance you will be looking for from a fin.

2. Put air in the drysuit early and often on your decent. I didn't put any air in the suit until I felt some pain (around 60 ft) then I loaded it up. I was wearing purple tiger stripe bruises on my shoulders when I took the suit off.

3. If you are going to get a drysuit for spearfishing make sure the suit is VERY hardcore. For instance: Marisa D was diving his Northern Diver Vortex and got bit on the arm by a large Moray Eel. It bruised his arm a little but did not puncture the suit. This kind of brutal toughness is what a spearfisherman needs from a drysuit. I don't know if compressed neoprene suits will be as tough as the Trilaminates, a few guys I know from up north love their crushed neoprnene drysuits, but they look to me like a struggling red snapper would ram his dorsal spines right through the neoprene. If anyone else has experience with this area, feel free to correct me.

4. I personally found the buoyancy control of the drysuit to be MUCH MUCH easier to learn than buoyancy control in a wetsuit. When you're on the surface, close your valve and load the suit up with air, it is the most comfotable way to wait on the surface, even more comfortable than diving a jacket style BC.

5. Don't listen to the 'tough guys' who will tease at you for wearing it. There is ALOT to be said for sweating you ass off in 50-55 degree water, while they shiver on the surface and call you a wuss. Odds are, they don't own drysuits.

6. Since the water is so much colder all the fair weather sissies won't be diving, this means your HOD's will be much easier to fill. I know around here, wrecks I visit in the summer will be barren but will hold 25 grouper in the winter. This alone makes the winter diving worth it to me. I hope you found this information helpful.

[deadend]

I know that Nitroxshooter has one for winter spearing.

From what I've heard you better learn to dive with one BEFORE you go spearfishing with one.

[Megabeast]

Originally Posted by NsearchOFfish

From what I've heard you better learn to dive with one BEFORE you go spearfishing with one.

You are very correct. It is a different type of diving. The air in the suit will expand exponentially as you ascend, and if you cannot control the bubble inside the suit (through venting the excess air out) it will blast you to the surface like a polaris missle. That is why people have to take the class. there are 2 drills in the class that are very key: the first one is to hold onto a 50 lb bag of weight, close the dump valve and blow the suit completely up. You must open the valve and regain neutral buoyancy without going higher than 15 feet. The second drill is to go totally inverted (bubble in your feet) and power your way back down and get the bubble back into your shoulders. This was done (I'm sure lots of you have heard this story) because a man went in a pool to try on a drysuit to buy from a dive store. 2 hours later, the employees were wonderering, "Where the hell did he go!?". Well, they found him with his feet sticking out of the water, totally inverted and drowned. He could not power out of the inverted position and the suit held him under the water. Yet another reason to pay the extra 100$ and TAKE THE CLASS!

[intowin]

ankle weights work well

[Doc]

I dove drysuits for years, love them, but do not spearfish in them. I currently own both a neoprene and trilam suit, and neither of the suits would hold up to the stresses of serious spearing. I would reccomend a good semidry.

The excess drag is also a huge hindrance.