How do you stay warm on a dive?

[TotDoc]

How do I keep warm? By constantly finning and sculling.

Hah! And this..the more active you are, the more heat your muscles generate, and the warmer you will be. Of course, you will then have to contend with this guy..:

 

[Storker]

Real divers ...... Dive wet.....

Nah. REAL divers dive even when the water is in the low single digits (C, that'd be sub-45F) and the air temp is below freezing. :cool2:

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[kenny kustom]

Sounds cold! What is a vskin.

Pinnacle thermal undergarment.
Helps me get the king1 wetsuit on. Lol.
I have lots of fat to insulate me too!!

 

[dshorwich]

I'm especially interested to hear the experience of people with a range of wetsuits.

In warm waters (Caribbean - say 25-28 C) I wear a full 3mm wetsuit, 3mm booties, and a 3mm beanie cap. I'm quite comfortable in this get-up. (It helps that I replaced my rather worn-out 3mm suit with a new one a couple of years ago.) But my sister, who's in triathlete condition (and thus lacks an organic layer of insulation), usually comes up from the same dives shivering despite wearing two 3mm suits, a 3mm cap, 3mm booties, and 3mm gloves.

At home (northern California) the water temp ranges from 8-13 C. I wear a 7mm wetsuit, a 7/5mm hooded vest, 5mm booties, 3mm or 4mm gloves. I admittedly get kinda cold when the temp is down in the 8-10 C range, and even on less cold days I generally keep my dives no deeper than 15m so as to avoid too much compression on my neoprene.

There's no doubt the drysuit divers in my local waters are warmer than I am. And I should note that as I get older (currently 47) I'm not feeling any warmer under water, so I'll probably go dry in a few years (50th birthday present to self, is the plan).

 

[eelnoraa]

I always love when people spend other people's money.... a heated drysuit with argon gas and a FFM will keep you toasty... or have surface supplied hot water... or perhaps hop on your chartered jet...

For us monetary mortals, I have found a couple of cheaper solutions (not all perfect but at least not bank breakers). A dive skin under your wetsuit will restrict water flow. I will also bring a jug of hot water to pour in my wetsuit during suit-up (cold water creeping up wetsuit leg towards the family jewels is one of my least favorite parts of diving). A hooded vest is an excellent investment. Of course there is the old tried and true way to warm up a wetsuit during a dive.... Not every ones cup of tea, but does warm you up (for those not figuring it out; it involves several cups of tea....)

I do agree some people tend to go overboard when being asking for suggestion, we see it a lot here. However when it comes to warm, drysuit is no substitute. As for cost, if you consider a new wetsuit or "semi dry" (b/c old wetsuits tend to lose insulation), add a hooded vest, then add a lavacore, the cost here is right up there with a decent condition used drysuit but no where as warm. My recommendation is that instead of spending on wet solution, then evetually you still can't stand the cold and transistion to a drysuit, just keep your eyes on used market for a drysuit at the first place. It will save your more money and be a lot more confortable in colder water.

Ah, but there is... especially if your dry suit leaks like a sieve. My coldest dive was in my dry suit when 4-5 gallons of water entered it on a dive in February!

As for the OP's question, so much depends on your own tolerance of cold. I can go down to 46 F in a 7mm wetsuit with hooded vest but anything below 50 F is uncomfortable. My #1 dive buddy Andrea gets cold quickly in much warmer water diving a 7mm.

A leaky drysuit to a point you get 4-5 gallon of water inside is really a case where a seal or zipper fail under water. But I do think that happen very rarely if you maintain the drysuit and check it before the dive. Also, if you have the right undergarment, a leaky drysuit still beat the heck out of a wetsuit for warmth.

And I do agree, most people can survive a dive in 46F with wetsuit. The key here is comfort and enjoyment. What is the point of diving if you are feeling cold and miserable???

---------- Post added September 5th, 2013 at 01:36 PM ----------

Real divers ...... Dive wet..... And PEE in their suit.....

Jim....

This is why I will never buy a used wetsuit.

---------- Post added September 5th, 2013 at 01:42 PM ----------

Also, let's not forget having too thick of layer of neoprene and diving too depth also present an significant over weighted issue at depth, which is dangerous.

 

[scjoe]

A leaky drysuit to a point you get 4-5 gallon of water inside is really a case where a seal or zipper fail under water. But I do think that happen very rarely if you maintain the drysuit and check it before the dive. Also, if you have the right undergarment, a leaky drysuit still beat the heck out of a wetsuit for warmth.

Based on my observations on dive boats over the years, I thought DUI stood for "dry until immersed."

 

[fnfalman]

The frowning turtle needs to check his flipper kick techniques. He's a rotor tiller right now with all that silt kicked up behind him.

Hah! And this..the more active you are, the more heat your muscles generate, and the warmer you will be. Of course, you will then have to contend with this guy..:

View attachment 165075

 

[eelnoraa]

Based on my observations on dive boats over the years, I thought DUI stood for "dry until immersed."

Brand aside, how many of them are completely flooded with gallons of water inside? A leaky zipper, or a leaky seam don't put that much water in the suit. It must be some major failures or the diver just forget to zip up. All I am saying is that a leaky drysuit is still heck a lot warmer than a wetsuit. total suit failure shouldn't be the case for comparison

 

[Tigerman]

Drysuit ftw

 

[herr2720]

Everyone is different, depends on your cold tolerance. I'll dive a 3mil on hot summer days with water temps of 65-70F for 30-60min because I want to cool off. But I've also been known to make a tent out of a blanket and sit over the AC vent at home while I watch TV. On the other hand, my wife is cold in the same water in a 7mil.
I get uncomfortable below 45F in a hooded semi-dry 7mil so I decided to go dry. If you have the means to obtain a drysuit that's my preference.