Finally! A P-Valve for Women Divers: The She-P

Almost any woman who dives a drysuit knows how agonizing the wait to reach a bathroom after the dive can be.  And male diving companions can often be oblivious to the urgency of the need for the women they're diving with to be able to access a bathroom after a dive.  After all, men can get a P-Valve  (aka pee-valve) installed into most drysuits and empty their bladders anytime during the dive, or at least get a relief zipper enabling them to relieve themselves after the dive without even getting out of their suit.

Unfortunately, for a long time, no such option existed for women, and female technical divers and women in the commercial diving industry usually dealt with extended stays underwater by using products designed for incontinence (adult diapers.)  That option was no doubt unappealing, but it used to be about the only choice available to female drysuit divers.  Many drysuit manufacturers had long shied away from even attempting to design a P-valve for women, in part because they assumed that it would need to involve internal catheterization, which gave them concerns about liability for infections.

These days there are a few more options for women in scuba who want to "go" underwater - and without catheterization.  A couple of years ago, I saw a product at a dive show called the She-P. 
The woman who was showing the device did a great job of explaining it, and even attached one to the skin on my arm to show me how the medical-grade adhesive that is used with the She-P was gentle, yet effective, creating a good seal, yet coming off painlessly when removed.

I was very impressed with the design of the She-P, and with the woman selling it.  I was intrigued by the possibility that it might actually work, but naturally, I would have liked to hear more from someone who wasn't also selling the product.  While I haven't yet had the opportunity to try the She-P myself, I did find an extensively detailed review over at ScubaGadget by someone who has.  Judging by her experiences, the She-P takes some getting used to and some practice, but once you get over the learning curve, it works.

There are couple of other devices out there for women which are mentioned in the same review.  One is the SheWee Go Urination System for Women.  The other is the OMS Urinary Collection Device for Women.  I haven't had the chance to try these devices either, but it's nice to see that dive equipment manufacturers are paying more attention to the needs of women divers, and designing more products with that market in mind.

I don't personally do enough technical diving yet to have invested in a She-P (I'm just getting started in the technical diving world) partially because I'm still buying the other equipment I need for extended range diving.  If you've tried the She-P, or any other devices designed for that purpose, I'd love to know what you think.   You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below, or if you don't want to leave a comment, you can always contact me by email.