Cold while diving

[Marie13]

Hey guys, I wanted to get you opinion on something i heard an instructor say at a resent OW class i was sitting in on...

The instructor said you should never be cold while diving. This struck me as odd as i regularly dive in the north east where the water temp is REARLY above 50f at depth, last dive was 45f at 35 feet, and i am never what i would call warm. By the end of most dives i am cold. hands, ears, feet are all cold.

This has never effected my dive and never kept me from diving but i am definitely not warm. I would say i am more on the cold side by the end.

I dive Dry with either a Weezle i think it is a medium weight one, but i am not sure. I hate it as i find it too bulky and i need more weight when using it. Or i dive with a whites fleece top and bottoms.

Dry gloves and either a 5mm (i like) or a 7mm (i hate) hood.

What are your opinions. Should you get cold on a dive or am i doing something wrong.

I'm diving temps very similar to you. I know what to do to stay warm, but now I'm trying to find undies that give me the needed flexibility for doubles valves drills for tech.

Weezle? What I refer to as a diving comforter. What do you wear under the fleece undies? I've come to swear by 250 gram Smart Wool. REI actually has their sale going on right now for 30% off. What about your feet? I wear Fourth Element Arctic socks with thin merino wool socks underneath.

Are you allowing enough air into your gloves? Fourth Element fleece liners here with the FE wrist warmers sitting under seal to allow air in. I feel much warmer now I'm wearing my 7mm hood. My original 5mm hood had gotten too thin after about 200 dives.

Fourth Element has this X-Core vest, which is their answer to needing a heated vest. I wore it this weekend and it was very toasty under Fourth Element Arctic. I had been using a Thermal Fusion under my Fusion drysuit. Nice and warm, but no flexibility for valve drills.

Sounds like you might need to reevaluate everything except your drysuit! A good fitting hood does make a huge difference with making you not hate the thick ones. I like Waterproof brand. I get the non-bibbed ones.

 

[Dubious]

Cold is relative. I am always cold. In fact, I feel cold right now as I type this.

 

[Bubblesong]

My hands and feet feel cold, due to being in 5mm, and outside the warmer 8/7 semidry, with Thermalution shirt, but my core is warm, so that is the key.

 

[Frackingawesome]

I was only addressing the cold issue and how you could get around it with what you have, weezle is very bulky but if it doesn’t loft you’ll be cold, you can squeeze the insulate right out of it.

Yes, i have experienced that... if i let the suite squeeze too much i get VERY cold VERY fast.

 

[Frackingawesome]

I'm diving temps very similar to you. I know what to do to stay warm, but now I'm trying to find undies that give me the needed flexibility for doubles valves drills for tech.

Weezle? What I refer to as a diving comforter. What do you wear under the fleece undies? I've come to swear by 250 gram Smart Wool. REI actually has their sale going on right now for 30% off. What about your feet? I wear Fourth Element Arctic socks with thin merino wool socks underneath.

Are you allowing enough air into your gloves? Fourth Element fleece liners here with the FE wrist warmers sitting under seal to allow air in. I feel much warmer now I'm wearing my 7mm hood. My original 5mm hood had gotten too thin after about 200 dives.

Fourth Element has this X-Core vest, which is their answer to needing a heated vest. I wore it this weekend and it was very toasty under Fourth Element Arctic. I had been using a Thermal Fusion under my Fusion drysuit. Nice and warm, but no flexibility for valve drills.

Sounds like you might need to reevaluate everything except your drysuit! A good fitting hood does make a huge difference with making you not hate the thick ones. I like Waterproof brand. I get the non-bibbed ones.

Generally under the fleece i wear something like a under armor wicking thing that seems to help keep me dry... It is what ever i got from under armor for running in the winter. I think it works ok, but honestly i have never tried anything made special for drysuit stuff.

With the Weezle i am unable to do a full valve drill... I can reach both posts but i cant reach the center isolator. that is one of the reasons i tend not to ware it unless i have to.

I do need a new hood. The one i am wearing now is a 7mm thing but it makes me VERY Claustrophobic. I had an awesome 4th element one but i think it got Sacrificed to the gods of wind and sea on a boat dive last year.

 

[Frackingawesome]

and to be clear, i am not shivering or in pain or anything like that. I would say i am cold. I was just wondering because when the instructor said never cold i thought more like NEVER WARM.

 

[Marie13]

Generally under the fleece i wear something like a under armor wicking thing that seems to help keep me dry... It is what ever i got from under armor for running in the winter. I think it works ok, but honestly i have never tried anything made special for drysuit stuff.

With the Weezle i am unable to do a full valve drill... I can reach both posts but i cant reach the center isolator. that is one of the reasons i tend not to ware it unless i have to.

I do need a new hood. The one i am wearing now is a 7mm thing but it makes me VERY Claustrophobic. I had an awesome 4th element one but i think it got Sacrificed to the gods of wind and sea on a boat dive last year.

The Smart Wool isn't made for diving. It's just basic merino wool base layer. I find it keeps me warmer than polypro stuff, is cooler in between dives when the weather is warm, and doesn't smell on multiple day trip like polypro can.

 

[Frackingawesome]

The Smart Wool isn't made for diving. It's just basic merino wool base layer. I find it keeps me warmer than polypro stuff, is cooler in between dives when the weather is warm, and doesn't smell on multiple day trip like polypro can.

Where did you get your wool stuff and is it a suite or just paints and a vest?

that is one of the other reasons i dont like the weezel... It stinks! I had a partial flood about 2 years ago and it has stunk ever since... no matter how i wash it.

 

[TMHeimer]

and to be clear, i am not shivering or in pain or anything like that. I would say i am cold. I was just wondering because when the instructor said never cold i thought more like NEVER WARM.

I believe people's body temperatures do vary a fair bit. My wife says I am cold to the touch and I notice she is warmer in general. Also there is of course cold tolerance that varies. People will say I feel colder now because I'm 66. I didn't like the cold or cold water growing up in NY-- which was until age 23. Then many years in Northern Manitoba in temperatures of -30 or colder switched that 180 degrees (no pun intended). In those years (mid 20s to age 50) I had a real problem dealing with NYC summer heat when I was there, whereas -20 and no wind was a nice day for a long walk. Now after 15 years in Nova Scotia it has balanced out again. When we first moved here in '05 I would go for a long swim mid October. Not now. 50F water also would be balmy. Now in 60F I can get chilly on the 2nd dive. Your body acclimates.

 

[Marie13]

Where did you get your wool stuff and is it a suite or just paints and a vest?

that is one of the other reasons i dont like the weezel... It stinks! I had a partial flood about 2 years ago and it has stunk ever since... no matter how i wash it.

REI! Separate top and bottom. They have their annual 30% sale going on right now and free shipping, I believe.

ETA: Smart Wool 250 gram top: https://www.rei.com/product/834628/smartwool-merino-250-base-layer-crew-top-mens

Smart Wool 250 gram bottoms: https://www.rei.com/product/834631/smartwool-merino-250-base-layer-bottoms-mens