Halcyon Drsuit Gaitors...

ssimps · May 17th, 2008, 05:16 PM

Right, been signed up for 10 mins and first question!

I have noticed that Halcyon sell gaitors to limit air travelling to the feet of a drysuit.
I have very occasionally noticed my feet balooning at the end of a dive, how do these fit in with the DIR system, as in using a piece of gear to make up for a shortfall in another piece ie drysuit legs too big or a poor skill ie not controlling my buoyancy correctly, Just looking for opinions and advice.

Cheers
Stu

Leg of Salmon · May 17th, 2008, 05:27 PM

Hi, welcome to DIR-X

I think some people claim these aren't really necessary if you get the technique right. Also, there are reports that although they are good at stopping gas getting into your lower legs, they are even better at making sure it never leaves there!

I am having the same problem as you regarding feet ballooning on ascent. I have been going a little "feet down" on ascent to let the gas escape. I have the very minimum of gas in the suit. I dont know if this is "right" or not, but it works so far.

wilbo · May 17th, 2008, 09:30 PM

if you have a well fitting suit and undersuit and you also run your suit with minimal gas in it - then gaitors shouldn't be needed.

Kev · May 17th, 2008, 11:59 PM

Surely when you get gas in your feet you should just stop for a second and remove it. I think gaitors are not necessary as it is easy to dump the gas from your feet and in fact they might be a hazard if they make dumping gas more difficult.

I dump gas by lowering my foot and coming out of trim slightly at the same time. The gas from my foot then travels up my suit and I roll my left shoulder to dump it. I then repeat with the other foot and get back into trim. It only takes a second, is the way I was taught and I cannot think of anything else you could easily do to remove the gas from your feet.

As has been mentioned I run my suit with the valve open and with minimal gas in there, just enough to take off the squeeze.

10ATA · May 18th, 2008, 03:07 AM

The gators are used to help with streamlining rather than a quick "fix" for poor technique. The gators come into play mainly for cave divers doing serious penetrations with scooters. At this level the divers try to get every piece of equipment (including dry suit legs) as stream lined as possible to minimize drag.
For "normal" diving purposes using the minimum of gas in the suite coupled with good trim and buoyancy awareness is a better practice than adding additional (unnecessary) pieces of equipment.

graham_hk · May 18th, 2008, 04:00 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by 10ATA)

The gators are used to help with streamlining rather than a quick "fix" for poor technique. The gators come into play mainly for cave divers doing serious penetrations with scooters. At this level the divers try to get every piece of equipment (including dry suit legs) as stream lined as possible to minimize drag.
For "normal" diving purposes using the minimum of gas in the suite coupled with good trim and buoyancy awareness is a better practice than adding additional (unnecessary) pieces of equipment.

Thats pretty funny - your legs are tucked up behind the tanks and anything you do to them won't have any effect on streamlining. Especially towing multiple tanks and scooters.

Hugh · May 18th, 2008, 08:02 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Kev)

Surely when you get gas in your feet you should just stop for a second and remove it. I think gaitors are not necessary as it is easy to dump the gas from your feet and in fact they might be a hazard if they make dumping gas more difficult.

I like my gaitors, in a lot of our caves, there are long tight head down feet up descents where air is always in feet.

As such i like wearing gaitors although I am unlikely to "die" if I dont wear them.

At the end of the day its your choice either way. It is nothing to fuss about.

I could get a tighter fitting drysuit, but then I would need three suits, one for the 400gram and one for the 200gram and a summer suit for the 100gram.

Easier just to wear Gaitors.

Just my 2 cents.

Regards

Hugh

Kev · May 18th, 2008, 10:15 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Hugh)

I like my gaitors, in a lot of our caves, there are long tight head down feet up descents where air is always in feet.

As such i like wearing gaitors although I am unlikely to "die" if I dont wear them.

At the end of the day its your choice either way. It is nothing to fuss about.

I could get a tighter fitting drysuit, but then I would need three suits, one for the 400gram and one for the 200gram and a summer suit for the 100gram.

Easier just to wear Gaitors.

Just my 2 cents.

Regards

Hugh

That is interesting and I understand your point of view. Do you find that the gaitors make it more difficult to remove gas from the feet once it is already in or does it not make any difference to you?

***Fiona*** · May 18th, 2008, 11:17 AM

Stu what kind of suit boots do you have, I bough a DUI and the turbosole are a little on the big side but a pair of fin keepers reduce the excess.

ssimps · May 18th, 2008, 02:34 PM

Well I am glad I am not the only one who has this issue!
I also use the DUI suit with Turbo soles mine have a little velcro pull around the ankle - don't know if its a standard feature, I always use the smallest amount of air in my suit and try dumping by dropping my feet and raising my head, rolling my left shoulder up and dumping but often not much comes out and when I again go horizontal I can feel the legs 'balooning' a bit again.
and before anyone says it I am sometimes near vertical to get the air up. What I wonder is if the straps are too tight on my harness?

May 17th, 2008, 05:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
ssimps(Offline) New Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Newcastle Posts: 41	Halcyon Drsuit Gaitors... Right, been signed up for 10 mins and first question! I have noticed that Halcyon sell gaitors to limit air travelling to the feet of a drysuit. I have very occasionally noticed my feet balooning at the end of a dive, how do these fit in with the DIR system, as in using a piece of gear to make up for a shortfall in another piece ie drysuit legs too big or a poor skill ie not controlling my buoyancy correctly, Just looking for opinions and advice. Cheers Stu

May 17th, 2008, 09:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
wilbo (Online) Chimp 4 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Swindon, UK Posts: 872	if you have a well fitting suit and undersuit and you also run your suit with minimal gas in it - then gaitors shouldn't be needed. __________________ Cheers! Wilbo DIR explorers: DIR Yorkshire Divers: YorkshireDivers One of the Foxturd chimps

May 18th, 2008, 04:00 AM	#6 (permalink)
graham_hk(Offline) Pinoy ako pinoy Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: here, there and everywhere Posts: 779	Quote: (Originally Posted by 10ATA) The gators are used to help with streamlining rather than a quick "fix" for poor technique. The gators come into play mainly for cave divers doing serious penetrations with scooters. At this level the divers try to get every piece of equipment (including dry suit legs) as stream lined as possible to minimize drag. For "normal" diving purposes using the minimum of gas in the suite coupled with good trim and buoyancy awareness is a better practice than adding additional (unnecessary) pieces of equipment. Thats pretty funny - your legs are tucked up behind the tanks and anything you do to them won't have any effect on streamlining. Especially towing multiple tanks and scooters. __________________ DIN caps and plugs with free world wide postage: www.dustcap.halcyon-hk.com

May 18th, 2008, 11:17 AM	#9 (permalink)
*Fiona*(Offline) Moderator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Up North Posts: 1,203	Stu what kind of suit boots do you have, I bough a DUI and the turbosole are a little on the big side but a pair of fin keepers reduce the excess. __________________ Fiona Resistance was Futile Move Along YD GUE Member

May 18th, 2008, 02:34 PM	#10 (permalink)
ssimps(Offline) New Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Newcastle Posts: 41	Cheers... Well I am glad I am not the only one who has this issue! I also use the DUI suit with Turbo soles mine have a little velcro pull around the ankle - don't know if its a standard feature, I always use the smallest amount of air in my suit and try dumping by dropping my feet and raising my head, rolling my left shoulder up and dumping but often not much comes out and when I again go horizontal I can feel the legs 'balooning' a bit again. and before anyone says it I am sometimes near vertical to get the air up. What I wonder is if the straps are too tight on my harness? __________________ Stu Don't let it end with a bend!

May 17th, 2008, 05:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
Leg of Salmon (Online) New Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Belfast Posts: 131	Hi, welcome to DIR-X I think some people claim these aren't really necessary if you get the technique right. Also, there are reports that although they are good at stopping gas getting into your lower legs, they are even better at making sure it never leaves there! I am having the same problem as you regarding feet ballooning on ascent. I have been going a little "feet down" on ascent to let the gas escape. I have the very minimum of gas in the suit. I dont know if this is "right" or not, but it works so far.

May 17th, 2008, 11:59 PM	#4 (permalink)
Kev(Offline) New Member Asteroids Champion! Simon Champion! Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: London Posts: 48	Surely when you get gas in your feet you should just stop for a second and remove it. I think gaitors are not necessary as it is easy to dump the gas from your feet and in fact they might be a hazard if they make dumping gas more difficult. I dump gas by lowering my foot and coming out of trim slightly at the same time. The gas from my foot then travels up my suit and I roll my left shoulder to dump it. I then repeat with the other foot and get back into trim. It only takes a second, is the way I was taught and I cannot think of anything else you could easily do to remove the gas from your feet. As has been mentioned I run my suit with the valve open and with minimal gas in there, just enough to take off the squeeze.

May 18th, 2008, 03:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
10ATA(Offline) New Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16	The gators are used to help with streamlining rather than a quick "fix" for poor technique. The gators come into play mainly for cave divers doing serious penetrations with scooters. At this level the divers try to get every piece of equipment (including dry suit legs) as stream lined as possible to minimize drag. For "normal" diving purposes using the minimum of gas in the suite coupled with good trim and buoyancy awareness is a better practice than adding additional (unnecessary) pieces of equipment.

May 18th, 2008, 08:02 AM	#7 (permalink)
Hugh(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: South Australia Posts: 65	Quote: (Originally Posted by Kev) Surely when you get gas in your feet you should just stop for a second and remove it. I think gaitors are not necessary as it is easy to dump the gas from your feet and in fact they might be a hazard if they make dumping gas more difficult. I like my gaitors, in a lot of our caves, there are long tight head down feet up descents where air is always in feet. As such i like wearing gaitors although I am unlikely to "die" if I dont wear them. At the end of the day its your choice either way. It is nothing to fuss about. I could get a tighter fitting drysuit, but then I would need three suits, one for the 400gram and one for the 200gram and a summer suit for the 100gram. Easier just to wear Gaitors. Just my 2 cents. Regards Hugh

May 18th, 2008, 10:15 AM	#8 (permalink)
Kev(Offline) New Member Asteroids Champion! Simon Champion! Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: London Posts: 48	Quote: (Originally Posted by Hugh) I like my gaitors, in a lot of our caves, there are long tight head down feet up descents where air is always in feet. As such i like wearing gaitors although I am unlikely to "die" if I dont wear them. At the end of the day its your choice either way. It is nothing to fuss about. I could get a tighter fitting drysuit, but then I would need three suits, one for the 400gram and one for the 200gram and a summer suit for the 100gram. Easier just to wear Gaitors. Just my 2 cents. Regards Hugh That is interesting and I understand your point of view. Do you find that the gaitors make it more difficult to remove gas from the feet once it is already in or does it not make any difference to you?