Who Loves Ice Diving? I do!

[DiverBuoy]

mddolson once bubbled...
Omicron bubbled: "I don't run doubles w/ a manifold. The cost is a touch prohibitive at the moment."

Ain't it the truth!

A single tank alternative is an H valve, with redundant regulators.

Free flows are common even in ice diving with antifreeze equipped 1st stages. With a redundant reg, you can shut down the free flow and switch to your back up.

MikeD

I just went down to price the whole thing:

2 Pressed Steel 100s
Tank Bands
Valves with isolation valve
O2 cleaning and stickers

With tax and everything (and a good deal) almost 1200 dollars!

 

[Big-t-2538]

DiverBuoy once bubbled...


I just went down to price the whole thing:

2 Pressed Steel 100s
Tank Bands
Valves with isolation valve
O2 cleaning and stickers

With tax and everything (and a good deal) almost 1200 dollars!

Yeah..guess I'll keep my wish list/donation page open....

 

[mddolson]

Two options prevent a cold face.

1) Full face mask is one option,.

2) The second is a polar ice cap, it's a 3 mm skin two side neoprene hood worn under your regular hood,and it seals against your mask. See attached Jpeg
Only your lips are exposed, and the numb out in a few minutes. (or you can always use it to knock off a 7-11 if you need some extra cash (JUST KIDDING))

3) warmth, I wear polypropylene ski under wear under my polar fleeze, and I use argon gas to inflate my drysuit.
I have found this works good (2 hours under the ice) Argon use is controvertial however , some swear by it, others say the benefit is marginal. Argon is 3 times better insulator than air.

 

[JDostal]

bwerb once bubbled...
On to my question...do you use the same drysuit and insulation and neoprene hoods for ice diving as for cold water diving or do you do something different to protect yourself from the cold at the surface? Do you cover more of your face with something? I can just imagine surfacing in really cold temps and getting frostbite around your exposed (and wet) face. Just curious.
Brian

I will be using the same suit, hood and insulation. The guys that I dive with do too. Up to this point, when I've surfaced, I get out of the water and put a hat w/ a facemask on. The water dries really, really quick off of your face due to the low humidity in the air.

 

[frogxman]

bwerb once bubbled...

On to my question...do you use the same drysuit and insulation and neoprene hoods for ice diving as for cold water diving or do you do something different to protect yourself from the cold at the surface? Do you cover more of your face with something? I can just imagine surfacing in really cold temps and getting frostbite around your exposed (and wet) face. Just curious.

Brian

Under the water you are OK - the water temperature does not differ much in winter and in summer below the termocline. As for the surface you can just use a very cheap option - vaseline or a similar cream. Having it on your face will prevent your skin from chilling out.

 

[JDostal]

It was a great day of diving, despite the windchill that went into the negative teens!

The dive shop cut two holes and I shoveled out the radial lines. We provided a couple of ropes as there as a good turnout. Hot cocoa, hot cider, really good soup and bbq sandwiches were quickly heated up. It made for a very enjoyable day, and a fun dive!

Now, just a month long wait until the ice thaws out...

 

[Wreck/Tec]

I just came back from Canada, WindMill Quarrey to be precise. The ice was in excess of 18 inches. We spent two days there, diving through out the days. It was alot of fun, 14 degrees the last day though. If you havn't dove under the Ice, consider it. It's very different when compared to a regular dive.
Wreck/Tec

 

[JDostal]

My favorite thing to do under the ice is to swim upside down (on your back, I guess) and blow bubbles and watch them hit the ice and spread out. One of the simple pleasures

 

[MikeFerrara]

Anyone ever ski under the ice? Go upside down with your feet against the ice, put a little air in your wing and give three tugs on the line so the line tenders pull you accross the ice.

 

[JDostal]

I haven't tried it yet. I was going to last weekend, but I completely forgot about it until I had half of my gear off after the dive.

Oh well. Guess I'll have to try it next year.