Galapagos trip Aug 2023 -- will i freeze to death?

[tom084]

hey everybody-

as the title says , i am booked on a 8 day liveaboard trip w galaxy diver in mid August. I have done Cocos and Socorro as well as experienced the current of southern Maldives so i hope i am somewhat(?) prepared for the currents and barnacle rocks.

However, i am a bit of a baby when it comes to cold water (yes i know, best time to go to galapagos then but i cannot go any other time of the year due to job) and this has me kind of worried. At 1,75m and 67kg (5'9") i tend to get cold easily. As far as i understand from the intinary Galaxy Diver "only" does two dives at the colder dive sites per day

So here is what i have prepared so far in terms of gear :
- new 7mm Cressi Monopiece wetsuit (c.f. amazon link )
- on colder dives (i.e. western/central/southern) i plan to wear a 3mm shorty on top of the 7mm fullsuit
- 5mm gloves/socks/booties
(i am not certified for dry suit, never dove in a dry-suit so that's out of the question)
i also have a 5mm Mares Pioneer full suit with separate hood but putting that on underneath/on top of the 7mm would be hell i suppose

now back to my question, does this sound reasonable? will i "freeze to death"?
And ofc apart from that, i would very much appreciate any suggestions to stay warm-ish

thanks

 

[LFMarm]

Hard to say as resistance to cold is very personal. I never want to get cold so I dive dry for anything below 25 C which is the temperature you will find at Galapagos. Only challenge with dry suits is boiling while dressing up in case temperature of the air is high. This will not be the case at Galapagos in winter. I know many who would dive on a 5mm on those conditions.

 

[Manuel Sam]

A 7mm plus a 2mm hooded vest is what I wore for Cabo Douglas in Fernandina and Punta Vicente Roca in Isabela. Those tend to be the coldest dives. But as LFMarm said, resistance (tolerance) to cold is a very personal thing.

This being an El Niño year, the water might be warmer, but I wouldn't bank on that.

As far as gear, be sure to wear a hood. Beyond that, I've seen people wear battery-powered heated vests under their wetsuits, but they are not cheap.

 

[Marie13]

Get some thin neoprene socks for your feet, too, or something along the lines of the wetsuit socks that Fourth Element makes.

 

[boulderjohn]

I am probably about average in terms of cold tolerance.

When I went to the Galapagos, the information I was given was that only a couple of sites would be cold enough to require a 7mm suit. The suggestion was for me to bring my 5mm suit for most of the sites and rent one of the boat's 7mm suits for the colder sites.

At the time I owned a 5mm ScubaPro suit with a very distinctive design--only their 5mm version had it. I brought it along. We started with the colder water sites, and the boat trotted out their 7mm suits for those who wanted them. I laughed out loud. They were the very same ScubaPro 5mm suits as mine. They did not say it on the sleeve, but there was no mistaking the design. Their 7mm suits were actually 5mm.

So I used my 5mm throughout, and I had no problems with the cold.

 

[MB NZ]

What is the water temperature going to be? No wetsuit is warmer and more comfortable than an open cell freediving suit. Downside is that they require lube to put on. Regardless, the most uncomfortable time for me when wetsuit diving is putting on a wet wetsuit first thing in the morning and taking it off, especially if windy. Once I get cold, I find it hard to warm up.

 

[Still Kicking]

7mm and hooded vest was fine for me. When we dove Cousins rock i was cold even though it was close to typical Calif temps, which i dive all the time.

I would not go 5mm, especially if you are cold sensitive.

 

[Still Kicking]

What is the water temperature going to be? No wetsuit is warmer and more comfortable than an open cell freediving suit. Downside is that they require lube to put on. Regardless, the most uncomfortable time for me when wetsuit diving is putting on a wet wetsuit first thing in the morning and taking it off, especially if windy. Once I get cold, I find it hard to warm up.

Putting on a skin in suit and taking it off four times a day gets really old. My boat had hot showers, hot chocolate and hot snacks on the dive deck which really helped stave off the cold but each boat is different.

 

[Scared Silly]

Darwin and Wolf are warmer than the central islands. For a May/June trip we took a 7mm. If a bit warm we just flushed with water.

 

[Still Kicking]

Downside is that they require lube to put on.

Also, lubing up an open cell suit will inevitably leave some lube on the deck (it's bad enough on my small boat). Not too safe on a busy liveaboard dive deck.

I would feel terrible if someone slipped and got hurt because of me - possibly ruining their trip and potentially forcing a medical situation for the crew to deal with.