i know...another gear question.

[scubadiver888]

I am diving Lake Ontario and north. I dive wet and find my hands and feet are just as warm (or cold depending on how you look at it) as the guys diving drysuit. The difference is between dive 1 and dive 2. On many days near the end of the season I find myself inside the boat cabin hugging the engine exhaust stack were as the drysuit guys are standing around chatting as if they were about to do their first dive of the day.

That is what is going to make the difference. The time between each dive will be MUCH more tolerable if you are dry. Additionally, as the top side weather gets colder and colder, having a drysuit will make that much more the difference. I've been diving as late as October but if there is even a slight wind, I'll stay in the water rather than get out. Changing back into street clothes on a shore dive is also REALLY nasty.

Once I can afford it, I'm going dry.

 

[Anti-Hero]

Take into account the safety aspect of being warm. When you're cold your reactive and cognitive abilities are diminished, cold hands can affect the way you're able to manipulate your gear, and being cold will fatigue you quicker as the body is shunting blood away from the extremities to keep the vital organs warm. There is also anecdotal evidence of being cold affecting decompression.

On top of it all, being cold is just no fun!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Take into account the safety aspect of being warm. When you're cold your reactive and cognitive abilities are diminished, cold hands can affect the way you're able to manipulate your gear, and being cold will fatigue you quicker as the body is shunting blood away from the extremities to keep the vital organs warm. There is also anecdotal evidence of being cold affecting decompression.

On top of it all, being cold is just no fun!

While what you say is true, it is not like if you dive a 7mm suit you are going to die. That fact is reserved for split fins, spare air and cheap Home Depot snaps . With a 2pc 7mm suit, hood and gloves, it is very comfortable (warm) diving in Canada (at least my part) for most of the summer. I am going dry because I want to be comfortable for more than just "most of the sumer".

 

[Jorgy]

Go dry.......

I don't believe I have a seen a post of someone regretting getting a drysuit......

Almost all say......"should have gone dry earlier"....or......"enjoy diving more"......or......"more dives per year"........

It is costly.......but after hundreds of dives a drysuit becomes cheap in the long run.........

M

 

[jashaw]

Thanks all, sounds like I'll have to be searching for a dry suit in he near future

 

[Becca_007]

For what it's worth we are very comfortable in our semi-dry suits down to 45F water. The couple of times we've hit the 40F-44F stuff it's been cold and miserable though. That said, a dry-suit, a vacation and a camera housing all cost about the same. We haven't bought dry suits yet but really enjoyed our new housing on our recent trip to Little Cayman.

 

[Crush]

For years people used to dive in the Arctic and Antarctic in wetsuits. Pouring warm water into the wetsuit prior to entering the water does wonders to take the edge off.

I dove a wetsuit in lakes in the Rocky Mountains for about a year. During the day, in the summer, there is no problem as while your suit will remain wet, it will warm if you hang it in the sun (I know, not good for neoprene...) between dives. However, I HATED climbing into a cold, wet wetsuit after sunset to carry out a night dive. The drysuit was worth it for that first night dive alone...

While I have a drysuit now, I find that I at times still use the wetsuit. Buying a wetsuit is not a waste of money, in my opinion.

 

[H2O 70]

There is also anecdotal evidence of being cold affecting decompression.

DAN offers an online seminar about the 'optimal path' of decompression. They found if you are cold at depth (working) and warm during decompression, you are less likely get get DCS. If your warm at depth (working) and warm at decompression, you are a wee bit more likely. If you are warm at depth (working) and cold at decompression, you even a wee bit more likely. If you cold at depth (working) and cold at decompression, you have the greatest chance of DCS.

Not anecdotal any more! Anyway, hopefully this made sense.

 

[Mattleycrue76]

For cold water diving:

Diving Dry => better than diving wet => better than not diving.

If you can afford it go dry and save yourself money in the long run. You won't regret it.

 

[Crush]

There is also anecdotal evidence of being cold affecting decompression.

It is not anecdotal. If you start a dive warm and end the dive warm, normal dive tables apply. If you start a dive cold and end the dive cold, normal dive tables apply. If you start a dive warm and end the dive cold, normal dive tables do not apply. There are no special cold-water tables. Normal tables assume a rate of off-gassing which will not happen if you are cold owing to reduced perfusion (blood flow into and out of capillaries and peripheral tissues). If you were cold to begin with, you will have absorbed less N2 into your peripheral tissues (during a dive) owing to decreased perfusion. If you were warm or "normal" to begin with, you will have absorbed N2 at a normal rate as the dive progressed. However, if you subsequently became cold you will not be able to lose N2 from your peripheral tissues at the rate that tables rely upon. DCS is therefore more likely to occur. See the excellent article at http://rubicon-foundation.org/Download/Pollock/Cold_Stress_Complicates_Deco_dirQuest2003_4_1 14-16.pdf for more information.

PS - avoid the hot tub after a dive if there is a chance that you were near your NDL limit.

Safe diving!