How do You Relieve Yourself in a Drysuit?

Diving can often be accompanied by a strong urge to pee and, given the complexity of putting on a drysuit, it might be difficult doing so freely. Besides, drysuits are often used for extensive periods of time in the water and in deeper waters as well. As such, coming out of the water to take a leak seems too much of a hassle.

For this reason, pee valves (simply called p-valves) have been created to allow you urinate in a drysuit without compromising on the purpose of the drysuit. You can easily pee with the help of the p-valve while still warm and dry in the water.

Contents show

How you Pee a Drysuit

To allow you relieve yourself while wearing a drysuit and in the water, the p-valve is installed on the inner thigh of your drysuit. You can choose whether to have it installed on the left or right thigh of your drysuit. For women, the She-p is the commonly used name.

The p-valve is installed by making a small hole on the drysuit. You then apply an adhesive to the p-valve then attach it to the drysuit. The p-valve would have a small hose running from it to your genitals.

This hose is attached to a thin rubber sheath which is then attached to your genitals. There are designs for both men and women with the same purpose. When you need to urinate, you simply do so into the sheath with the pee going from there to the hose and then to the valve and finally into the water around you.

Drysuit P-valve

Some important aspects to know about a p-valve for your drysuit are as follows:

A p-valve can be balanced or unbalanced. A balanced one equalizes the pressure between the water around you and the valve itself. This prevents the valve from pinching on your genitals when the water pressure outside is high compared to the one inside the valve.
You should consider trimming the hairs around your genitals to make it easier to remove the condom once you’re done using the p-valve. You can also use soap for the same purpose as it makes it easier to remove the condom.
You can also trim the hose of the p-valve as you deem fit.

If you’ll be diving several times in a row, doing lots of movements or exercises in the p-valve, you might need to replace condoms each time you do so as they’ll be getting loose with each dive.
You don’t always need an expert to install the p-valve as most of them come with manuals that are easy to understand and follow.
While you might several types of p-valves, their function and basic designs are almost the same.

Always measure the right size of condom for your genitals to avoid it coming off easily or being uncomfortable when in use.
Always ensure that entry to the p-valve is sealed enough to avoid water entering the drysuit.

You can also use the p-valve with your wetsuit to avoid peeing in the suit itself. It also prevents the buildup of unpleasant odors in the wetsuit.

Installing a P Valve