dry vs wet

[g1138]

At the end of your dive, if you're nearing hypothermia while you change out of your wetsuit....it might be time to dive dry.

 

[bpotkin]

I have not yet purchased a drysuit. But I plan to. In aprox. 50-60 degree water, I currently dive with a 7mm wet suit and a hooded vest. My set up keeps me warm on the first 2 dives and semi warm on the 3rd and 4th dive. Most divers
I talk to who use drysuits say they would never go back. I've been on dive boats when its cold and raining and
wish I had one. From what I have been told, diving dry is like being warm in your PJs.

 

[soltari675]

From what I have been told, diving dry is like being warm in your PJs.

They're not kidding. It's like being snugged in a warm blanket and diving at the same time. It's one of the best purchases I have made.

 

[ffdiver]

I'm going to assume that the reason they called in specialist for this dive has alot more to do with just the water temp. Alot of variables go into doing a risk assessment prior doing a recovery dive, I applaud the dive team for deciding that the dive was beyond their capabilities and referring the dive to someone else. If other teams did that maybe there wouldn't be so many PSD deaths.

 

[Phil_C]

Last Tuesday I did three dives in the Mediterannean with a water temp of 68f and an air temp of about 58f, dropping to 50f after the last, a night dive. I was diving wet with a 5mm farmer John, hood and light gloves. I was plenty warm enough during the dives but I was starting to chill toards the end of the night dive which was 55 minutes long I couldn't sit around wet between dives though and had to change and dry off because there was a slight wind and it was too cold to sit around wet. The other divers were feeling the cold more, but they were locals and more used to warm weather.

I have just bought a dry suit for UK use and will have my first dive in it tomorrow, but I am in half a mind to take it out to the Med next month and try it instead of a wetsuit, I am hoping it will make surface intervals comfortable as well. I haven't bought a wetsuit yet (I rent normally) but might not buy one if the drysuit is still comfortable for warm water/weather diving as well. I also like the idea of geting out of the suit after the dive dry as well - P

 

[Kourtjestr]

Just for personal edification - how close would a semi-dry come to a dry suit in situations like this - where the water is below 50*? As has been mentioned by some others, I'm comfy in 50* water in my 7mm john, but the SI is kinda brutal depending on air temps. I was wondering about a semi-dry as a way to extend my season without the cost of a full-on dry.... And the learning curve that comes with it.

 

[Tigerman]

It wouldnt come even close. Semidry is still wet, its just made in a way that make the water circulate a bit less than in a standard wetsuit..

 

[Kourtjestr]

It wouldnt come even close. Semidry is still wet, its just made in a way that make the water circulate a bit less than in a standard wetsuit..

So, on the whole, you'd say a semi-dry is just money you could have saved toward a dry?

 

[Tigerman]

So, on the whole, you'd say a semi-dry is just money you could have saved toward a dry?

Considering you have a 7mm already and that its the SI thats a bitch for you.. yes.

 

[raftingtigger]

Something not mentioned in any of the previous posts is that everyone has a different tolerance to cold. The more you can tolerate cold the colder the water you can tolerate with a wetsuit. You can find temp charts that give you an idea, but it is really your individual tolerance that counts. You'll have to find what your comfort zone is. Do remember that when your manual dexterity starts to deteriorate so does your judgement.

Couple of things to think about in using a wetsuit.
The deeper you go the 'thinner' the wetsuit becomes.
All 7mm wetsuits don't insulate equally. Do you have a double layer at your core, how much water exchange do you have, etc.
It is harder to get warm between dives when you are still wet - But you can pour warm water from a thermos into your suit (don't try with a dry suit)

Personally I can go about 2 50-60 minute dives to 40' in 50F water before I become too chilled for comfort/safety with a well fitting 7mm single suit and an extra 5mm at my core. I can dive at least 4 dives under the same circumstances in a 7mm drysuit with minimal insulation underneath without cold being a limiting factor.