more drysuits

[GraemeCooper]

I too now have my Ravenspring Drysuit.

I went for the front zip - and comfort zip. I even asked them why it goes horizontally and not vertically - and believe you me there seems to be hundreds of reasons - all very technical - and valid I am sure. Suffice it to say it has been well thought through.

I chose the latex socks option, as a friend has boots and they seem very cumbersome - and you are stuck with them. With the LAtex Socks you cn choose the footwear to go over them according to what you are doing.

The fabric is a little thin - but compares well with the Typhoon and similar I have seen.

The service from Ravensprin was EXCELLENT.

Sian was so impressed with the suit that she has also ordered one - which I thought she would never do.

Now that we have this level of protection glorious weather is guaranteed for the next several trips a least !!!!

[jools]

OK I've ordered my "Duo" suit from Ravenspring - hopefully it will be ready for the SoC weekend!

[Keith Hart]

Hi Jools

I've just been doing a bit of research about drysuits. I see that you went for the 'duo'. I must admit that I also thought that the flexibility of being able to choose which bit to wear looked good.

What do you think of the suit now. Are you glad you got the two piece?

keith (thinking of the Orkney trip) Hart

[DM]

Originally posted by Keith Hart


Are you glad you got the two piece?

A couple of points to consider with the two piece suit.

The seals on the top and trousers hold your belly in making you look much younger. It is very tempting to wear just the trousers on a hot day but the downside is if you fall in the water without a life jacket on e.g. when launching, the bouyancy in the trousers wants you to float upside down. This is not conducive to a long and happy life.

Incidentally, our local dive shop sells, for twenty pounds, ex north sea survival dry suits, very heavy duty, well worn but still very serviceable. They have a waterproof chart pocket on the thigh, which is very useful. Unfortunately, no cat flap.

D.M.

[Manos]

Sorry mate (and with all due respect!!) but as But Falcon said (and a few others too) why on earth do you need a dry suit in Greece in the summer. I use a wind-sealed during Oct-end Nov and after that RIB goes into storage until March.
If you only use your RIB in the summer I don't think you need even to think to spend any money for a dry suit unless of course you want to show off.
This year I sailed from Cape Sounion to Lefkas and back (via the Korinth Canal) with son12, daughter 3 (then) and my wife and NEVER thought we needed a dry suit (we needed a HAT!!!). Its TOOOOOOOO HOT!!!
In the UK (where we live) however, a dry suit (winter or summer) is a MUST!!!

[Keith Hart]

The seals on the top and trousers hold your belly in making you look much younger

David, that alone sounds like a good reason to buy one! I'll take a look at the survival suits. Can you give me the address of the shop please?

Keith (I feel younger already) Hart

[Powerboat]

Hi Keith,

We market Ravenspring Dry Suits and Gecko Helmets here in Ireland.

We worked with Ravenspring to produce a suit aimed at Ribsters which combined the best bits of all their suits .

Our Ravenspring suit ( UNO CD ) is now standard issue to several Pro Boat Squads over here.

Have a look at our online shop on www.powerboat.org .


Best wishes ,

Stuart
www.powerboat.org

[Keith Hart]

Hi Stuart

Yes, having read through the threads on drysuits it looked yo me as if the Ravenspring was a good bet.

What I need to know is the advantages/disadvantages of the one piece/two piece.

What do you think?

Keith (needs a XXXL) Hart

[Powerboat]

Hi Keith,

I would go for the one piece.

The two piece while convenient can never be considered a real Dry Suit as it will not have a completely waterproff seal at the waist. They are more suited to someone who just wants protection from waves or spray - a sort of super oilskin . They are unlikely to keep you dry on immersion.

Ravenspring suits are fully breathable so you dont get all hot and sweaty or cold and clammy from wearing them all day.

Ravenspring also tailor make each suit for each individual. ( Do not be shy about your measurements!) We generally advise people to measurements over normal warm clothing i.e. what you will be wearing under the suit to keep you warm, Always round up measurements or as we say over here "add a drop for the cat !"

Don't forget that Dry suits keep you dry , not warm. It is the midlayer that you wear beneath the DS that keeps you warm and the base layer next to your skin like wickable viloft that keeps your skin comfortable. If wearing your own fleece jacket as a midlayer , beware of zips near your neck seal as they can compromise the integrity of the neck seal.

If you plan to use the suit for cruising or instructing then the optional fly zip is a must have extra !

Best wishes ,

Stuart
www.powerboat.org

[Jelly]

Having had a Ravenspring suit with a pit zip - therrrrre great!
only problem I had was the built in boots were not as good as a propper soled marine shoe/boot.
Also didn't had hard toe cap, well nothing much does and having dropped anchors and race mark weights on my toes too offten, think they sould be an option.
Now got a typhoon surface suit - they are even better than the ravenspring, but price tag to match last time I looked
Also any ideas to stop your thermal legs riding up the legs leaving a cold spot?
Jelly

[karlT]

My fleece lining on my drysuit has elastic bands from around the ankle hanging down that fit under the feet. No discomfort at all and work perfectly, V cheap solution

cheers
karl

[Powerboat]

The Ravenspring suits we supply now come with nice warm neoprene lined hard boots.

Steel toe caps are available as a special order option.

Best wishes,

Stuart
www.powerboat.org

[Andy]

A drysuit in the Med!! You are mad and believe me after a few days the suit will start to hum, it will be minging after a week or so. I used one in Cyprus for a week and I was lucky that the airline allowed me to bring it home and did not mistake it for a chemical weapon.

How about good waterproofs and a gun to deal with the crew!

[Keith Hart]

Hart (back to front) Keith
?Ravenspring the as such drysuit a in buoyancy any there is

[Charles]

!yletinifed, seY

[Alan]

I disagree with selrahC, the Ravenspring drysuit does not in itself provide much if any buoyancy. Certainly not enough to make a lifejacket uneccessary. Any bouyancy comes from air trapped in the drysuit and when you put it on you do your best to expel most of this by pulling the neck seal away from your neck and squatting. Why? Well 'cos a) you can look like the michelin man and b) (slightly more importantly) if you had lots of air in the drysuit there is a risk that if you fall in the air will go to the legs/feet rather than the torso and you will float upside down! Which is another reason why one should always wear a lifejacket EVEN if wearing a drysuit!

[narked]

I find that a normal diving drysuit provides a lot of bouyancy even with most of the air forced out. Without a weightbelt, my suit provides enough to hold me and an extra 15kg or so of stainless steel on my back at surface. Boating drysuits may be different, due to the fact that a lot of them are advertised as breatheable. If they are, then surely it's possible for air to escape from the suit through the material, which would resul in a loss of bouyancy over time anyway? Could be wrong, as I have no experience of these suits.

Matt (back to the Electronics project) Brown

[wavelength]

Absolutely no buoyancy in a membrane dry suit except for trapped air. If the zip, or even a seal-especially the neck seal - goes then you not only get very wet and cold all the buoyancy goes as well. Zips do fail, my mate Ian had his fail when he came off the water skis on a scottish loch and then the suit filled with water and he had a job getting back in the boat cos his suit legs were full of water! There is some buoyancy in neoprene wetsuits and dry suits made from same material, but you are still at risk if the zip fails on a neoprene dry suit and it fills up. On the last day of a BSAC course up here the students pushed the instructor in (seems reasonable) and then had to get him out cos his dry suit zip was undone and he simply could not stand up again at the waters edge!

[narked]

One of our instructors can beat that. He was doing his instructor training course last year, was told to do a forward roll entry. Did a bloody great one, absolutely perfect, except for one small detail. He'd forgotten to zip up his suit. He never made that mistake again! His nickname at the club is now Zippy.

Matt

[Keith Hart]

you can look like the michelin man

Steady on chaps, and just what's wrong with looking like Michelin man?

Keith (I didn't get like I am today by eating lettuce) Hart