About the Course
Unlike wetsuits, drysuits are filled with air. During your drysuit course, your instructor will teach you how to control the air in your drysuit along with your buoyancy.
You'll also learn about different types of drysuits, basic drysuit repairs and maintenance.
Take This Course If You Want to
- Dive in colder water temperatures
- Stay warmer in colder waters .
- Learn to dive in a drysuit .
- Buy a drysuit .
- Avoid common drysuit diving problems .
- Choose a drysuit and undergarments .
- Care for your drysuit .
How to Start Drysuit Diving
During one pool session and two open water dives, you'll learn how to comfortably and confidently dive in a drysuit. An experienced instructor will help you dial in your buoyancy and shorten the learning curve.
If you're at least 10 years old and certified as a PADI (Junior) Scuba Diver or higher, you can enroll in the Equipment Specialist course.
PADI eLearning®
PADI eLearning makes it easy to fit scuba lessons into a busy schedule. Complete the independent study part of your course whenever, wherever it's convenient for you.
Work at your own pace, online or offline, using a computer or mobile device. Connect with your instructor for inwater training, or whenever you have a question.
- eLearning time commitment: 2-4 hours.
With Your Instructor
You'll practice taking your drysuit on and off, determine how much weight you need, and master basic drysuit skills in a pool before making two open water dives.
Work at your own pace, online or offline, using a computer or mobile device. Connect with your instructor for inwater training, or whenever you have a question.
- Prerequisites: PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver (or qualifying entry-level certification)
- Total time commitment: 2-3 days
- Minimum age: 10 years or older
More Info
Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.
Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course. Instructors, divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.
If you (or your physician) have questions about medical fitness to dive, contact the experts at Divers Alert Network (DAN).
Minimum Age: 10
Course prerequisites: most divers enroll in the PADI Dry Suit Diver specialty course after earning their Open Water Diver certification, but in some areas, it’s necessary for divers to complete their Open Water course in a drysuit.
If you’re interested in using a drysuit during your Open Water Diver course, talk to your instructor. To earn the drysuit specialty certification, you’ll need to make one additional dive after your Open Water Diver certification. Ask your instructor for more information.
You can complete this course locally or while travelling.
Choose a dive shop close to home to:
- Support your local diving community
- Meet dive buddies in your local area
- Learn about your local ecosystem
Choose a dive shop away from home if you:
- Plan to travel to a dive destination on holiday
- Like to meet new people when travelling
- Have the time to complete your course while on vacation
This course requires both knowledge development and inwater training for certification. When you purchase PADI eLearning from our website, the cost covers the knowledge development portion only.
There is an additional cost to complete your certification with a PADI® Instructor. The cost depends on class size, environment, and whether or not you need to rent equipment. Contact a PADI Dive Center or Resort for more information and pricing.
In addition to basic scuba gear, you will need to own or rent a drysuit. Investing in your own scuba equipment for the course will help you become comfortable with how it works and the best way to maintain it.
PADI eLearning: 2-4 hours
Entire course: 2-3 days
Russian, English.
For information on other available languages please contact your PADI Dive Center.
PADI’s online courses are designed to work on the browsers listed below. For the best experience, make sure your browser is up-to-date.
Chrome
Safari
Edge
Firefox
If you plan to be somewhere without internet access, use the PADI Training app to download course content and study offline. Content can be downloaded in small sections with a total file size of approximately 554 MB. When you get back online, upload your progress so you can resume your training right where you left off.
The PADI Training app is available for Android™ and Apple® iOS devices. For the ideal experience, devices should be no more than three models old and running with the most current OS (operating system).
As a drysuit diver, you’ll have one of the essential skills for working as a public safety diver. If you’re interested in challenging but rewarding work, learn more about the Public Safety Diver™ course.
The first dive of the PADI Dry Suit Diver course may count toward your Advanced Open Water Diver certification – ask your instructor about earning credit.
Every specialty you earn brings you one step closer to the prestigious PADI Master Scuba Diver™ rating. Fewer than two percent of divers ever achieve this elite diver rating, which requires:
- 5 PADI specialty certifications
- A Rescue Diver certification
- Proof of 50 logged dives