DIR- Generic Cold water dive gear recommendation

[mariosx]

Dear fellow "kool-aid drinkers" ,

I am still fairly new to scuba and DIR (GUE-F Rec with doubles/ less than 70 dives) with experience mostly diving in waters where 3mm wetsuit are more than enough, or worst case few dives with 7mm in lakes during winter. I have no experience with drysuit, or other type of gear that are needed in truly cold waters.

This March I will be leaving the South-East (US) for Trondheim in Norway, where I expect to stay for at least 2 years. I know that they have a very vivid GUE community to join and help me on everything, but I would like to get some idea beforehand. For the duration of my stay there, I expect to dive a a lot, all year around, both recreationally and for my work as a researcher, so I expect to start building my own double setup that can withstand the expected low temperatures and conditions.

I would like to ask any of you diving in Norway (or familiar with such conditions) for the gear you are using and for recomendations regarding:

1. Tanks (aluminium vs steel)
2. Wings
3. Regulators
4. Drysuits (including gloves and undergarments)
5. Other purchases that warm divers such as myself might not be familiar with.

I would like to keep the discussion as general as possible, so potentially other divers might find it useful, but I would appreciate if you could also help me by answering the following questions:
a) I am currently running a mk25-EVO with g260 and r195. According to scubapro it is classified as cold resistant. Could I just get a second mk25-EVO or should I invest in two new other set of regs? Do the secondary regs work?
b) I plan to purchase a Halcyon donut wing directly from High Springs. What should be the size recommended given a drysuit and the type of tanks used in Norway.
c) Do you have any personal preference between SANTI and DUI drysuits? Any hidden specs I should know before I place an order?
d) Is a 7mm enough for diving during summer? I naturally have a well above average endurance and love for low temperatures.


Thank you for your time and help. I wish you have a happy new year.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Calling @Storker .

 

[davehicks]

You are going to want to try on a few drysuits and buy the one that fits really well, and you can get service for. Santi is a fantastic choice, and it's a European brand that should be easy to service in Norway. I also like Waterproof drysuits and have a couple of these.

Most likely you will be diving dry year round, so don't worry about a 7mm suit for that area. You may be able to do a dive in a wetsuit in the summer, but you'll be more comfortable in a drysuit. I live in Seattle and 95% of divers dive dry. I don't know a single person that alternates between wet and dry.

If you plan to dive in below freezing weather then get a sealed 1st stage. A ScubaPro Mk17/19 or Apex DS4/DST will be good choices. The Mk25evo is good for cold water but maybe not as good for below freezing air temps.

There are lots of good undergarments, but a nice add-on would be a heated vest. Thermolution makes a really good one.

You want to use only Steel tanks. You need more lead to dive in a dry suit and as steel tank works much better as it is negatively buoyant even at the end of the dives. Your Wing needs to have more lift than tropical gear as you have a lot more mass to float in a drysuit.

 

[mariosx]

You are going to want to try on a few drysuits and buy the one that fits really well, and you can get service for. Santi is a fantastic choice, and it's a European brand that should be easy to service in Norway. I also like Waterproof drysuits and have a couple of these.

This is the type of info I was looking for. I plan to order a costum made one and I already have people to ask to take my measurements, so I am not sure if I need to try different ones. I guess I migth lean towards Santi, since it will be easy to service.

Most likely you will be diving dry year round, so don't worry about a 7mm suit for that area. You may be able to do a dive in a wetsuit in the summer, but you'll be more comfortable in a drysuit. I live in Seattle and 95% of divers dive dry. I don't know a single person that alternates between wet and dry.

After I get the drysuit, for sure I will keep my wetsuits only for fun dives in warm waters. I already have a 7mm and since I might be start diving in May I was thinking whether I could use my 7mm while I am waiting for my drysuit. I know that costum made orders could take few months.

I plan to continue in general towards C1 so I will stick with the drysuit for most of my diving.

If you plan to dive in below freezing weather then get a sealed 1st stage. A ScubaPro Mk17/19 or Apex DS4/DST will be good choices. The Mk25evo is good for cold water but maybe not as good for below freezing air temps.

Awesome. Thanks!
I guess I can keep my MK25 as a single setup.

There are lots of good undergarments, but a nice add-on would be a heated vest. Thermolution makes a really good one.

Is a heated vest necessary or simply adds some comfort? I am on a tight budget given all the other gear I need to purchase and assuming that it's not necessary it might have to wait.

You want to use only Steel tanks. You need more lead to dive in a dry suit and as steel tank works much better as it is negatively buoyant even at the end of the dives. Your Wing needs to have more lift than tropical gear as you have a lot more mass to float in a drysuit.

Perfect. So I will go for the Evovle 60.

I appreciate all the help.

 

[OrcasC205]

I think the "standard" steel twinset in Europe are double 12 liter cylinders which are similar in size and weight to our HP100s in North America. You may find an Evolve 40 to be a better size wing for them, but check with some European divers.

 

[BlueTrin]

An Evolve 40 is enough for a twinset steel 12l 232bars with drysuit.

 

[inquis]

was thinking whether I could use my 7mm while I am waiting for my drysuit

In doubles? Perhaps for shallow dives. Otherwise if your wing fails, you might have to swim up the weight of your air not yet breathed (perhaps 6 kg) and the lost wetsuit buoyancy (up to maybe 7-10 kg, depending on depth).

Dropping up to 6 kg if needed can mitigate the former. Keeping a buddy close can help with the second to ascend until sufficient suit buoyancy is regained. (Shallow helps in this regard.) The above assumes that you would want to make a controlled ascent with a neutral buoyancy safety stop (edit: or deco stop).

Edit: a redundant bladder wing is also a good solution to avoid dropping weight.

 

[BlueTrin]

Btw steel 12l Euro cylinder like in this link below are nearly neutral when empty:

Euro 12L Twinset - Classic - DirDirect

Fully assembled O2 clean classic 12L Eurocylinder Twinset with a round bottom, high-quality BtS stainless steel twinning bands, and manifold.

www.dirdirect.com

The flat bottom version is a bit heavier.

You have to add the weight of bands and manifold though, but with a normal fill at 232 bar, I doubt you’ll get close to 40lbs even if you remove the harness to pass it to a RIB and the wing has to sustain all the weight.

 

[mariosx]

I think the "standard" steel twinset in Europe are double 12 liter cylinders which are similar in size and weight to our HP100s in North America. You may find an Evolve 40 to be a better size wing for them, but check with some European divers.

An Evolve 40 is enough for a twinset steel 12l 232bars with drysuit.

Some buddies told me that I might need 60 instead of 40. I already have a 40 with my aluminum set I dive, so I will test also the steel ones for sure. Thank you for the correction.

 

[mariosx]

In doubles? Perhaps for shallow dives. Otherwise if your wing fails, you might have to swim up the weight of your air not yet breathed (perhaps 6 kg) and the lost wetsuit buoyancy (up to maybe 7-10 kg, depending on depth).

Dropping up to 6 kg if needed can mitigate the former. Keeping a buddy close can help with the second to ascend until sufficient suit buoyancy is regained. (Shallow helps in this regard.) The above assumes that you would want to make a controlled ascent with a neutral buoyancy safety stop.

Edit: a redundant bladder wing is also a good solution to avoid dropping weight.

I have practice wing failure and controlled ascent using my dsmb but with my double alu80s (Not sure how DIR this is, but given absence of a drysuit...). I am not very confident that the DSMB will be enough for the steel ones, so for sure I guess I will keep diving in a pool for the first few months.

I have heard of the double bladder wings, but I am not sure what the GUE standards (that I plan to follow) say on that. I will try to find out though. Thank you for dropping the idea.