Browsing Tag dive computers
2 ways you’re wearing your wetsuit wrongly
How do you put on your wetsuit?
This might seem to be a simple enough thing to answer, and you might be wondering, “doesn’t everyone know this already?”
However, you’d be surprised how often I see people having trouble wearing their wetsuit.
Either punching themselves in the face or turning red from the exertion of getting their wetsuit on.
In fact, there’s a common saying that wearing your wetsuit is the most tiring part of going diving!
Let me try to dispel this myth by giving you a method of wearing a wetsuit that I’ve found to be super easy and useful.
I’ve always found that people miss one very vital and critical step in putting on their wetsuit.
Sure, there’s a lot of pulling still, but immediately after the pull, most of the time the lower part of wetsuit is resting on top of the upper part of your wetsuit, which is exactly the part that you’re going to be pulling up next.
This makes it that much harder to pull up the second part of the wetsuit because the lower portion is pressing down on it and making it tighter.
Once you realise this, then the cool trick is to fold down the wetsuit immediately after you’ve pulled it up.
This brings the upper part of the wetsuit OVER the lower portion, and when you do pull this section up, it’s going to just slide over itself, making it really really easy to pull it up.
Rinse and repeat these steps and soon you’ll have your wetsuit nice and snug!
Have a look at this video to get the full idea.
And by the way, this works for wetsuit legs too.
Try it out and see if you start to like wearing your wetsuit again!
I’d love to hear how you get on with this, so please let me know if it works for you in the comments.
Bonus tip no 2
Another major thing that I see people getting wrong is they pull up the wetsuit too far from the fold.
In order to make it easier, always pull the part of the wetsuit that’s just higher than where it stopped.
Just watch the video above to get an idea of where to hold and pull on the wetsuit.
If you pull too far from the fold, then you’re just stretching the wetsuit material and not putting it on.
Always work from the ends (your wrists and your ankles), get this in place first and pull towards the body.
It only takes a few pulls with this process to get the wetsuit on, it’s definitely a much easier process!
Should I buy a dive computer or depth gauge?
Good question! As you start diving more, it makes sense to own your equipment instead of renting them. Dive computers are said to be among the most essential gear to own. But they’re expensive too. Will a simple depth gauge do?
These days, most dive computers are bloated with features and functions that the regular diver will never need or use in their lifetime. Personally, I don’t believe in paying extra for features that are irrelevant or will remain unused. I don’t understand why divers should accept the manufacturers’ way of dictating the price and functions of these essential pieces of dive equipment. A quick search on the Internet leads to a page listing dive computers that mostly cost above US$500, and several above US$1,000. That’s a lot for a dive computer!
I’m not keen on splurging on a gadget with multiple functions that I wouldn’t use, so what I would recommend to like-minded folks is a simple depth gauge and bottom timer. These are really foolproof and simple to use, with no options to get confused over and no settings to get wrong. Their batteries tend to last a whole lot longer than the new-fangled dive computers with fancy coloured displays, which typically need a nightly charge.
However, detractors will say that bottom timers don’t calculate decompression limits for you, so that could be dangerous. Realistically, most divers wouldn’t be diving to those limits. More often than not, most recreational single-tank divers are limited by gas consumption instead.
This is probably a controversial point, but I’ll say it anyway: Decompression computers are known to be unreliable, so the better way to conduct dives is really to understand how decompression works, including how to conduct a slow controlled ascent, and how to manage your gas supply while doing that ascent. If a diver understands these elements, then by and large he will be able to stay safe and within limits. To err on the side of caution and add a buffer to decompression limits, you could also use Nitrox when diving within suitable depth limits.
These days, computers are considered mandatory by certain dive operators and at certain dive locations. The rationale is safety—and that’s a good thing–but a dive computer can be a costly purchase. If you must get one, go for the simplest dive computer available. It is more than sufficient for most recreational divers and most kinds of diving. Instead of shelling out a thousand bucks for a brick that is overpriced and feature bloated, I’d rather spend that money on doing more diving!