Question I can't get a Dry suit help for cold weather

[Imla]

If you are cold. Go for a dry suit. There is no reason not to. And there is certainly no reason to "wait for more experience". People do their open water classes in drysuits in the nordics. Works perfectly.
Just do it!

 

[lexvil]

Get a dry suit

 

[mr_v]

There is no reason not to dive in a dry suit, unless you're diving hot tubs for a living.

The base layer is the most important part of a drysuit setup. An appropriate base layer traps enough air so that you stay warm in your environment. It also wicks away any moisture from the skin. So what you need is a base layer + drysuit suitable for Malta. Once you get that combo figured out, you won't dive anything else, even in warm waters. If you do back-to-back dives in an environment where a wet suit can't dry between the dives, then diving dry adds another comfort layer.

 

[Boarderguy]

Get a dry suit...

Base layer wicks moisture (sweat) away from you. Undergarment provides the warmth by trapping air in its fluff between you and the suit.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

My first response in this thread was that you should just go ahead with a drysuit purchase and training......but actually at 19c you should be fine in a wetsuit as long as it is a 7mm. Also, if your current wetsuit is fitting you properly then there won't be any room for any additional "underlayer" other than possibly a rashguard. If the time and expense of going dry is not currently in your cards then I would just add a larger "shortie" on top of your current wetsuit to keep your core warmer. Also, add a hood as that's where a LOT or thermal capacity is lost...

But bottom line......if you can swing it.....go DRY.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

My first response in this thread was that you should just go ahead with a drysuit purchase and training......but actually at 19c you should be fine in a wetsuit as long as it is a 7mm. Also, if your current wetsuit is fitting you properly then there won't be any room for any additional "underlayer" other than possibly a rashguard. If the time and expense of going dry is not currently in your cards then I would just add a larger "shortie" on top of your current wetsuit to keep your core warmer. Also, add a hood as that's where a LOT or thermal capacity is lost...

But bottom line......if you can swing it.....go DRY.

If the term “7mm” even pops into my head it means I’m diving dry.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

If the term “7mm” even pops into my head it means I’m diving dry.

I totally agree with you Robert..... But some folks just want to stay "wet" and a 7mm or even a 6mm should be totally adequate for 19c (66F) temps. But then we're all different when it comes to thermal tolerances.

 

[drakcheslav]

Ok. Since most odd people here are from the states. Mediterranean 20/19 c is not cold. That’s off season Adriatic temps. Similar temps like that are in Italy, Spain, France.

7mm is a normal suit for Mediterranean for off season, even in season nobody’s diving anything lower than 5mm, unless in the Levantine region of the Mediterranean.

I guarantee you’re not going to find dry suit divers in that amount. Most of European dry suit diver are inland.

 

[stuartv]

Hard to really say much without knowing exactly what ALL you were wearing when you were cold.

But, at those temps, if you were cold, I would start with a good quality, good-fitting, 7mm wetsuit. Note: "good quality". A low quality wetsuit is not as warm as a high quality one. Also, a poor-fitting high quality wetsuit is still not warm.

Add a hood, 7mm boots, and gloves.

If that is still not warm enough. change the hood for a hooded vest worn over the 7mm wetsuit.

If that is still not warm enough, but you don't want to get a drysuit, try a semi-dry suit like a Hollis Neotek.

 

[gmerick]

There's 7mm suits, and 7mm farmer johns. Difference is a single layer all over vice a double layer over mid-thigh and torso. 1 hour dives in Lake Superior I accepted that my fore-arms and lower legs would essentially go numb, something I learned to accept riding snowmobile. Manual dexterity and helicopter turns become wistful memories, but at least the core stays warm. I've since bit the bullet and gone dry.