Ice Diving with wet suit?

[off the grid]

I used to dive with a 7 mil farmer john in water temps in the low 40's and upper 30s. I would bring hot water to pour into the suit after I got it on, and into my gloves and hood. I could do a 30-40 minute dive but would usually not do more than one dive a day. And I was pretty cold for a while after diving. So it can be done, but a dry suit and dry gloves make it way more enjoyable.

 

[ruready7]

I dive in a 7-5-3 Mares in water in the 40s. I have a 3mm merino lined vest to go with it but havent used it yet. Surface temp in the 50s. One dive is usually enough for me. I now looking at drysuits...prob wont have it for the season but def will by next.

 

[Jimmer]

Was that the 3mm suit or the 7mm suit?

sure...ok.

That was wearing a 5mm with a 3mm core warmer underneath.

As for the temp, I am completely capable of reading the temp guage on my bottom timer. Where we do our ice dive training, is a very shallow, (17 foot) quarry, with no significant motion in it. The 2 ice dives I've done there had temps of 42, and 44 degrees. As I'm sure you're well aware of, it's quite possible to make a dive in the middle of summer, that drops into the low 40's and high 30's. Around here it's not just possible, it's expected any time you drop past 80 feet in Lake Erie, most of Lake Ontario, or somewhere like Tobermory.

 

[David_57]

Lake Ontario Kingston area mid summer temps are around 4Ff to 45F at 60 to 100ft, but once you ascend to around 35ft temp goes up to around 70F I have seen wetsuit divers abort the dive at around 70ft when diving the Munson as the thermal shock is to much for them.

 

[nadwidny]

Is it realistic to consider ice diving with a 7 mm wet suit? or.. a 3 mm wet suit with a 7 mm over it? Has anyone ever tried this?

It depends on dive time and air temp. My first ice dives were done in a 7mm wetsuit (Jacket with farmer johns) and I didn't come anywhere close to being cold. However the air temps were above freezing and dive times were around 15-20 minutes

 

[Belce]

ice diving with a dry suit requires a good suit but also good insulation wear. If you choose to dive under the ice in lakes and rivers with a wetsuit you will have to take extraordinary measures and you will not be comfortable.

My experience with cold is over 5 years with a 30 minute walk to work in Winnipeg, MB and diving the temperate waters around Vancouver Island.

 

[Dtaine]

I have ice dove in 37C water ....

I'm assuming you mean 37 degrees Fahrenheit, not Celsius.

I have seen a guy dive in 3mm with a 7mm over vest he did not last long think the water temp was around 50F.
Minimum should be at 5mil full suit with 7 mil over vest ....

I dove yesterday with exactly that, a 5 mil full suit and a 7 mil vest over top. No ice, but the water was 39 degrees. 50 degrees Fahrenheit is much more tolerable to a wetsuit, although I would be in more than a 3 mm for the base, personally.

It comes down to personal tolerance, and I mean actual physical tolerance, not mental - just because you can tolerate the beginning stages of hypothermia doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea.

 

[keyshunter]

That's the way we did it in the old days. Wore 1/4" farmer john with hood and gauntlets. Heated water on a Coleman stove to be poured into the suit before a dive--heat lasted about 5 minutes. It was fun at the time, but it would take a very large payment to get me to do it today.

 

[WaterWolf]

Is it realistic to consider ice diving with a 7 mm wet suit? or.. a 3 mm wet suit with a 7 mm over it? Has anyone ever tried this?

Absolutely. It's not as bad as some might think, especially on a nice day.

 

[j yaeger]

st.lawrence seaway yesterday...
2pc 6.5 mil.
air 7* with 25mph wind
water 37*
my 50 year old butt and another divemasters
last dive of the year-wonderful 40 min. dive

froze solid getting out however...suggest a warm up shack to disrobe in!!!!!!
we all dive wet- ice diving included
good luck!