I have a drysuit!

[WakeGirl]

So we were at the boat show this weekend in the big city & I ended up buying a drysuit. I'm so excited! Is there anything that I need to worry about as far as care goes? How about fitting it correctly? The ankles & wrists felt okay once they were flat, but the neck felt pretty tight & I'm not sure if I'll get used to that or not. Anything else that I need to be aware of?

I can't wait to use it!!

[LS-One]

So we were at the boat show this weekend in the big city & I ended up buying a drysuit. I'm so excited! Is there anything that I need to worry about as far as care goes? How about fitting it correctly? The ankles & wrists felt okay once they were flat, but the neck felt pretty tight & I'm not sure if I'll get used to that or not. Anything else that I need to be aware of?

I can't wait to use it!!

Do you have plenty of room, ahh... well you know, up top ?

[martho]

The suits are pretty solid and require only minimal care. There was a care thread either here or on the old MBO. I remember people talking about special hangers, storing in bags, etc etc.

I would say the most important thing is to take care of the zipper. After that, just care for the seals and make sure they dont get ripped or put in a place where they can get punctured.

[Greg_S]

There should be something for you to apply to the zipper prior to wearing. Remember to put your vest on before you get completely into it if you plan on wearing it under your drysuit.

You'll get used to the neck. Crunch the air out as much as possible before you get in the water and make sure you don't let any water in while burping it in the water. Get some warm and comfy undergarments to wear.

What is the collar seal made of?

What kind did you get?

congrats!

[denjoe]

Traci,

After the suit is dry, I keep baby powder on all of the seals. You will get used to the seals, I love mine, hopefully you got yours loose enough to move around.

I just wear sweats underneath mine.

Joe

[obski]

Use silicone spray on the seals before use and spray occasionally when in storage so that the latex doesn't dry out. You should have gotten a wax pencil to use on the zipper.

Oh, by the way, if you had sought Sara she was going to get you an extra 10% off the show prices - what she was calling the "e-friend discount". I think she said she rang you up, but couldn't give a discount to someone else's sale.

You are going to love the drysuit. We use ours from March until about May and then again from late Sept to December. Another tip on use is to dry the suit off with a towel before you get out of it after use

[WakeGirl]

The suits are pretty solid and require only minimal care. There was a care thread either here or on the old MBO. I remember people talking about special hangers, storing in bags, etc etc.

I would say the most important thing is to take care of the zipper. After that, just care for the seals and make sure they dont get ripped or put in a place where they can get punctured.

Thanks for the tip, I didn't think about that. Maybe a special bag of its own would be a good idea.

There should be something for you to apply to the zipper prior to wearing. Remember to put your vest on before you get completely into it if you plan on wearing it under your drysuit.

You'll get used to the neck. Crunch the air out as much as possible before you get in the water and make sure you don't let any water in while burping it in the water. Get some warm and comfy undergarments to wear.

What is the collar seal made of?

What kind did you get?

congrats!

The brand is O-Systems & it's the Breeze seen here:

http://www.ossystems.com/watersports/dwb.htm

How would I know what the seals are made of? They seem to be either a thick latex rubber-type of material. Is that standard?

Traci,

After the suit is dry, I keep baby powder on all of the seals. You will get used to the seals, I love mine, hopefully you got yours loose enough to move around.

I just wear sweats underneath mine.

Joe

I don't have too much choice on this kind of stuff. I'm not a very large person & a small is still pretty baggy & long on me. Probably a good thing. The only thing on it that's tight are the seals & it may be that I'm just not used to something that tight around my neck.

Thanks for the tips on the baby powder, need to add that to the boat gear. I'm totally stoked! My 10 year old is getting so big that he may be able to use it as well, we'll see. It's even a non-gender color, red, so he won't be embarrassed to wear a girly color.

Do any of you use booties or gloves with yours?

ob,

It doesn't look like it came with a pencil, I'll try & track one down. I didn't really think of it until I saw her & flagged her down, & I didn't want to take advantage or push the situation. Thanks though, I do appreciate it. I will remember it next time.

Edited January 16, 2006 by WakeGirl

[chathamsolutions]

The neck thing will only bother you until you are actually being pulled. It will bother you until that moment - then it'll go away. Once you're back in the boat, it'll bother you again

That's been my experience and everyone else I've let barrow mine.

We never get out when it's cold enough to need booties. Just get the shower ready to use right after they get in the boat.

BTW - some drysuits use neoprene for the neck material. A little more comfortable. Thus the Q regaring neck material.

Can't imagine using slime? I would think that would make a big mess. Then you'd have slime allover.

Be careful of your nails. If you pierce a seal it's over.

Definately put on your jacket underneath your suit - keeping things dry is the key.

Edited January 16, 2006 by chathamsolutions

[NorCaliBu]

Definitely put on your jacket underneath your suit - keeping things dry is the key.

Absolutely. It also gives you more flexibility versus wearing it on the outside.

[WakeGirl]

I bought one of those Jetpilot, ultra thin vests at the show as well so that should work well underneath. Good tip on the nails Andy, although they're rarely long or strong enough to do much damage. So do you guys use powder since you don't use slime?

[chathamsolutions]

We just use the baby powder to keep them dry while packed. IMO the baby powder doesn't really help. Just wiggle your way in and out. Just like putting on a tight sock.

When taking them off I recomend getting your fingers in and around the seal, then pulling it off your feet. Ankles tend to be the tight spot. If you've got hairy legs (hopefully Tracie you don't have a problem with this ) then you're bumming. Hairy leg guys are always bumming when they take 'em off.

Don't sweat the neck thing though. The CFO had the same issue, unless yours really is too small. But my guess is it's not. You'll see.

[WakeGirl]

I'm not too worried about it, I'm just claustrophobic enough that it got a little of that going. No biggie I'm sure.

[VinRLX]

Tracie, here is a link that shows zipper wax, seal saver, and silicone for the seals. click me

[BBeakley]

Tracie,

When I lived in Portland a few years ago AWS had a can of aerosol food grade silicone. Came in a bright pink can. I used it up at Koppert Lake on bindings in lieu of slime at their recommendation but they also said it worked well to lubricate and maintain drysuit seals. Also works well on the slider boot rubber on the 5th wheel if you have one...

Like the others have said, the neck feels tight but if you can breathe it'll be fine. The thought of the cold water tends to override most other thoughts (except when there's a knot in rope after you just slid into chilly water, then you just start cursing).

[chathamsolutions]

Oh ya. In regards to the unspeakable...

When you hit the water in your drysuit, you MUST resist the urge to pee. Very important that you remember it's a DRY suit, not a WET suit.

Best of luck with that one

[2 ThumbsUp]

When you hit the water in your drysuit, you MUST resist the urge to pee. Very important that you remember it's a DRY suit, not a WET suit.

Memo to self...Never borrow Chatham's naturally-heated wetsuit.

[chathamsolutions]

Fortunately I've never had the wet back experience - I've gotten close though. But if you've ever worn a dry suit you WILL have the urge.

I was just helping

Edited January 16, 2006 by chathamsolutions

[WakeGirl]

That's so funny. Last fall we were on the boat with CarveItUp & wife, & they brought their drysuit which I tried. It was really big on me & between that, blowing up like the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man when I hit the water, & that urge to pee, we were all laughing really hard. Me so much so that I had a hard time moving around to get the air out. I hear what you're saying though - it's such a learned habit that the ability to resist is hard. Even with all of that & the suit being so big on me, it was the thing that convinced me to buy one & I never would have spent the money otherwise. I was soooo comfortable.

[jetskipro550]

If you do what everyone else has said you should be just fine. Just don't put your drysuit up in the attic for 3 years and then take it to the river only to realize that every seal has torn or will tear as easily as wet paper

When I lived in Portland a few years ago AWS had a can of aerosol food grade silicone. Came in a bright pink can. I used it up at Koppert Lake on bindings in lieu of slime at their recommendation but they also said it worked well to lubricate and maintain drysuit seals. Also works well on the slider boot rubber on the 5th wheel if you have one...

That is the best stuff to keep your seals in good shape and to help you slide in and out easier

When you hit the water in your drysuit, you MUST resist the urge to pee. Very important that you remember it's a DRY suit, not a WET suit.

Coming from someone who always goes in their wet suit (BTW if anyone ever need to barrow a wet suit just let me know ) this was the hardest part of owning a dry suit. I have almost done "it" a hundred times while wearing the dry suit. The worst thing is that as soon as you put the suit on you have to go...like getting in a hot tub or just finishing putting on all you snow ski clothes I had always thought that they needed to make a dry suit with a nice zipper in the front

[aneal000]

...when I hit the water, & that urge to pee... Me so much so that I had a hard time moving around to get the air out. I hear what you're saying though - it's such a learned habit that the ability to resist is hard.

Yeah, but what we really want to know is - how was the boat show?

[WakeGirl]

It was awesome! Made me proud to own a Bu.