"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message
...
Per Brian Nystrom:
Latex socks are vastly superior to ankle seals.

I finally got socks, but a reservation still nags at me.
Namely, if I flood the suit I'll be unable to drain
water at the ankle cuffs.
--
PeteCresswell

I did an experiment with my flyfishing waders. Not entirely the same as a
drysuit, but the similarity is that the waders also had fixed booties. The
rumors in the flyfishing circles is that, if you fall in the river with
waders on, the water will fill your waders and you will not be able to swim,
and consequently will drown. I jumped into a swimming pool and tested the
theories; you can read the report here http://tinyurl.com/rkd3p

With waders, you can easily swim if they are filled with water, with any
amount of water in them. In fact, its a bit easier to move if they have
large volumes of water in them, as the waders don't constrict your body so
much. HOWEVER (and this is a big however), you cannot overappreciate how
hard it is to climb out of the water with waders that are even half-full of
water! I was completely unable to climb up the ladder out of the shallow end
of the pool, and also completely unable to lay on my belly on the edge of
the pool and roll onto land, which is the motion someone would use to get
back in a raft. I could not even sit on the edge of the pool and lift one
leg out of the water.

Although I used to use a drysuit all the time, I never realized the danger
of getting a massive leak and having it fill with water. I am a strong
proponent of booties rather than ankle gaskets, as the whole reason for a
drysuit IMHO is to create as warm, dry an environment as possible, and that
includes my feet. However, knowing what I know now, I think I'd wear a waist
belt with my drysuit to prohibit enough water from getting in to fill the
legs even partway. Draining at the ankles, as Pete suggests, would be
another option, but I think I'd rather stay warm with the booties and wear a
preventative belt instead.

--riverman