How are you supposed to feel after diving?

[spectrum]

Pete: I really didn't "feel" cold on the dive. I'm going to buy a chicken vest with hood soon, that'll bump up the protection on my chest to 10mm and the hood should help too. It'll have to happen next month though... I'm pretty sure I'm not overweight, I'm a 6'2" 80kg string bean (as Bryan noted on the first page).

I knew you were a trim guy from the photo and earlier comment. The overweight mention was just an example of a DCS contributor.

No hood either? OK you are a cold tolerant diver but that dosen't change the laws of nature. Especially without a hood you are dumping a lot of heat into the water. Get that chicken vest. Even if you have the metabolism to stay warm there is no doubt that you are brrning a lot of energy to do so and that could be direct contributo to your fatigue. Cold can sneak up on you.

IMO the chicken vest is the ultimate add-on to a fullsuit, much more effective and easier to deal with than a bibbed hood. A 7mm fullsuit and hooded chickenvest is exactly what I wear when the water is getting down towads 60F and for me and my wife that combo works well. The only advantage I see to a bibbed hood is thay you can sneak it off mid dive if it's really warm.

One of my take-aways from diving that has spilled over to my everyday life here in the snowbelt is: "Exposure protection" is not a dirty word.

Pete

 

[eponym]

Bryan: The more I read about being correctly hydrated, the more I think it's the cause. Would it be better to drink something isotonic before or after dives? Or should I stick with just plain water?

The isotonic drinks (in the US we talk about carbohydrate drinks and electrolyte replacers) can stimulate your thirst so you drink more, which is good. I go for straight water and get my carbs with whole fruit, so I'm also getting fiber.

A study conducted about thirty years ago had man-and-dog pairs talk a strenuous walk and then be allowed to drink as much water as they wanted. The dogs re-hydrated to their original weight, whereas the men on average only replaced half the lost water. I've never forgotten that. I drink at least two litres of water a day, whether or not I'm diving.

I conducted open water checkout dives this weekend. I had a 16-year-old string bean over six feet. A 7-mil wetsuit plus vest still left him chilled after the first dive, so we went to a 6.5-mil farmer john and jacket, plus a 3-mil vest under it. He was finally comfortable. This was in 46-degree (8 C ?) water. Hoods and gloves too, naturally.

If you want to learn more about the basis for dive tables, the effects of cold and warm water, diving injuries, and diver fitness, exercise, and diet, I could not recommend a better book than Jolie Bookspan's Diving Physiology in Plain English (pub. by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society). It's a splendidly useful work.

Best practices always,
Bryan

 

[RyanCY]

Hey Bryan and Pete, thanks again for the responses, you've both been excellent sources of information for me. The whole hydration issue is going to have to be a lifestyle adjustment for me, at the moment I seldom drink more than a litre of water a day.

Pete: I'll definitely be getting a chicken vest soon, our water starts dropping to around 9 degrees celcius in the winter (we're at the end of summer now). At this stage I dont think the cold is affecting me adversely at all.

Thanks again,
Ryan.

 

[tridacna]

The whole hydration issue is going to have to be a lifestyle adjustment for me, at the moment I seldom drink more than a litre of water a day.
Ryan.

Luister boet, jy moet net meer bier drink voor elke duik. Ek hoor dat Hansa is perfek!

Jou probleem sal gou oplos.

 

[artw]

if you just did a cave dive, you feel pretty good!