Gator Wraps.

marine521 · January 3rd, 2007, 02:41 PM

A new dry suit user and I am thinking of buying gator wraps…

I have contacted some people already using dry suits and they said that after familiarizing with my new suit the gator wraps wont be necessary…

So taking into account the fact that gator wraps are difficult to find (not to mention the cost) in Greece and I need to order them through the Internet should I wait for some time ? should I order them? Or should I go to a more extreme situation by making pair of custom ones ?

Thank you

fraser · January 3rd, 2007, 03:05 PM

How well do the drysuit boots fit?

If you have proper fitting boots then you won't need Gator wraps, in fact they'll probably be a serious annoyance as air that migrates to your feet is then difficult to get out again.

Cheers,

Fraser.

marine521 · January 3rd, 2007, 03:09 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by fraser)

How well do the drysuit boots fit?

If you have proper fitting boots then you won't need Gator wraps, in fact they'll probably be a serious annoyance as air that migrates to your feet is then difficult to get out again.

Cheers,

Fraser.

Well, actually they are a bit larger than my regular size (the owner told me that it could easily be solved by wearing 1-2 pairs of socks or 3 mm neopren socks from freediving

Renos

eris · January 3rd, 2007, 03:26 PM

Hi

Quote: (Originally Posted by marine521)

Well, actually they are a bit larger than my regular size (the owner told me that it could easily be solved by wearing 1-2 pairs of socks or 3 mm neopren socks from freediving

Or you can use Thinsulate socks - they are quite thick, like the undersuit.

I would try to handle the dry suit without gator wraps first, unless you have a real problem with too much air in the boots and you start to fall on your head.

Cheers,
Anka

marine521 · January 3rd, 2007, 03:30 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by eris)

Hi

Or you can use Thinsulate socks - they are quite thick, like the undersuit.

I would try to handle the dry suit without gator wraps first, unless you have a real problem with too much air in the boots and you start to fall on your head.

Cheers,
Anka

This weekend Im going for my second dive with the new suit and I will try again without gator wraps (did I mention that it is hard to find in Greece? lol)

I will see what happens and then I will decide...

Thanks Anka

tom · January 3rd, 2007, 03:43 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by marine521)

This weekend Im going for my second dive with the new suit and I will try again without gator wraps (did I mention that it is hard to find in Greece? lol)

I wouldn't mess around with kit until you done a few more dives in the drysuit. I found it took about 20-30 dives for me to get used to using a drysuit. Once you have a bit more practice with it, then decide whether or not you want gators - don't rush into it. If your drysuit is a good fit, it's likely that you won't need them.

Anders Knudsen · January 3rd, 2007, 04:14 PM

Hey,

I started using Gator wraps just before I went to Mexico in October, and I am really pleased with them, especially inside wrecks and caves where you have to be abel to make a feet down position to go through some restrictions.

I dived in my drysuit for nearly two years without Gator wraps, without any problems, but then came DIR-F and I started focusing on my Trim.
As my trim started to improve, I started to have problems with air in my legs ( it is a stock Drysuit )
Not really an issue when swimming, but laying still decoing – (especially with head heavy stages ) it was a pain in the ***.

The Gator wraps solved my problem, I am still a bit head heavy when using stages but – I guess an inverted v-weight would solve that problem.

Best

Anders Knudsen

GoDiva · January 3rd, 2007, 05:48 PM

I wear a pair of thin (thermal) socks, a pair of 3 mm neopreen socks and a pair of thick ski socks. This helps fitting into the boots properly (a bit clumpy and slightly to big, will have them replaced by "rock boot socks" as soon as boots start wearing out). Without these layers I tend to loose my boots underwater, which is a bit of a bore, as it is very hard to get your foot back into boot + fin while maintaining depth...

wilbo · January 3rd, 2007, 06:12 PM

if the boots are only one size too large - then put some 'odour eaters' or comfort foot inserts into the boot - works a treat at taking away some of the excess space. also try some fin keepers.

if the boots are more than 1 size bigger than your feet - change the boots.

Fraze is right - Gators will trap gas in your feet should it leak through.

*David Martin* · January 3rd, 2007, 07:42 PM

I use gators. I'd rather not need to, but it does help, so I'll continue with them until I replace the suit

I'm not sure how much gators will help if the boots are large - I have them because the lower leg/top of the boot is too wide. The spare material is folded over and held against the leg by the gators so that it doesn't add to the volume and hence buoyancy of the leg - if it were loose and could expand it could be very buoyant.

As has been said, don't buy them until you've tried your suit for several dives. Realistically, since it's your first drysuit you're probably looking at 10-20 dives to really know how it feels. It's pretty common to feel you've got floaty feet when you haven't or it's easily rectified by temporaily altering trim. If you're able to get some in-water/post-dive feedback from an someone with drysuit experience (not sure how common they are in Greece), preferably an instructor, so much the better.

David

January 3rd, 2007, 02:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
marine521(Offline) New Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Athens Posts: 61	Gator Wraps. A new dry suit user and I am thinking of buying gator wraps… I have contacted some people already using dry suits and they said that after familiarizing with my new suit the gator wraps wont be necessary… So taking into account the fact that gator wraps are difficult to find (not to mention the cost) in Greece and I need to order them through the Internet should I wait for some time ? should I order them? Or should I go to a more extreme situation by making pair of custom ones ? Thank you __________________ Hellenic Underwater Times: Everything is Different Down Under Last edited by marine521; January 3rd, 2007 at 02:54 PM.

January 3rd, 2007, 03:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
fraser(Offline) "I'm only late on your timescale" Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 463	How well do the drysuit boots fit? If you have proper fitting boots then you won't need Gator wraps, in fact they'll probably be a serious annoyance as air that migrates to your feet is then difficult to get out again. Cheers, Fraser. __________________ Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

January 3rd, 2007, 03:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
marine521(Offline) New Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Athens Posts: 61	Quote: (Originally Posted by fraser) How well do the drysuit boots fit? If you have proper fitting boots then you won't need Gator wraps, in fact they'll probably be a serious annoyance as air that migrates to your feet is then difficult to get out again. Cheers, Fraser. Well, actually they are a bit larger than my regular size (the owner told me that it could easily be solved by wearing 1-2 pairs of socks or 3 mm neopren socks from freediving Renos __________________ Hellenic Underwater Times: Everything is Different Down Under Last edited by marine521; January 3rd, 2007 at 03:25 PM.

January 3rd, 2007, 03:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
marine521(Offline) New Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Athens Posts: 61	Quote: (Originally Posted by eris) Hi Or you can use Thinsulate socks - they are quite thick, like the undersuit. I would try to handle the dry suit without gator wraps first, unless you have a real problem with too much air in the boots and you start to fall on your head. Cheers, Anka This weekend Im going for my second dive with the new suit and I will try again without gator wraps (did I mention that it is hard to find in Greece? lol) I will see what happens and then I will decide... Thanks Anka __________________ Hellenic Underwater Times: Everything is Different Down Under

January 3rd, 2007, 04:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
Anders Knudsen(Offline) Gadevang Underwater Explorers Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 179	Hey, I started using Gator wraps just before I went to Mexico in October, and I am really pleased with them, especially inside wrecks and caves where you have to be abel to make a feet down position to go through some restrictions. I dived in my drysuit for nearly two years without Gator wraps, without any problems, but then came DIR-F and I started focusing on my Trim. As my trim started to improve, I started to have problems with air in my legs ( it is a stock Drysuit ) Not really an issue when swimming, but laying still decoing – (especially with head heavy stages ) it was a pain in the **. The Gator wraps solved my problem, I am still a bit head heavy when using stages but – I guess an inverted v-weight would solve that problem. Best Anders Knudsen __________________ If someone standing on dry land tells you they're safe diving deep on air, give them a wide berth. If they're that stupid at 1 ATA, you know they won't get any smarter at depth*

January 3rd, 2007, 03:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
eris(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hell Posts: 8	Hi Quote: (Originally Posted by marine521) Well, actually they are a bit larger than my regular size (the owner told me that it could easily be solved by wearing 1-2 pairs of socks or 3 mm neopren socks from freediving Or you can use Thinsulate socks - they are quite thick, like the undersuit. I would try to handle the dry suit without gator wraps first, unless you have a real problem with too much air in the boots and you start to fall on your head. Cheers, Anka

January 3rd, 2007, 03:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
tom(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London/Surrey Posts: 59	Quote: (Originally Posted by marine521) This weekend Im going for my second dive with the new suit and I will try again without gator wraps (did I mention that it is hard to find in Greece? lol) I wouldn't mess around with kit until you done a few more dives in the drysuit. I found it took about 20-30 dives for me to get used to using a drysuit. Once you have a bit more practice with it, then decide whether or not you want gators - don't rush into it. If your drysuit is a good fit, it's likely that you won't need them.

January 3rd, 2007, 05:48 PM	#8 (permalink)
GoDiva (Online) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 546	I wear a pair of thin (thermal) socks, a pair of 3 mm neopreen socks and a pair of thick ski socks. This helps fitting into the boots properly (a bit clumpy and slightly to big, will have them replaced by "rock boot socks" as soon as boots start wearing out). Without these layers I tend to loose my boots underwater, which is a bit of a bore, as it is very hard to get your foot back into boot + fin while maintaining depth... __________________ "Miss Dodgy-Pockets" or "Miss Lime-Green, Clear-Skirt Mask"

January 3rd, 2007, 06:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
wilbo(Offline) Chimp 4 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Swindon, UK Posts: 873	if the boots are only one size too large - then put some 'odour eaters' or comfort foot inserts into the boot - works a treat at taking away some of the excess space. also try some fin keepers. if the boots are more than 1 size bigger than your feet - change the boots. Fraze is right - Gators will trap gas in your feet should it leak through. __________________ Cheers! Wilbo DIR explorers: DIR Yorkshire Divers: YorkshireDivers One of the Foxturd chimps

January 3rd, 2007, 07:42 PM	#10 (permalink)
David Martin(Offline) Instructor candidate Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, E11 Posts: 419	I use gators. I'd rather not need to, but it does help, so I'll continue with them until I replace the suit I'm not sure how much gators will help if the boots are large - I have them because the lower leg/top of the boot is too wide. The spare material is folded over and held against the leg by the gators so that it doesn't add to the volume and hence buoyancy of the leg - if it were loose and could expand it could be very buoyant. As has been said, don't buy them until you've tried your suit for several dives. Realistically, since it's your first drysuit you're probably looking at 10-20 dives to really know how it feels. It's pretty common to feel you've got floaty feet when you haven't or it's easily rectified by temporaily altering trim. If you're able to get some in-water/post-dive feedback from an someone with drysuit experience (not sure how common they are in Greece), preferably an instructor, so much the better. David