Wetsuit diving limits

[toddbr]

Hello all!

I am getting ready to dive Clear Lake OR which is about 38 to 40 degrees. I am pretty well adapted to the cold but what are the limits of a 7mm suit with hooded vest. I have been in 40 degree water and I seemed to be fine so I figure Clear Lake should be alright. Thanks for your input

 

[cyklon_300]

when I lived in OR...6mm two-piece, 2mm vest, hood, gloves...

Did two dives...torso was ok, but hands and feet were numb-city.

 

[toddbr]

hmmm Maybe I will wear double booties. I just have to dive that lake.

 

[MASS-Diver]

If you doing deep diving, I would not dive wet in water colder than 50degress. Even if you are a tough guy with a high tolerance for cold, water that cold is going to screw with circulation and N2 off-gassing. If you don't bent evetually, you'll probably get tired.

We have lots of dive hard wet suit divers here in NE - but - I really don't buy "cold tolerance", I think it's a mental thing not a real adaptation. When I was younger we used to free dive in water in the low 50s. When we would come out we would be all uncoordinated and later on we'd be real tired, hypo can be very sneaky and alterations in circulation occure long before that point.

I would suggest you take your temp before and right after getting out of the water, and then go buy a dry suit.

 

[cyklon_300]

was around the fishing dock...schools of small fish and some bright yellow algae (?). It's very shallow there tho. The vis was 150+' the day I was there.

The deep part (~100') was pretty barren and uninteresting. Mostly mud and an occassional beer bottle.

Take some hot beverages for the post-dive warm-up.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Keep in mind that wetsuit's ability to keep you warm is dictated more by the depth of the dive and the fit of the suit than by temperature of the water. That said Neoprene at 7mm in a farmer john configuration (which borders on making you the Michellin Man and restricts your movement) can only do so much for you once water temp drops to 48-52 degrees. Considering the temperature of water you described a dry suit is warranted. There are risks already sited in this thread associated with doing the Macho or Poor Mans approach. Rent if you can't own, and get a professional lesson in it's use and practice in the pool before you risk yourself on a dive.

Though I don't recommend it, if you insist on pushing it anyway, get a well-fitting wetsuit, stay shallow on the dive (and if the lake is above 1000 feet adhere to altitude diving rules and training), and make it a quick dive, then dry off quickly and seek warmth. Call the dive before descending if it is too cold.

 

[toddbr]

Thanks for all of your responses, I now don't know if I should even try it. I want to dive the lake but dry suits are soooo pricey that I can't justify buying one. I think I would if I went diving at least once a month. Maybe I will just travel to Hood Sport where the water is , I believe, around 50.

 

[DiverBuoy]

.

 

[FallenMatt]

in the motiff of being young and stupid:

i was diving about three weeks ago in central europe, in a lake. Surface temp around 67, thermocline at about 15 feet then dropping to 40 at depth.

i had all my own gear and i do all my diving in Florida. This is the first time i dove in something colder than 67 degrees.

well.. i did a dive to 105 feet (approx) in 3 mm farmer john, 2mm vest under it, 5 mm hood and 7mm gloves.

Human body is a sneaky thing

all through the dive i didnt' feel cold at all. Just cruiising slowly doing slow modified frog kicks. No other moves because water would rush in if i would move my hands...

that was a 20 minute dive... reached 100 feet in 6th minute then made u-turn and rest at 15 feet going back to shore. (called the dive off because my buddy (in nice two piece 7mm) had a freeflow, not because i was feeling cold.)

but then i've got out of the water, got out of my gear and spent an hour in the sun shaking and feeling _reely_ cold...

needless to say or the remaining dives were made with all the extra neoprene i could borrow from other divers

funny thing, when i dove in the gulf in panama city beach in february the water was a steamy (in comparison) 67 degrees but i didn't have hood. Same wetsuit but i was feeling miserable and called the dive after 20 minutes because i felt damn too cold.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I use a 7 mil suit with a 5 mil vest and hood in water down to 36 degrees, for one dive. The vest is sleeveless of course but zips all the way down to the crotch. I'm very warm and comfortable, but I do not want to climb into it for the second dive.