What's your plan for keeping warm on your SI?

[obsession600]

Bundle up and make sure to have something that will stop the wind for your top layer. Wear a knit hat! Just like your mother always said, you lose most of your heat out of your head.
If you feel the need to brave the deeper colder water then make the second half of your dive shallow so that you can get a head start on your off gassing and warming your body back up. This way you can do a shorter surface interval.

 

[CamG]

Greetings cwhitpan and I hope you heed the advice given it is very good. Your wet suit will continue to pull heat from your body. Wind will accelerate this process so try to avoid it if at all possible. A pop up shelter with walls will do well especially with a heater inside. Taking the suit off as mentioned will help as long as worm dry cloths are put on. When I did dive wet in cold air temperatures I do as suggested by Saspotato.
But please be mindful core body temps are serious considerations just a few degrees will put you into serious issues. Be sensitive to smaller divers and those with little body fat because they will suffer hypothermia quicker. I know this from experience and it is different for every person.
One thing to consider is that this season is not like the two previous very mild warm falls. Water temps and thermoclines have started to change quickly this year. Keep this in mind and one dive is not a big problem but repetitive dives are another story. Watch out for fingers and extremities as they will get cold first. I wear dry wool gloves with a stocking hat all the time even with my dry suit when I get out.
Good luck with your dives and stay warm be safe and do not push it.
Ps. Buy your wife a dry suit as well or you will hear about it till you do!
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[Web Monkey]

Interesting to hear all the approaches! I am very close to pulling the trigger on a drysuit, but cant really swing the 1300 quite yet, for me, then there's the wife to consider!

Northern Diver makes some very nice drysuits, and you can get a really sturdy tri-lam for about $800 - $900. I've been using their Cortex suit for several years and it's held up beautifully.

Buy used. As long as the zipper is OK, the neck and wrist seals can be replaced for a few hundred dollars (or less than $100 if you don't mind playing with glue and have some patience). You should be able to find one for less than $500 if you have some patience and some luck.

All the tips for warming after a dive are nice, but there's really nothing like not being cold in the first place.

Terry

 

[RJP]

What's your plan for keeping warm on your SI?

Dry suit during the dive. Heated boat cabin during the surface interval. Or heated tent if working up at Dutch.

 

[StreetDoctor]

depending on how aggressive you're diving becareful with pouring hot water down your suit post dive. I've never experienced it but I've read about it making you more prone to getting bent due to the dilation of the blood vessels in your body from the hot water.

 

[Splitlip]

I drop the top of my suit and sit in th sun.

If really chilly, I have a hoody.

 

[Splitlip]

sorry. See this in the NE.
Never mind.

 

[TMHeimer]

This time of year I may use tha car heater to warm up, unless it's 60 F oor so sunny & no wind. My dive Oct. 27 had 50 F-both air and bottom- so the car helped. The water here in May is still about 45, but air can be over 60, so I rarely need the car then. Mid winter the water is about 33-35- that means only one dive-20 mins. max and back into the house.

 

[DiveMom1]

Mid winter the water is about 33-35- that means only one dive-20 mins. max and back into the house.

I am waaaay too old and sissyfied for those temps!

Here on Calif N Coast I used a "warm pack" on my chest and slip into an arctic lined boat coat/dive jacket. It really does help. I've tried peeling my wetsuit first and then I never seemed to get thawed and putting it back on wet and freezing was no fun at all. I keep my wet suit on.. a warm pack in my lap and snuggle up. It works even for this sissy.

Good luck!

 

[scubadobadoo]

Yep. A dry suit helps significantly. IMHO a well fitting wet suit does as good a job as a dry suit below the surface of keeping me warm (assuming no dry gloves). It's the surface interval where the dry suit really shines.