How cold will you dive wet?

[drbill]

I'm good down to 48 degrees in my tattered wetsuit. Any colder and I opt for a nice hot toddy topside!

 

[motorcitydiver]

2 piece 7mm in 38F water. Sounds worse than it is. Surface intervals are a little cold but nothing a thick coat won't help with. It also doesn't hurt to start by pouring a gallon jug of warm water down your suit before entering.

 

[SteveAD]

Cold and Wet? those two words just don't go together in my book. If it's too cold for a 3mm I'm dry.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I'm good down to 48 degrees in my tattered wetsuit. Any colder and I opt for a nice hot toddy topside!

For gosh sake, get a new suit...or several...you will so more spiffier in something with color and we will not have to hear your worn wetsuit "issues"

 

[Kim]

5mm to 10C - as long as I have access to a hot shower after the dive.

 

[Kim]

5mm to 10C - as long as I have access to a hot shower after the dive. (normal in Japan in winter where I dive!)

 

[Tomeck]

I live in Switzerland where many lakes are very cold at 4 °C (40 °F), even in summer in deep water.

 

[Notso_Ken]

A lot of folks strongly advocate for diving dry, but for those of you diving wet, how cold will you go? I ask being a new diver in New England, wondering what kind of season I could get out of a wetsuit (while I save up for a drysuit).


So...

How cold are you comfortable diving wet?

I selected the 40*F, but only because you didn't offer a colder option. I have dove wet at 36* down to 65 feet for about 40 minutes. I then followed that with a dive on the same profile dry, and did not notice a significant difference in comfort between the two dives.

The part I notice in diving wet is not the temp of the water, but the conditions on the surface interval. New Years Day I have only been able to do one dive in the past, because I got chilled during the SI and could not get the cold wetsuit back on.

Now that I have a dry suit, I'll be able to do more diving in winter, because I should be able to stay warmer during the SI, not because of any difference once in the water.

 

[k4man]

I'm in the 60's....sorry. My preference is the warm, big blue...with no wetsuit or maybe just a skin. But, living in Ohio, I have to do what I have to do...no dry suit yet, so it's cold water if I want to dive before June and after September!

 

[bane51031]

Dive a 7mm semi dry, have gone in the 40's and dipped a few times in the high 30's. Not too bad, I tend to be alittle warmer blooded than my buddies though.
Just got measured for drysuit yesterday for the dive team, suspect I will want to go dry more.Nice to finally get some more funding....