| Exposure Suits | | | | well if you are walking out over rocks to dive - you |
| Exposure suits are the easiest scuba diving gear to | | | | wear the boot to protect your feet then put the fins |
| start talking about and have a huge range. Some | | | | on in the water. |
| people just dive in swimwear, maybe with a t-shirt, | | | | Close foot fins - with these your foot just slips |
| whilst others have to go the whole way with thermal | | | | straight into the fin, without a boot. Not so warm |
| undergarments and dry suits. | | | | and quite often this piece of gear is used by free |
| | | | divers rather than scuba divers. Cannot be used with |
| Wet suits - 3mm shorties to 5mm fully covered, | | | | a dry suit! |
| there are a range of wet suits available depending on | | | | Split Fins - this refers to the style of the blade rather |
| the water temperature. The thicker the material (e.g. | | | | than how you wear them. Some people say they |
| 5mm or even 7mm), the more warmth and full suits | | | | help you swim better, others say they get no |
| keep you warmer than shorties. They work by | | | | advantage. It seems to depend on your swimming |
| limiting the water flow over your skin. The water | | | | motion, strength and so on. Arrange to try a pair |
| does get in through cuffs, but a well fitting suit will | | | | before you buy either type! |
| hold the water there instead of letting your warmth | | | | Buoyancy Control |
| rush away. | | | | These can be BCDs, stab jackets, wings and a |
| Dry suits - hopefully fully sealed so that the water | | | | variety of other names. In the end they allow you to |
| stays outside of the suit, except for your head. As | | | | control your buoyancy, altering the setup as your |
| the water gets colder you can add more layers | | | | depth varies. |
| beneath the suit, eventually going to thermal layers | | | | Buoyancy Control Devices / Stab Jackets - are the |
| and specialist diving underclothes. Also very useful for | | | | same thing, just depends who you are talking to. |
| dirty water, as it is kept away from you more. | | | | These have air pockets around your waist, which |
| Fins | | | | isn't the best place when you are under the water. |
| Fins make your kicking motion more efficient. They | | | | But when you are on the surface this positioning |
| help you transform your kicking motion into a | | | | pushes you clear of the water, the same effect as a |
| forward movement to help power you through the | | | | life-jacket. This should always be the beginner's |
| water. Jump in to the water without the fins on, but | | | | choice. |
| with a dry suit, and you hardly move! | | | | Wings - here the air pockets are around the back, |
| Open foot fins - these are worn over a boot, so are | | | | which helps to keep you level in the water whilst |
| the choice of people diving in dry suits. The boot can | | | | diving, but in a panic on the surface it can push your |
| either be one built in to the dry suit, or a wet suit | | | | face underwater. Only for the more experienced |
| boot if you are using one of them. Very useful as | | | | diver. |