I showed mine in Key Largo....
Ice diving
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I showed mine in Key Largo....
don't worry about getting cold if its a well run course everything is PLANNED for , just enjoy the experience I have wet suit divers doing it for years and every one had a great time .. 2 years ago the longest dive was done in a wet suit , if properly timed and suit is "preloaded with warm water " it goes to plan ....no colder than diving tobermory in july ......
come to my neck of the woods where i have over 60 inches of ice for 8 months of the year. i have one lake thats over 100 feet of water 10 feet from the shore line and is in a valley thats only about 200 foot wide. i find it perfect for training as you dont get disorentended and its very diver friendly.
That sounds so cool!
superheavydeathmetal
Contributor
This thread isn't too old to continue, is it? 
What kind of insulation should one expect to need for ice diving? Would a Thinsulate 250 do the trick in a trilaminate suit? My guess is that would not be enough.
I understand comfort varies considerably per person.
What kind of insulation should one expect to need for ice diving? Would a Thinsulate 250 do the trick in a trilaminate suit? My guess is that would not be enough.
I understand comfort varies considerably per person.
Water is only so cold, so basically, whatever you would dive below the thermocline should work. Problem is when you get out of the water....
superheavydeathmetal
Contributor
Ah, true. I understand sea water can only get as cold as -4°C. So, what would it take to do that comfortably, for the average person?
I'm sure they exist but I know of no one that does recreational ice dives in salt water. So your parameters (-4c) aren't quite applicable.
chrisch
Contributor
I am not average so I can only speak for me personally. We dive in water down to about 4C fairly often. I use a Santi 400 Thinsulate and it is fine for a 30-40 minute dive. For me the biggest issue is cold hands as I only use my normal 5mm gloves. My wife uses a semi dry glove (ScubaPro) and doesn't have as big an issue. She is not average and has a lower tolerance to cold than I do and always has cold hands.
4C is cold. Mostly for me the water is around 8C - this is normal cave diving water temperature for where we dive. I can do over an hour in this without any issue (same kit - it's all I own).
Generally it is the extremities that get cold, not the core body in a good drysuit and undersuit. We used to dive a training quarry in Belgium and that was often around the 4C mark in winter. Several of our friends there used thin hoods designed for swimming under their dive hoods. (Made by Henderson I think). You need to be careful as this can cover the mouth and this is not a good idea for breathing in scuba gear
The hoods covered the exposed cheek area and went under the mask skirt. I have never tried one - if it is that cold I stay in the bar.Minus 4 sounds even colder. I think the PSD guys would run a full face mask at that temperature. I wouldn't call them average though - they seem kind of above that to me.
When it is too cold you can get out the water. That's the fantastic thing about pleasure diving. The public service and commercial divers cannot exercise that option. There are heated suits and all sorts of gadgets for them. You can buy them if you have the money and inclination. Me, I would just cut the dive short. Maybe 10 minutes.
As posted above, when you get out is a whole new ball game.
Dan_P
Contributor
I can do a nice rec dive in icewater for about 45-60 mins in a Xerotherm/Arctic with alpaca+merino under 1,6mm latex gloves. And you can cut the dives shorter as needed.
I don’t think temperature is the key point here.
I wouldn’t even fuss (too much) over the altitude.
The thing is, it’s overhead diving in a remote location.
It’s technical diving, if you ask me.
I don’t think temperature is the key point here.
I wouldn’t even fuss (too much) over the altitude.
The thing is, it’s overhead diving in a remote location.
It’s technical diving, if you ask me.
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