How cold will you dive wet?

[sgad]

dove 7mm suit and hood with 5mm boots and gloves and was not cold until the boat ride began. surface interval is awfully cold and that would be the only reason i went dry. i like diving wet, so i'm gonna bring a blanket on the boat with me keep toasty warm

 

[Aardvark]

Hmm, you "extreme wetsuit divers" are either insane, exaggerating, or both... sub 40 wet and comfy? Insane.

Maybe I'm just a wimp. I'm in the 60s category. Go dry and never go back. Wet and cold sucks.

-Nick

2mm shirt under 5mm farmer john with 5mm jacket, 5mm hood. Happy diving through winter here in Sydney where it can get down to around 14 degC. It's hard for me to justify the cost of a drysuit for just a few months of the year.

Getting changed after a night dive can be a bit chilly, though.

 

[RoyN]

For me, it narrows down to how much can afford for a good drysuit, underwear, and time for maintainence. End of story.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

dove 7mm suit and hood with 5mm boots and gloves and was not cold until the boat ride began. surface interval is awfully cold and that would be the only reason i went dry. i like diving wet, so i'm gonna bring a blanket on the boat with me keep toasty warm

Absolutely! It's the SI that kills you. The thought of diving wet in cold water on a boat is making me hypothermic just thinking about it. All of my cold wetsuit dives were at a quarry where I could control things and had dry clothes and warmth ready for the SI.

The first dive is not an issue. It's the second that gets you. I learned that gallon jugs filled with very warm, almost hot, water in a cooler (or a warmer in this context!) to be the key to the second dive. But it was the SI and then subsequent dives that moved me to a drysuit. Also, for deep, cold dives like we have in the Great Lakes a drysuit is darn close to mandatory. Not much warmth left in a layered wetsuit at 110' in 40 F water.

 

[dave4868]

A lot of folks strongly advocate for diving dry, but for those of you diving wet, how cold will you go? I ask being a new diver in New England, wondering what kind of season I could get out of a wetsuit (while I save up for a drysuit).

I think some are talking, perhaps bragging, about surviving the cold in their wetsuits, not about being comfortable. I wonder how many of their cold dives were shortened to under an hour for some reason.... how many of their second dives were declined.... how many times they do a third cold dive or spend over 90 minutes on a cold dive....

I'm a wuss, I guess, because I consider being warm to mean really warm! The kind of warm where laying on the bottom for ten minutes in 40-degree water to watch a critter isn't a problem. Where the only reason to end the dive is running low on air.

Ever wonder why wetsuit buddies always seem to be in a hurry?

For me, it's a drysuit for anything below 80 degrees, but to each their own.

I like to be comfortable....

What kind of season will you get in a wetsuit in New England? I'd guess it will vary from 3 to 6 months with varying levels of discomfort that will shorten some dives and reduce the number of times you want to dive. Then again, you may have a high metabolism and good tolerance to cold and do better.

Good luck!

Dave C

 

[PMyers]

When I did my open water course, it was held in Jervis Bay (south of Sydney) in the middle of winter - the water temp at 15 metres was 6°C. It was thee most amazing experience - being frozen solid, but not wanting to get out and get warm
I really am a bit of a wus when it comes to diving wet, though, and generally find that I would roll out the dry suit at around 10°C... no lower.

 

[mwhities]

This last January, I did a dive in 45F+- degree water and the air temp was 31-32F. All in a 3mm Henderson gold Core long suite (hood, suit, boots and glove) with a 3mm shortie underneath it all. As long as I kept moving, I was alright, otherwise, t`was cold!

Michael

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I think some are talking, perhaps bragging, about surviving the cold in their wetsuits, not about being comfortable. I wonder how many of their cold dives were shortened to under an hour for some reason.... how many of their second dives were declined.... how many times they do a third cold dive or spend over 90 minutes on a cold dive....

Never claimed to be comfortable. It was manageable however. The dives were in the 30-45 minute range. In those temps in a wetsuit, definitely can't last any longer than that.

I do now dive dry and am glad I do. I only dive wet if the water I'll be diving in ... at depth, not at the surface ... is 75 F or greater. Below that and I'm in my dry suit ... and am glad that I am!

ADDITION - Oppss. Just read the COMFORTABLE part of his question. Funny how I just glossed right over that word the first time I read it.

 

[Paco II]

For me, it all depends on how warm my 'core' is. When I did my AOW, that first morning we spent about 5 hours in the water doing navigation and other skills. Water temp was roughly 51f. Was totally comfortable in my hooded fullsuit 9-7-6mm. However, when we did the night dive that evening, I was freezing! Same suit (it had been dried) and water temp was exactly the same as in the morning. Big diff was that my 'core' had not been warmed up enough. Learned a good lesson from that.

 

[Nudgeroni]

It does seem that the biggest restriction on dive season will be the surface interval (as long as I stay fairly shallow). Thanks for the advice on staying warm topside, from a warm-water flush to a good blanket. On another thread, a poster recommended bringing a tent to stay out of the wind.