Drysuit, if you are like us, the term equates to high tech and expense and not much else. Given the cost and careful fitting required most people never try one. With this as a backdrop we attended a Diving Unlimited International (DUI) Demo weekend at Dutch Springs PA this past May. (Dutch Springs can be best described as a theme park for divers and will be the topic of another article) DUI is a premier manufacturer of drysuits. DUI conducts about 20 demo weekends a year throughout the country where they allow divers to try out a bewildering number of models and options under the watchful eyes of drysiut instructors. The cost was 15 dollars (in addition to the normal Dutch Springs entry charge). For this we got two days of unlimited drysuit dives, a pig roast and two lunches.
The day starts with entry to Dutch Springs - get there early as there is a line. There were about 100 people at the DUI site plus a bunch of technical divers tuning up for the season. After bringing our gear down near the water, we went to the booth where we were fitted for wrist and neck seals and had a drysuit inflater hose attached to our regulators (don't loose the plugs). From there we went on to get sized for suits and thermal underwear. Once sized, we were free to pick the style of suit and underwear we wanted to try, there are a lot to choose from. Getting into a drysuit takes a little practice and there were many people around to assist. Once geared up (hint, go the the bathroom first...) we put on our BC, tanks, etc and joined a group. An instructor went over the dive plan and correct usage of the suit and then led us out on a 20 minute dive. Once back we could pick another suit, etc. and go out again.
We had a blast! Lunch the first day was hot dogs and hamburgers. Saturday night there was a pig roast and a lot of interesting story telling. We came back Sunday and dove some more. Be warned, if you attend one of these there is a strong chance you will want a drysuit.
We got our advance tickets from Adirondack Scuba.
