Wetsuit diving cold water/weather SI question

[boat sju]

I've found that I prefer (sunny weather and length of si permitting) to get the wetsuit off, turn it inside out and leave it in the sun. I like to dry off and get myself warm and comfortable for a bit. Putting a damp wetsuit on just before getting back in the water doesn't seem so bad then.

To me it seems that keeping my wetsuit on is also hard on the leg muscles because it's somewhat constricting above water.

 

[Sas]

When I was diving in my wetsuit in that temperature and lower, as soon as I got out of the water I would take off my wetsuit down to my waist and put on a bit warm jacket, with fluffy stuff on the inside. I also would put on a woollen beanie and woollen gloves. And with a SI of longer than an hour I would take off the whole suit, have a long warm shower (not a hot one as I have heard it can increase your risk of skin bends and you need a fairly long one otherwise it will just make you colder in the long run), and get dressed. I'd sit in front of the car heater for a bit too! Then would gear up again in my suit when doing another dive. It is a bit of a hassle but I found this was the best way to keep warm after experimenting with different things. I tend to do long dives with a camera so I don't move much and get pretty cold.

But I have a drysuit now and I can't recommend them enough. I still do get a bit cold after about an hour in the water, but as soon as I am out of the water I go back to normal temperature. And it removed the horrible getting back into a wet cold wetsuit stage. Oh and then there is the whole being dry bit! It was worth every penny, despite the fact I will be poor for the next few months

 

[Web Monkey]

So what do most folks do? I was fine and did warm some in my suit though not as much as I thought I would. It seems clear that we need to get out of the suits I guess, but do you then spike the suit with warm water before you get back in for dive two?

After a couple of years being cold, I switched to a drysuit.

You can sometimes get a great deal buying a used suit from another diver or shop. Not that it helps you much in Maine, but our shop, for example has a "used sale" once a year where my buddy sold his wife's very lightly used drysuit for about 1/4 of what it cost new, and it was bought by another local diver who needed a suit but didn't want to spend a fortune.

You might be able to find a shop near you that does something similar, or possibly find another diver to buy from directly. I'd stay away from ebay and other online services for a drysuit, since fit is such a big part of the decision and you can't try it on over the internet.

If you're going to stay with a wetsuit for a while, you might see if you can pick up an inexpensive second suit, so you can take it off completely, dry off, put on some nice warm sweats and a jacket, hang out for your surface interval, then put on your nice dry, warm second wetsuit for the second dive. I do that with hoods and gloves and it works nicely.

Terry

 

[Saltair]

Thanks all... It seems the most workable answer is to partially remove the suit dry off and put on a jacket and hat. The hat is a good idea. I should have thought of that. Warm liquids will probably also be part of the program from now on. I would love to start diving dry but the expense of diving for is everything X2 so I dont know when that will happen. I stay pretty comfortable wet until the water gets pretty cold, but my wife is another story. Gotta keep her warm and happy

 

[Ber Rabbit]

You may have to shorten your dives a bit as well, I like to keep them in the 35 minute range at that temperature. I'm usually cold at the 17 minute mark and don't like pushing beyond an additional 20 minutes once I'm cold. A miserable diver doesn't continue in the sport of diving for long

I also have a 10x10 tent with sides where I can get out of the wind and a small propane heater so I can keep the chill off in the tent. You don't want it to be super warm in there, it makes it harder to get back in the cold water. If it's not windy the sun on the tent on a 70 degree day provides enough heat and I don't use the heater.

Definitely peel down and get warm clothes on your top half. I have a hat, gloves and scarf in my dive stuff all the time. Having them and not needing them is a wonderful place to be, needing them and not having them...not so much fun.

Take along a cooler of warm water to soak hood and gloves in between dives, it makes the re-donning process a little more pleasant.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Scott M]

Since you are buying everything X2 and we all know dry suits are not cheap. How about just getting a couple more wet suits? They can usually be had quite cheap used. Especially the 7mm semi-drys as that seems to be the jump before D.S. I know my buddy has worn my semi dry more than I have, I just hate to part with it because I'm a pack rat others are far wiser and dump unused gear. Now when you get out of the water you can take the wet one off and put the dry one on, a lot less investment and you can always sell them when you do go dry.

Regards

 

[TMHeimer]

I go like this: Between dives, regardless of weather, the farmer john top must come off for the required pee. If it's a warm day (16-20 C or 55-65 F & sunny), the wetsuit comes off. This happens if the bottom temp. is 45 or warmer. If it's below 45, just the pee thing and put the top back on ASAP (chilly at first, and harder to get back on when wet). Less to decide if the bottom temp is say 57 or better, then I don't use the bottoms at all.