Can't stay warm...what am I overlooking?

[radtype]

Get a hood. I use a 3mm drysuit hood. I can't stand the normal wetsuit hoods.

 

[Hatul]

On top of what has been said, a lot of heat is lost to evaporation once you come up from your dive and are sitting on the boat. So peel off the top of the suit and dry off.

 

[Matthew Jones]

it may help to try to diagnose the cause before you try random solutions?

so my first thought is: does your current wetsuit fit? are you confident that you know what a properly fitted wetsuit feels like (or looks like on another diver)?

we dive warm water in the caribbean and i always see multiple other divers complaining of being cold. in all cases their wetsuits are off-the-rack and do not come close to fitting them properly.

the common solution seems to be adding yet another layer of neoprene. which does not address the root cause. too much water exchange due to poor fit of the suit. i just got back from a trip on the belize sundancer and more than half the boat were classic examples of poor fit, multiple layers and hoods "i am cold" divers. they were not getting much more thermal protection than the guy from alaska that only used a rash guard and board shorts.

do you get random (or constant) cold water streams in your suit during your dives? do you have loose or baggy spaces inside the suit? (this often happens with a suit whose trunk is too long). how about baggy armpits? loose crotch? arms a little too loose?

wetsuits only work if they fit properly.

Yeah I'm pretty confident it fits well. No I don't get water streams nor have any loose or baggy spaces. If anything it doesn't constrict me but is almost vacuum sealed.

Physiology is an individual thing. Some people get cold in conditions others do not, both above and below the water. You can do some personal conditioning to get used to cooler water by spending time in swimming pools or lakes, or, since you are there, the ocean. Here in Colorado people who are outdoors in the cold a lot ( skiers) get acclimated to the cold better than the person who rarely goes outdoors in the winter ( which has hit with a vengance here today!) Before investing $1500.00 or more in a dry suit and then learning how to dive in it, I suggest some acclimation exercises- that is, self conditioning by being in the water. Start in a swim suit for a few minute and add time each day until you can be comfortable for an hour. You should include some head immersion in the process, as we lose a high percentage of body heat through our heads. Also, in place of a hood, consider a small hat or beany type head cover. It could make a big difference. I have dove Hawaii quite a bit ( 10 trips, 100 or so dives) and the water there is cool enough top give a chill. especially after repetitive dives. I still wish I lived there.
DivemasterDennis

---------- Post added December 29th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ----------

Physiology is an individual thing. Some people get cold in conditions others do not, both above and below the water. You can do some personal conditioning to get used to cooler water by spending time in swimming pools or lakes, or, since you are there, the ocean. Here in Colorado people who are outdoors in the cold a lot ( skiers) get acclimated to the cold better than the person who rarely goes outdoors in the winter ( which has hit with a vengance here today!) Before investing $1500.00 or more in a dry suit and then learning how to dive in it, I suggest some acclimation exercises- that is, self conditioning by being in the water. Start in a swim suit for a few minute and add time each day until you can be comfortable for an hour. You should include some head immersion in the process, as we lose a high percentage of body heat through our heads. Also, in place of a hood, consider a small hat or beany type head cover. It could make a big difference. I have dove Hawaii quite a bit ( 10 trips, 100 or so dives) and the water there is cool enough top give a chill. especially after repetitive dives. I still wish I lived there.
DivemasterDennis

I did order a fleece beanie on Amazon, just waiting for it to arrive. My issue is even if I'm warm above water before the start of the day, I get cold easily. I think maybe more so if I'm boat diving as there isn't a lot of physical activity and there is more wind than if on the shore.

Although I’m a big fan of keeping my head warm, the percentages of heat loss commonly cited are now widely suspect.
Lose Half our Body Heat Through our Heads | Body Heat Loss
Do We Lose Heat Through Our Heads?
Do You Lose Most Of Your Heat Through Your Head?
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/481383-heat-loss-through-head.html

Yeah, I wasn't about to argue with anyone, but I know that to be a myth.

---------- Post added December 29th, 2014 at 02:06 PM ----------

Get a hood. I use a 3mm drysuit hood. I can't stand the normal wetsuit hoods.

How do you avoid the feeling of water being trapped in your ear canal? I couldn't hear crap with a hood on. I have one though, a lavacore.

---------- Post added December 29th, 2014 at 02:12 PM ----------

Do they make a 3mm wetsuit shorty with pockets on the thighs to wear over a 5/4? I wear a pair of shorts as it is but for the purpose that they have a pocket that can fit my slate, or other smaller pieces.

---------- Post added December 29th, 2014 at 02:15 PM ----------

On top of what has been said, a lot of heat is lost to evaporation once you come up from your dive and are sitting on the boat. So peel off the top of the suit and dry off.

I definitely do, but once I'm between dives I'm usually fine, even with my wetsuit around my waist. I'm usually super hot between dives just itching to get back in the water and cool off. But yeah, I usually take off my suit, or at least peel it down and take off the shoes and roll up the legs.

 

[rx7diver]

I dive almost exclusively in 74+ degree temp waters here in Hawaii. ... I wear a 5/4, with a lavacore shirt under, as well as shorts with pockets over and 5mm boots. I don't like hoods and how they trap the water in my ear, if I can help it.

Matthew Jones,

I recommend a *custom* hooded (and sleeveless) vest made with high-quality 2-to-3 mm neoprene and a custom jumpsuit wetsuit made with high-quality 5 mm neoprene. Have the jumpsuit cut to accommodate the vest. (Note: You won't need to wear anything under but your briefs-type swimsuit. In fact, you shouldn't wear anything else. In particular, don't wear board shorts under!)

Your feet/ankles shouldn't get cold in 74+ degree water, but if they do, then slip on a pair of salt-and-pepper wool socks beneath your 5mm neoprene boots. (Careful: If these socks make your boots fit too tight, your feet *will* get cold!)

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

P.S. At least one longtime Scubaboard member claims you will be even warmer in a "skin-in" [custom] wetsuit, though these are said to be a bit more fragile than a fleece-lined [custom] wetsuit. I don't have any experience with these.

 

[Remy B.]

Although I’m a big fan of keeping my head warm, the percentages of heat loss commonly cited are now widely suspect.
Lose Half our Body Heat Through our Heads | Body Heat Loss
Do We Lose Heat Through Our Heads?
Do You Lose Most Of Your Heat Through Your Head?
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/481383-heat-loss-through-head.html

Curious is that they talk only about surface area, what about the hair in that surface area, low cut, long cut, type of hair ???, look in to does topics and you will see all sorts of investigations, all the way down to Caucasian man and African man and the difference in hair and evolution

I had the opportunity to use a Infrared Camera at work, and the human head is always hotter than the rest of the body , not because it is just hotter is because it is has less fat and muscle to protected so it is more exposed, in the different spectrum's of the camera, there was more hot areas in the head, than in other parts, all related of layers of protection, your core is the most hot part but it is isolated with fat, muscle and is your pumping central, heat is retained there, because of those layers the camera seems to not see that heat but in reality it is the isolation of that fat and muscle that don't allow to see that heat inside you.

I'm not expert in no means, but just a hair cut makes a lot a difference, at list with me, for my work I have been in the two extremes of temperatures +50*C and -44*C, both conditions require training and there is special attention of cooling and heating throughout the head, with that said it doesn't mean you have to abandon the rest of your body and only regulate temperature with your head, the head plays a very important role in body temperature regulation in both scenarios cold and warm.

if you have less layers to protect something this something will heat up faster and will cool down faster as well

 

[rongoodman]

Hooded vest, and if that doesn't work, dry suit. That's colder water then the cenotes, and a 5mm suit plus hooded vest just keeps me warm enough on 1 1/2 - 2 hour dives there.

 

[NAM001]

It is my opinion that the only reason you xfer heat to the water is that there is water flow through the suit to to remove the warm water from the suit. Here is soemething you can try. take some inner tube pieces and put them on the sleeve and leg ends. (seal the sleeves and legs). This should stop the water flow through the suit. if you are warm now then seals are the issue. I use a harveys suit 3mm FJ in 70 degree (FLA springs) water and I cook. There is practically nil for water flow. pee in your suit and you live with it like it was a dry suit till you take it off. I cant get out of the water with it cause the suit wont drain. (the seals are that good) I become the micheleen man.... I either have to stagger to the dock and lay down and open the neck or slip my hand under the leg seals. Initial flodding the suit is the same issue i have to open the neck to fill the suit with water. It is the most heat eficient suit i have ever dove with. 4-500 dollars but very functional. I wish the suit had a purge valve on the legs so the water would drain when you get out.

 

[Nemrod]

Although I’m a big fan of keeping my head warm, the percentages of heat loss commonly cited are now widely suspect.
Lose Half our Body Heat Through our Heads | Body Heat Loss
Do We Lose Heat Through Our Heads?
Do You Lose Most Of Your Heat Through Your Head?
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/481383-heat-loss-through-head.html

Unless he is a hothead.

N

 

[KevinNM]

I'm the guy diving with Jack's at Kona in a drysuit this week. I got it because I freeze my ass off in even a good, well fitting wetsuit.

 

[Searcaigh]

+1 on a hooded vest, with a hood only you can still feel the cold water running down your neck and back.

19-23C I am in a 7mm semi-dry + hooded vest and wear a hooded vest on dives up to 28C with either 5mm or 3mm full suits