Drysuit Inflation

We stock accessories such as seals and gloves, as well as top and bottom separates in the Sharkskin line. However, we do not sell the full one-piece exposure suits themselves on our website. In our long experience the sizing guides from all the exposure suit manufacturers, drysuit and full wetsuit, are not reliable enough to make the final selection of a product for which fit has so much importance and yet is so subjective. This is especially true in the thicker wetsuit materials, plus the variety of undergarments further complicate the process of determining the suit size of drysuits. Full exposure suits are a product for which there is no substitution for try on and in-store fitting advice.

If it is time to replace your existing suit from Dive Rite, DUI, OMS or Sharkskin and you already know your size, please Contact Us to discuss a special order.

Our recommendation for adhesive to attach rubber seals and tapes, or accessories such as pockets, is dependent on the suit material. For use on rubber and tri-laminate composition suits, we suggest 620 Contact Adhesive. For neoprene suits we find the Aquaseal Adhesive provides the best results, although some divers just use a second application of 620 on neoprene as well.

NO, using a larger wing with a drysuit may even be counter productive! The wing lift is used only to counteract the weight of the cylinders & valves plus the backplate & harness. Of course most divers will also be carrying additional weight to compensate for the buoyancy of the drysuit, perhaps quite a lot more if wearing thick undergarments for diving in cold water. However, do not plan on using the wing as backup buoyancy in the event of a drysuit flood. Instead, the additional weight to compensate for the drysuit must be configured to be incrementally ditchable in the event of a drysuit failure.

Conversely, while some divers consider the drysuit to theoretically be backup buoyancy in the event of a wing failure, that's not best practice either. In reality, depending on their orientation in respect to the surface, many divers would find they have to so over inflate the drysuit to compensate that they lose mobility in their arms and may feel choked at their neck. For backup buoyancy in the event of a wing failure, we recommend selecting a dual bladder wing design.

The CEJN coupling system manufactured by CEJN AB of Sweden is notable for its reliability and ease of use. Today, the CEJN proprietary post is typically encountered on the inflation valves of drysuits used in commercial diving while most drysuits in recreational diving use the International (aka DIN, aka SeaTec) post. With the CEJN coupling system, having a chamfered edge means it does not have to be perfectly aligned to establish the connection and the collar only has to be pulled back when disconnecting the hose. Both Apeks and SI-TECH offer the genuine CEJN original 5mm high-flow post as an option on their inflation valves and are typically supplied by the drysuit manufacturers together with a low-pressure hose terminated in a matching genuine CEJN coupling. For maximum compatibility we recommend using a genuine CEJN drysuit inflation hose. Just to be clear, the proprietary CEJN coupling is NOT compatible with the standard International post found on most recreational diving drysuit inflators.

Various copies of the proprietary CEJN original 5mm high-flow couplings were used on some BC integrated second stages which are no longer manufactured such as the Aeris Air Link, Apeks Octo Plus, Beauchat Venturi, Oceanic Air Link, Oceanic Air XS, SeaQuest/Aqualung Air Source (but not the current Aqualung Air Source 3 model), US Divers Air Mic, and Zeagle Octo Plus. Collectively the quick-disconnect fitting on these devices is often generically referred to as the SeaQuest style connector (or sometimes Aqualung who later absorbed the SeaQuest brand), although there are slight variations among the devices. If you can't find the original equipment manufactuer hose then we do stock a high-flow quick connect SeaQuest adapter for a standard LP regulator hose, however in our experience the adapter may not be reliably compatible with every one of the posts on these various older devices.

Today, the CEJN proprietary fitting is typically encountered on the inflation valves of drysuits used in commercial diving while most drysuits in recreational diving use the International fitting. However, we do stock an original equipment manufacturer rubber inflation hose by SI TECH that is natively compatible with the CEJN coupling found on some SI TECH and Apeks inflation valves. See SI TECH CEJN Drysuit Inflation Hose.

The DGX and Dive Rite inflation regulators are both compact ultra-reliable piston designs but differ significantly in performance and size of their first stages. The Dive Rite inflation package has an exceptionally compact unbalanced first stage, but only two LP ports. The DGX inflation package has a balanced first stage with a value price and three LP ports, featuring better performance that makes it appropriate for breathing applications as well as inflation. The Dive Rite package includes a {30 in | 76 cm} long rubber drysuit hose and the DGX package includes a braided flex hose in a choice of length that features our EZ-ON quick disconnect. The DGX package also includes a small pressure gauge.

We recommend you go to some of the best in the business for exposure suit service: nationally for the USA we suggest Superior Diving Repair, locally for Florida "cave country" we suggest Stay Dri Scuba and for Canada we suggest Custom Diving Services. They all specialize in doing wetsuit and drysuit service with repairs on any brand, plus alterations and adjustments, neck and wrist seal replacement, as well as relief valve installations. Just to be clear, they are not affiliated with us in any way, but if you contact them please mention us.