35F wetsuits. Reality or still fiction?

[victor]

Hmmmm, a layer of goose fat underneath
my 5MM?

That sounds great... Great indeed!

Where can I apropieate myself some
high quality avian blubber?

In Australia try http://www.comcen.com.au/~mlsmet/GF eng.htm
In old blighty (England) http://www.coedwynog-geese.co.uk/Coedwynog_Goose_Fat.htm

No US suppliers popped up however I am sure there must be some available.

Given the propensity for Turkey in the US I feel that this might make a suitable substitute. I feel sure that a few days after thanksgiving there will be a plentiful supply.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Hi all!

For warious reasons outside the scope of this post,
I wish to dive wrecks in the Greate Lakes under numerous thermoclines
without a drysuit.

I was wondering if anyone here has a solution for wetsuit diving
near freezing water for 1 hour at a time. No more, but no less.

Uptill now, I have found these two solutions:

Waterproof.se Semi-Dry 7MM suit.

Pinnacle Extreme or Polar Merino lines wetsuits.

Any other ideas out there?

Any tricks? I have heard of people
using thin Merino wool CrossCountry Skiing
isulations under their wetsuits for added warmth.

I have heard people waxing their zippers and stiches.
Stickes can be isulates with Granger type boot treatment.
Or so it seems.

So make this thread the Official freesing water wetsuit thread.

Thanks all for you input!

Much depends on your tolerance for cold water. I know a guy who dove wet year round in New England and could apparently tolerate cold water for 2-3 hours before he became uncomfortable. Another working diver I know used a custom 3/8" no-lining wetsuit.

Both of them eventually decided to purchase dry suits.

 

[joe rock]

I can't stay under water for 1 hour at depth because of my lousy SAC rate . I can tell you that I've done multiple dives in 40 F water in an Extreme semi-dry for 40 minutes each dive and wasn't chilled. Outside temp was in the high 30's. Now 40 F isn't 35 F and 40 minutes isn't an hour. As another poster stated, your hands might be your biggest problem.

JR

 

[snhrph]

OMERSUB just introduced a new 9mm wetsuit, SIBERIA. OMER produces it specifically for Russia (cold waters).
http://omer.tetis.ru/index.php?cat=wetsuits&mod=p7

I can help with translating the text under the picture if needed.

 

[meesier42]

Done a handful of dives in 39 - 43 degree water. I wear 7mm everything layered as follows. Hooded vest, farmer John and jacket, gloves and boots. Still a little chilly but I can do most of an hour and be ok, but still chilly. So 21mm on my chest and 14mm down to my knees. For all that gear you'll be wearing 30lbs of lead potentially more. If you going to be doing this more than 2-3 times a year, its probably worth getting a drysuit.

 

[RJP]

You could try a thin suit (3mm or so) under a 7mm suit. If you put the boots, gloves, and hood on top of the thin suit and under the thick suit you'll get a real good seal and you should stay fairly warm.

I've used this setup (3mm Waterproof under a 7mm Body Glove) in 45-50 degree water for 1+ hours and been toasty warm the whole time.

OK - I call "BS" on that one!



"Not freezing to death" is NOT the same as being "toasty warm."

 

[Tom Winters]

This is amazing stuff. there are guys down here in southern Florida who switch to shell drysuits in the fall while there are Canadians chopping through the ice and diving wet.
When I was maniac kid, I did an ice dive in a 3/8" wetsuit. Once. That was 40 years ago, and I still remember how cold that first slug of water felt.
You do some serious looking, evn a limited budget diver can find a nice drysuit for under $400.

 

[MasterGoa]

Well, thank you guys for the valuable information!

The main reason I am looking for wet solutions is mainly
that fact that a dry flood leaves no room for recovery.

I have hear people using 5/4 wets under their tri-laminated
dry's as collateral, but the fact that you have to both
cold water rushing in and loosing a majr part of your boyency
at the same event of flooding your dry makes me queasy...

It is not really a monetary issue, as New Old Stock dry suits here
and 1/3 of the full price. So 5oo CND can get you a great IST or Bare
2003-2004 wetsuit brand new.

Basically I am:

Testing the limit and getting ideas for augmenting wetsuit season.

Inquiring in new technologies that makes wetsuits better solutions
year after year.

Getting opinions on what is possible as a diving day in cold water.

Setting forth a great platform for Goose Fat Jokes.

Keep em coming

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Like Tom Winters, I also did some ice diving in Michigan in a wetsuit. I was much younger then. I wouldn't recommend the experience.

There are issues in a wetsuit just as there are those you mention in a drysuit. First might be depth. Dunno which wrecks you want to dive, but if they're much deeper than 90'-100' a wetsuit that may keep you warm at 50' and above will be considerably thinner and offer less insulation at 100'.

Second might be hypothermia if you faced a prolonged exposure. If you're wearing a two-way stretch thinsulate undergarment beneath a drysuit (while any prolonged exposure is likely to be painful,) I suspect that such an option offers at least as much thermal protection as a wetsuit in the same circumstances.

By all means dive wet if you want to, but if this is your primary issue:

"The main reason I am looking for wet suolutions is mainly the fact that a dry flood leaves no room for recovery."

...then you may want to re-think your premise.

First, unless you're in an overhead situation/decompression obligation, if you flood your suit you thumb the dive. Second, a flooded suit will rarely flood completely, immediately, and if you have any reasonable deco obligation in very cold water I'd still rather take my chances in a partially flooded drysuit with a proper undergarment than in a wetsuit - especially if I'd already been in the water long enough to begin getting chilled. (And yes, I've done deco in cold water in a partially flooded drysuit... )

Best with whatever route you choose,

Doc

 

[FishDiver]

It is not really a monetary issue, as New Old Stock dry suits here
and 1/3 of the full price. So 5oo CND can get you a great IST or Bare
2003-2004 wetsuit brand new.

I don't have any good goose fat jokes, but I would like to get a Bare drysuit for $500 Canadian. Who has 'em and what is the web site address?