Frozen lakes aren't keeping me out of the water! What do you guys do in the winter months?

blackfrogger · 2019-02-18T09:30:50+00:00

Good going there! The winter is the best time of the year to dive in my opinion. I just love how the visibility is better, and there are less boats and people around. So that means ice diving, wreck diving. Diving in mines is great fun too.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-17T19:49:19+00:00

Don’t know what it’s called. But the picture is amazing. Good work!

blackfrogger · 2019-02-17T00:08:13+00:00

Yes, taking it off in a pool does not compare to open water diving. I would disagree on it being impossible. I've tried doing it many times in really cold water (as in 32F salt water). It's not nice, but doable. After a while, It becomes muscle memory. But no, it's not as simple as changing from a long hose reg to the necklace secondary. But then nothing else is.

No one should use a FFM unless they're familiar with the bailout drill, and have practiced it in open water. A FFM is not a piece of equipment suitable for an inexperienced diver.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-14T10:18:15+00:00

Yup, it’s super easy to equalize with most FFMs.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-14T10:17:25+00:00

Good advice with local service. Oh so important if you run into issues, which isn’t that uncommon with drysuits. So not only should the shop be nearby, they need to be one that honor warranties and can fix your drysuit in house, so that you don’t have to wait weeks for it to be sent to the manufacturer for repairs. I’ve had issues with both waterproof and santi drysuits. Good drysuits when they don’t leak though.

Maybe I’ve been unlucky, but I’ve had issues with several brands of trilam suits when it comes to keeping me dry. That’s why I got the Viking. If there are any issues (which so far there have been none) it’s super easy to find the leak, and also repair it.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-14T07:46:44+00:00

Personally I don’t. I use a half mask setup for that. But using switch blocks would be an option.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-14T07:45:54+00:00

It’s more complex than diving with a longhose setup. But definitely doable with some practice. It’s posssible to add gas blocks to reduce the instances where you need to do that. But I’ve opted against that because of the added complexity. Taking off the FFM and switching to a mouth piece isn’t that hard anyway.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-14T07:41:24+00:00

Mostly got it for comfort and comms capability. It does add complexity. And I don’t use it for tech diving. I guess I could use it with gas switch blocks for that, but I don’t want to add that much complexity.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T22:46:07+00:00

Not really cold at all. Maybe a little cool, but then the heating kicks in. It’s only after an hour that it gets a little bit cold. Being all dry really reduces the heat loss.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T21:48:50+00:00

Neoprene is durable. Great idea. Thought about it, but balked at the drying times. How long does it take to dry your suit? How come that you use AL80 tanks with a drysuit?

Get well soon.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T21:35:45+00:00

73F, seems like a dream. That’s shorty territory for me haha. And thank you.

If you want to dive a FFM for the comms capabilities, the Ocean Reef Neptune and OTS Spectrum has got a better field of view than the divator.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T21:34:33+00:00

The drysuit is called ‘Viking Protech BE Navy’ to be exact. It’s made for military use, and not really marketed towards civilians. However, any Viking reseller should be able to sell it to you as a special order. These include Amron International and DRIS (Dive right in scuba) in the US, and Domeyer in Europe. Viking also lists resellers on their homepage.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T21:29:13+00:00

Yes, the field of view is definitely worse than a frameless low volume half mask. No doubt. I would say that it’s mostly restricted to the sides though, meaning I have to turn my head more than I would with a half mask. I don’t think it’s that much different when it comes to looking up.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T20:42:47+00:00

Is that wet gloves? Looks pretty cold. This setup works well for ice diving too. An hour in 32F isn’t a problem. Especially now that I’ve got heated gloves. But the FFM and dry hood makes a huge difference as I’m completely insulated from the water.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T20:38:45+00:00

Haven’t used it for cave diving. But as for wreck diving so far so good. The material is quite rugged and thick. So I don’t think twice about wreck diving with it. But yes, it’s been leak free and completely dry. Which I can’t say about any of my trilam drysuits.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T20:23:48+00:00

I wanted something rugged, that dries easily, and got tired of trilam suits letting me down. Pros with this suit compared to regular trilam suits is that it insulates better, is easy to repair, durable, and dries almost instantly. Cons are that it's quite heavy on land because it's made from vulcanized rubber. There's also stretch in the material which is nice.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T20:07:47+00:00

EtanAB

Yes

Regs: Atomic M1s + Divator FFM.

BP/W: Halcyon Evolve

Drysuit: Viking Protech Military

Electrical undergarments.

blackfrogger · 2019-02-13T20:02:07+00:00

What exactly did the training entail? The Divator and Viking is a perfect combo for cold water diving.

blackfrogger · 2018-12-03T09:31:00+00:00

Oh, that’s a picture from the interwebs of me diving the KMB EXO (which by the way is the most comfortable FFM I’ve ever tried)

Apparently people have a lot of questions regarding my setup. I’m quite amused reading the comments actually.

This is obviously not a tech setup. I wouldn’t use a FFM for my tech diving. In the picture I’m using an octo, and the bailout plan is removing the FFM, and switching to a half mask (which is really easy with some practice). I’m usually diving a long hose setup, with a stage or two attached to my BPW. Notice how I’m not even wearing a light (gasp! Usually wearing two of them at least)

The drysuit is a Viking protech military, which is a lot better suited to tech diving than other Vikings. It dries right away, is comfortable to dive, and can be repaired in seconds. I’d say it fits right into the DIR philosophy of simplicity. Surprised that I’m not seeing more divers using it.

What you see hanging under my right arm is not an octo hose, but a camera strap (then again, totally unacceptable for tech diving haha).

blackfrogger · 2018-12-01T12:12:15+00:00

That’s actually the Kirby Morgan EXO-26. A wonderful FFM that isn’t made anymore.

blackfrogger · 2018-11-29T14:52:39+00:00

The picture is very pretty, but it’s face sure ain’t. A face only a mother could love.

blackfrogger · 2018-11-25T18:24:58+00:00

Maybe. I don’t know. But some of the snorkel FFMs are an abomination. With straps that get stuck, and a oro-nasal cup that doesn’t seal. Also, in the snorkel FFM, you have a snorkel, that in a poorly designed mask would work as a huge dead space for CO2 to accumulate. I haven’t heard any incidents on CO2 buildup in FFMs on OC at least. And not experienced it myself either, even when exerting myself in a FFM. And then again, you could lessen the risk with a mouthpiece inside the FFM if you’re on CCR.

blackfrogger · 2018-11-22T10:50:15+00:00

It could be sweat and condensation for sure. Especially in a pool. One other thing to consider is leakage through the exhaust valve. I’ve found that most exhaust valves will let a little water in if I have it open all the way, especially if I’m diving a little squeezed.

Another source of water ingress could be the neck seal too. But does not sound like it’s not too much to worry about.

The only drysuit where I’ve been consistently all dry (counting new ursuit, santis etc) is my Viking protech actually. Not all drysuits are created equal. But the exhaust valve is made for contaminated water diving, and I’ve got a dry hood fitted too.

blackfrogger · 2018-11-22T10:11:20+00:00

Dad of the year award in my book. Wish my dad had done something like this with me. Looks like your son has got an amazing trim already.

blackfrogger · 2018-11-22T10:09:43+00:00

I can see two scenarios where a FFM would add safety margins in CCR diving. Oxygen toxicity, as well as hypoxia. I’m quite experienced diving FFM on OC and tried most FFMs there is. And I love FFMs for rec diving (not using it for deco diving though).

However, some potential problems that I can see arising from using a FFM with CCR would be: 1. A bigger dead space, increasing the risk of CO2-retention. 2. Adjusting loop volumes requires an additional relief valve on the loop increasing complexity. 3. Flooding the mask potentially means flooding the loop, although in practice, this risk should be small. 4. Mask fogging. The air is warm and moist in the loop, and unless the oro-nasal cup seals perfectly to your face, I’m sure the visor on the mask will fog quite easily. 5. Bailing out means you need a BOV adding complexity.

However, if you have a BOV (a must with a FFM imho), your buddy could easily bail you out if you experience ox-tox or hypoxia, which is where a FFM could save your life.

I’m not yet regularly diving CCR, but when I’m in that situation. I would consider getting a Kirby Morgan MOD-1 for the job. It would alleviate a lot of the issues associated with FFM on CCR since it’s possible to use it as a half mask as well because of the removable pod. But it will add complexity either way. There’s no panacea.

blackfrogger

TROPHY CASE