How do you keep warm during SI when it is cold outside??

[Ber Rabbit]

Well, how did it go? Thought I would let you know I took my tent and both of my heaters for check-out dives the weekend before Thanksgiving. I fired them up while waiting for Notsoken to get there with his kerosene heater. The temperature was in the high 30's and we had very little wind; after an hour of running the heaters the temperature inside the tent was comfortable, probably in the 50's.

I brought along a hunting blind for the students to use as a changing room and I put one of the catalytic heaters in there. Talk about TOASTY! We started leaving the hoods/gloves in there between dives to help keep them warm.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Tigerman]

It is getting cooler here, but I am not ready to hang up my booties for the winter just yet. Was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on staying warm during the surface interval. I will be diving wet as the dry suit is a long way from reach in the budget right now.

Water temps will be 60-70's and the air will be windy and in the 50-60's. I have a canopy with side walls that I am going to put up, a big terry bath robe, flannel pants and booties, several changes of stocking hats and gloves, a coleman stove to make hot tea, coffee, chocolate and so forth, and a blanket. Have I forgotten anything? Just got certified this spring, so this is my first chilly dive.

For my exposure in the water, I have a 7mil suit, reef gloves and a 5/3 henderson hood

Thanks for the advice and if anyone wants to join me in South Carolina, the details are on this link http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=162248

Thanks,
Leah

Get out of the suit and get dry. Wear wool as the layer closest to your body. Woolen shirt, woolen leggings. Woolen headwear that cover the ears, woolen gloves..
Nothing beats wool!

 

[SuSexFulDiver]

Nothing gets me hotter than a dry wetsuit, A dry wetsuit make me sweat I get so hot inside of them. So I learned between dives to just pull my 7mil off to my waist and then I put on a Nice Dry 7 or 5 mil hooded Vest on. With it on my body temp begin to rise quickly, I can either keep it on and then pull the wet 7 mil over it, or remove the Dry hooded vest right before I gear up for the next dive.

I try to keep 2 dry hooded vest with me for between dives if I am doing only 3 dives.

Also after I put the hooded vest on, I put a jacket or wind breaker on over it to keep the wind off.

 

[wontbslow]

A couple weeks back I dove in a 7mm wetsuit in 48 degree water with 33 degree air temps. I had to walk through snow to get to the water. Naturally it was COLD during the SI...so I sat on a tarp in the car, pulled off the top part of my suit and CRANKED on the heat! That seemed to do the trick.

 

[Double_D]

Drinking cold liquids on SI will hurt ya bad...!

Warm ones will too - usually halfway through the second dive! Gotta love that drysuit.

As the Eagles song says, "Every form of refuge has it's price."

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Everything worked great untilt he wind killed my canopy! Had a really bad wind strom that day The tent really absorbed a lot of heat and we didn't have to use the heaters--although they are very cool! I mean hot. I have added them to my winter power outage ice strom plan. Was without power and regular heat for a week last winter. I have a kerosene heater, but these ProCats will be nice to warm up the cool spots. We drank lots of hot coffee, tea, and juice. Hot homemade soup thanks to Jocasseegirl--wow it was great!! Also took along a cooler of hot water to wash hands and pour down out suits. That was really nice to take the edge of the wet suit. Hats and gloves were donned by all. I only stripped down half way and put on a shirt, jacket, hat and gloves, others totally changed.

We had a Coleman stove to heat our soup on and other drinks. However, we also had several Stanly thermoses already filled with hot water and hot coffee. It was nice to be able to get right out of the water and not have to wait to get something hot to drink. That really was helpful to put on some dry clothes and drink something hot. We had hot juice and hot herbal and regular tea. The warm cup was also nice on the hands. I did find it harder to keep hydrated in the cooler weather. I can really chug water or gatoraide in the summer, but hot stuff just takes longer for me to get down. I think that is one thing I will have to make a better effort to do next time it is cold and I go diving. We had plenty to drink. I think I just should have got more down the hatch.

One thing is for sure, you burn a lot more energy diving in cooler water!! I think I am done diving until it gets warm again. Although, maybe I should consider winter diving part of my plan to burn extra calories to drop some pounds!! LOL

As far as the heaters go, the ProCat 3000 BTU that has the fan is a much better heater than the one without the fan. The gentle battery op fan really helps to mix the air.

We really had a good time. All the suggestions that folks gave put together, really helped us to deal with the cold. I really appreciate all the great advice.

I was very tired and sore the next day after the dive. We did an extremly conservative dive profile. I think it was probably a combination of the cold, being excited about this dive, having some gear get killed right before my eyes, and not drinking enough that contributed to my fatigue.

That is one of things I love about this board. I can ask for help anytime and within a few minutes folks start piling on with great advice. I love this online community!! Thanks again for all the help.

 

[tonka97]

A cooler with warm water in it is a nice place to store your hood and gloves between dives but if space is limited you can just pour water into these before donning them as well.

Great idea!

Thanks!

 

[BRANDY]

I may be a spoiled Fl sissy now, but when I lived in TN the thing to do would be to pour hot water in the suit and ooooooooohhhhhh does it feel so gooooood.Those old coleman waterc coolers would do the trick for the winter or thermocline in those arkansaw lake while spearing.

 

[dbulmer]

Leah,
Just a small for your information note: Cider to a Uk diver means an alcoholic drink about 5% to 8% proof. I suspect the US cider is not the same so out of curiosity what does your cider have in it?

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Leah,
Just a small for your information note: Cider to a Uk diver means an alcoholic drink about 5% to 8% proof. I suspect the US cider is not the same so out of curiosity what does your cider have in it?

It is just the juice from cold pressed apples. No alchohol and diving for me!

It funny how a simple expression in another country means something different. I am told and perhaps someone from down under can correct me on this that "under the weather" means in the US that someone is sick or has the flu, but in Aussie it means they are too drunk to walk.

Getting ready to do a boat dive on the 17th at the Hot Hole at Lake Keowee in SC. The water is in the mid to high 60's. It is the return cooling water from the power plant and stays warm all year. My first dive there and my first experience with current. I plan on having lots of warm water and hot juice to drink during the surface interval as well as putting all the other good suggestions to good use if it is windy and cold. Maybe we will get a freakishly warm day! One can always hope!