Dry Suit

[MB NZ]

i used to dive the red sea in the winter months quite a lot. there was usually quite a lot of p*** taking when i unpacked my drysuit at the start of a week long liveaboard. it was quite sweet watching the p*** takers shivering their arses off at the end of the first day's diving, knowing that they had another 5 days diving ahead of them

 

[Doc Harry]

I'd argue that 15c doesn't warrant drysuit...

HA!

For me, water temp below 24 degrees C (75 deg F) warrants a dry suit.

 

[industrious95]

HA!

For me, water temp below 24 degrees C (75 deg F) wanrrants a dry suit.

Same here.

Your body is 98.6 F (37 C). 24 C water is going to suck the heat out of your body, just like 15 C water (of course not as fast). That's why they say diving cold sucks.

Don't worry about what anyone else thinks, you've invested in the dry suit, you may as well enjoy it. That being said, I'd get a few training dives under my belt before I went out on a task-oriented dive for your thesis. You want to be familiar enough with the dry suit to be able to focus on your academic work.

As to fudging receipts to make it look like a rental so you can get reimbursed, that's your decision. Would that be considered academic dishonesty?

 

[ChilliNZ]

Same here.

Your body is 98.6 F (37 C). 24 C water is going to suck the heat out of your body, just like 15 C water (of course not as fast). That's why they say diving cold sucks.

Don't worry about what anyone else thinks, you've invested in the dry suit, you may as well enjoy it. That being said, I'd get a few training dives under my belt before I went out on a task-oriented dive for your thesis. You want to be familiar enough with the dry suit to be able to focus on your academic work.

As to fudging receipts to make it look like a rental so you can get reimbursed, that's your decision. Would that be considered academic dishonesty?

Yeah - I mentioned what I wanted to do to him and he said, "Hmm, maybe... Jesus, Adam - a new dry suit, though?"
All good
He picked up my bar tab tonight but.. I've been in bed since 8.30pm

 

[Aquabot]

As to fudging receipts to make it look like a rental so you can get reimbursed, that's your decision. Would that be considered academic dishonesty?

Sounds like fraud, not just dishonesty. But that's my 2 cent.

 

[seattlepaul1975]

If it was me, I would do a drysuit, if only for the comfort. If you have it and can go dry why not, just go lighter on the layers under the suit.

 

[tbone1004]

just want to clarify, I dive dry so long as the air temps above allow me to. I.e. has to be below 24C for me to be able to stay dry at the surface.

I wasn't saying to the OP that you aren't justified going dry, but that 55f water is regularly dove with wetsuits and if you are doing shallow/short dives, a 2 piece wetsuit is certainly more economical and wouldn't justify purchasing a $3k suit. I have dove under the ice in a wetsuit, it's not nearly as comfortable as my drysuit, but a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit is perfectly adequate for relatively short and shallow dives in that temp of water. The biggest thing is making sure it fits properly so you don't have unnecessary water flow, and that you have a good hood because that's where you'll lose a lot of heat.

I regularly have to dive in a 5mm steamer in 50F water with students, it is irritating but for some classes they won't let us dive dry and I'm not buying another wetsuit. The key is to have a very good hood, gloves, and boots.

 

[WarrenZ]

If air + water temp is less than 140 its drysuit time for me.

 

[LowDrag]

Hi,


So, I'm completing a thesis at the northern tip of NZ's south island - some already has been in late summer/autumn where I was using a two piece 5mm suit with hood and that was getting a little chilly at the end there - like, sharp and piercing cold, haha.


Now, I'm going down tomorrow and the water temp is hovering between 12-13oC (55oF) for you imperial lot - the dry suit I just bought is necessary, correct? I'm a little worried given that I don't think the other hell diver/slightly stupid/macho diver will be wearing one - though, he tends to sprint underwater with a surface supplied source.


I suppose on a slightly different matter - my thesis supervisor said I can't buy a dry suit on my thesis but I can rent one - only the dive shops around here don't have my size to rent... the work and safety regulations here stipulate that 15oC is a guideline for dry suit diving and that I must be afforded adequate exposure protection to be comfortable in the given conditions and technically I'm actually employed as a research assistant during these trips as my thesis is a side issue on the bigger contract my supervisor has with this company.


I just dropped nearly $3000 on a hood, boots and a Whites Fusion Bullet - would you be pushing the issue with your supervisor or not?


Cheers!!!
Adam

I dive the Whites Fusion Bullet in 55° F water here in the Pacific Northwest. I wear Under Armor under it at 55° F and above and I wear the Thermal Fusion below 55° F. It is a very nice suit, I took to it faster than my wetsuit that I had prior. If you have not watched the YouTube video on how to put it on I suggest you watch it. Your life will be easier when you go to don the suit and take it off. Good luck with your dives and figuring out what you are going to do about the Bullet.