Staying warm between dives

spthomas · Oct 24, 2003

I'm new to cold weather diving, and though it's not REALLY cold here in Texas, it's chilly. I'll be going a bit the next month, and tomorrow for example it'll be 65 degrees and windy, with water temp from 70 degrees at the surface to 55 degrees or so on bottom.

I am fairly tolerant in the water, and my 3mm full with 3mm shorty over it will keep me warm enough. But what do folks do between dives? Do you get out of the wetsuit and get dressed? Or put something else on over the wetsuit?

=Steve=

cldwdiver · Oct 24, 2003

Hi spthomas,

I'm from Michigan and we do this all the time.

If you are having a surface interval that involves more than swapping your tank, get out of that wetsuit and get dry and warm.

If you cannot do this, put on a rain suit or rain poncho to keep the wind off that neoprene suit. It will become a freezer in the wind.

An added tip, is to bring some gallon containers with very warm water. Pout these into your suit, boots, hood, gloves, etc. just before you go in for that 2nd dive.

Have a great safe dive trip,

Ber Rabbit · Oct 24, 2003

I always carry a polar fleece sweatshirt and a pair of expedition weight long underwear to keep me warm and a Goretex rain suit to block the wind. Bring a hat, a winter hat goes a long way toward keeping me comfortable out of the water, sometimes I even wear a pair of lightweight gloves. When your hands and head are warm and the wind is blocked you should find that you're quite toasty.

The gallon jugs of warm water is a wonderful addition to your dive tools. You can wrap them in towels and keep them in a cooler to help them stay warm while you drive to the site. I fill the jugs with scalding water and by the time I get to the local quarry they have cooled to a pleasant temperature.

Happy diving!
Ber :bunny:

DandyDon · Oct 24, 2003

:mickey: Head protection can be as important as a jacket for preventing chills, dry or wet. You harly ever see an outdoor person bareheaded. With a wet head, though, heat can suck out of your head faster - for the surface area - than any other part of the body, especially if there's any breeze at all.

I goofed earlier this month, 3 mil in 79 F water, 70 F air, I wore a jacket and cap, but drank cold liquids. :cold: I got chilled on the third day of diving, as the body core temp kept slipping each day.

have fun, don

Warren_L · Oct 24, 2003

If it's convenient, get completely out of the wetsuit and into some warm dry windproof clothes. It's better to have to don a wet wetsuit again than to lose heat during the surface interval. At the very least, I would roll down the top half of the wetsuit and put something dry on. Your legs won't get quite as cold, especially if you are sitting down.

FreeFloat · Oct 24, 2003

It looks like what I've been doing up here in the fridge I mean Canada

is right in line with what seems to be the best. Our air temps here are between about 40 and 45°F (and more like 35° with the wind chill) although the water is still in the 53 - 55°F range. I'll try the bottles of water idea, I was going to bring my Thermos but it obviously won't hold enough. And I'm doing Checkout Dives tomorrow and Sunday........

BigJetDriver · Oct 24, 2003

All good replies here. Remember that, no matter what you do, your core will not re-warm to standard temp with normal surface intervals between dives.

You can find some interesting temperature charts for comparison on DUI's website.

Here:

<http://www.dui-online.com/newsite/tech_thermal_guidelines.htm>

Karl_in_Calif · Oct 24, 2003

Even a really cheap shell drysuit would keep you warm and dry during surface intervals. And by keeping your thermal insulation thin, you can stay cool in the water as well. Or dress warmer for cold.

cornfed · Oct 24, 2003

spthomas once bubbled...
Do you get out of the wetsuit and get dressed?

Yes.

jiveturkey · Oct 24, 2003

Try a thermos of soup and some hot coffee. Always makes me feel better.

Staying warm between dives

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spthomas

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