What is a cold water dive?

[altitudemike]

I think it depends where you are. I consider cold water diving to be ice diving. Anything else to me is not. I dive my lake at home all summer in a 3mm wetsuit with no hood or gloves & it's 14*c. I grew up in this climate & am able to dive with comfort with little protection. I think it's different for everyone. If you feel it's cold water diving than it's cold water diving. IMHO.

 

[Beach_Bunny]

I am a girl so I take into account that I get colder than men. Anything requiring a 7mm for me is cold water diving.

 

[Falco]

Around here 32 and lower is cold water, 33-39 is average and 40+ is warm. Got to love northern Canada.

 

[DiveMom1927]

My certification dive for AOW was in December in Seattle Wa.... There was snow on the ground.... Diving in a wetsuit. The water wasnt that bad at all... actually the water stays the same give or take a couple degrees year round here.... But getting out! HOLY MOLY!!!! then sitting around for the second dive... Glad there was a coffee shop close!

 

[gitterdun]

Around here 32 and lower is cold water, 33-39 is average and 40+ is warm. Got to love northern Canada.

Amen!!

Except... I haven't been in water colder than 32... It tends to be a bit hard below that temp!

 

[Gary D.]

Amen!!

Except... I haven't been in water colder than 32... It tends to be a bit hard below that temp!

Depends. Some wateres can get to 28df or a bit lower and still be liquid.

Gary D.

 

[Gary D.]

You do realize that it is your 1st stage not your second stage that you need to worry about freezing up. If you using a Piston first stage, then you most likely are not ready for cold water...

You might want to do a bit more research.

Gary D.

 

[YankeeDelta]

Gee, I got my OW Cert in 39 degree and 41 degree F. Is that considered cold ? And, had to go to the water 5 times, twice, regulators froze. BTW, they let us use wetsuits, hehe.

 

[WVDiver]

Cold is a relative term but I have always considered a cold dive to be anything less than 60F and I thought this was a broadly accepted practice. Having read some of the posts here it apparently is not.

 

[dave4868]

You do realize that it is your 1st stage not your second stage that you need to worry about freezing up. If you using a Piston first stage, then you most likely are not ready for cold water... After recent local events I am in the process of changing my gear over just in case. Also a lot of us are installing the Free-flow cutoffs just before our 2nd stage.

Piston first stages work fine, even in extremely cold water, if the ambient chamber is kept free of water.

That can be achieved by design (such as Sherwood's "dry air bleed" design) or by modification (environmentally sealing the ambient chamber with suitable grease).

My Sherwood Blizzards have never had a freeze-up during numerous cold water dives (quite a few were sub-40-degree F, sub-4-degree C). That includes 34-degree fresh water dives.

Sherwood piston firsts worked very well even in the following Antarctic program in 28-degree saltwater (about 2/3 down the page):

http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/nsf/diving/index3.html

Dave C