What do you wear at Dutch Springs?

[mwilding]

I am making my first trip there this saturday with a rented 2 piece 7mm wet suit. I would like to be diving with a one piece if that wouldn't be too chilly...

What do you all wear up there and how late does your season go?

 

[SueMermaid]

Wear the 2 piece 7 mil, the water's ok on the surface, but very cold at depth. that or a drysuit are you best bets. *You* can go with a 7 mil jumpsuit, but I wouldn't.

 

[docmartin]

all depends on how deep you want to go because of the thermoclines. for me a one piece 7mm is too cold in the low 50s at depth. the two piece is a good choice for dutch springs. i wonder what the vis will be on saturday after isabelle.

 

[mwilding]

The reason I asked what people are wearing is that I have heard "6.5mm 1 piece is fine there" as well as "anything less than a 7mm 2 piece is crazy".

Different people have different cold tolerances, and I am looking for what everyone uses and how late in the season they can dive with it.

 

[BILLB]

The 6-7 mm two piece is the "normal" wet suit of choice. There are three thermoclines at Dutch and the first drops the temps from 70 degrees to the mid fifties.

A hood and gloves are also required for exposure protection.

A wet suit will not make you feel warm. What it will do is to conserve the heat your body internally will be producing to keep your core themperature normal. Just think of it as similar to shoveling snow in your driveway in the winter. You know it is cold and you can feel the cold but activity and the fact your are clothed properly gives you the tolerance to perform tasks and not go into hypothermia.

You will be surprised that the activity in cold water and the proper exposure protection will make diving at Dutch (and other cold water destinations) a pleasant experience.

 

[IzzyTahil]

At the bottom its in the low 50s, so get the 2 piece 7mm. The coldest dive I did earlier in the season was 45 (in a dry suit.)

 

[grouchyturtle]

Most people wear a 2 piece there.

I've been using a 7 mil one piece, and I'm usually fine. This weekend I was actually kind of cold, so I may be heading back to the LDS soon.

Need more neoprene so I can layer it with my current suit!

 

[mwilding]

Well, I dove there on Saturday and the 2 piece was almost unbearable on shore, too warm at the surface (easily fixed by letting in cold water), perfect under the first thermocline and quite chilly under the second...

 

[Diving Dave]

What do you all wear up there and how late does your season go?

Nothing ... if you dive at night and stay close enough to the surface to prevent shrinkage

 

[VTernovski]

I started out with two 5mm wetsuits layered. That was 10mm of neoprene! Crazy. Then I switched to two-peice semi-dry 6.5mm neoprene wetsuit. It worked ok for a while, but it was pain in the ass to suit up in the heat of the summer. Now I have a drysuit, and can't rejoys enough with comfort and easy of donning and suiting up. If you dive here in North East, definatelly consider investing in a drysuit.