Abnormally Cold Vacation diver in Cali

[John C. Ratliff]

Fit on a wetsuit is extremely important. We used to get custom-fitted wetsuits, but those have pretty much gone away with the super-stretch neoprene. We used to specify skin-in, neoprene out for our wetsuit, and used corn starch to get into them. We used to get wetsuits without zippers, a pull-over top with an attached hood, and “Farmer John” bottoms, but I’m not sure whether these are options currently either.

An ill-fitting wetsuit pumps water in and out with each movement of the diver’s arms and legs. This can make even the thickest wetsuit a cold wetsuit.

One option if you already have a wetsuit is to get a hooded vest for wearing under it. Be sure it fits like a glove, though getting into and out of it is somewhat more difficult. But this can be a cost-effective way to make a cooler wetsuit much warmer.

SeaRat

 

[lexvil]

Seaskin Ultra - 3mm Compressed Diving Drysuit - Seaskin Drysuits Shop - Purchase Drysuit Supplies

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this is ready to dive, with todays exchange rate and less vat it’s $467 plus shipping and they get a deal on shipping.

 

[wanderwhale13]

What are your dimensions? Have you tried a semi dry like the Hollis Neotech?

I'm 5'10", 135 lbs (F).

I know wetsuit fit is usually a problem because Im long and lean, generally something long enough ends up loose around my core.

I was eyeing the semi-drysuits...

 

[wanderwhale13]

You mention wetsuit. Maybe this should go without saying, but just to be sure...you were also wearing hood and gloves, yes? How many mm were your hood, gloves and boots?

Can't remember the mm but yes I had them. What mm would you recommend? Catalina waters are 70-74°F in the summer and 55-59°F but I don't think I'll be doing mid winter dives.

 

[lexvil]

I'm 5'10", 135 lbs (F).

I know wetsuit fit is usually a problem because Im long and lean, generally something long enough ends up loose around my core.

I was eyeing the semi-drysuits...

It will be hard to find an off the rack suit. Seaskin neoprene dives much like a wetsuit except you will be much warmer, cost is reasonable.

freedive suits may be another solution.

 

[glennster]

you could try some heat packs, they are re-usable, just boil them to recharge. hot to go is one brand. my wife used them in kauaii over christmas a few years ago. an option i chose after i lost some weight and my 2.5 mm suit got baggy was buy a 1 mm full suit. i yhink it was 70 dollars at a dive shop in florida and i wear it under my 2.5 mm suit. here is a link to the hot packs. Hot-To-Go Reusable Exothermic Heat Pack

 

[drrich2]

What mm would you recommend?

For cold water diving, I use 7 mm boots (in fact, absent any particular reason to do otherwise, that's what I wear now, wherever I dive), 5 mm gloves (I already had them, and some manual dexterity is nice) and a 7 mm hood.

I have a big head, and I have 2 2XL hoods, an AquaLock (which I like, though it pulls on my lower jaw), and a Neosport (which is cheaper, lower end, has less stretchy material and despite technically being the same size is too tight, squeezing my head).

So, if you use a separate hood (the only way I've worn one), I'd probably go 7 mm. I don't know how thicker options compare.

 

[yle]

I've been very much a vacation diver for the last 8 years. Every trip, I come home resolved to start diving at home, but there's one big thing holding me back. I run unusually cold, and live in California.

From what I can tell most folks in my area go with a 7mm wetsuit. I can't really go up (I think) without going drysuit. The last time I dove in my area on Catalina Island in October, I wore the area's standard 7mm and started to shiver pretty violently underwater after half an hour. When I'm cold, my stressed out body also uses more air. On vacation I generally just let folks know in advance that I need 1 step up from the wetsuit everyone else needs, and it usually works out.

I've confirmed with my doc it's not a medical problem, I'm just naturally very thin and long. I can't afford to buy full gear right now, but strategic pieces to help me stay warm that cost less than $500 are possible.

I'm also open to building up more muscle mass, would that help? It wouldn't be instead of fat, its just easier for me to build bulk as muscle than fat.

Any suggestions for how a shaky stringbean woman can stay warm on cold water dives?

Yes, I have a suggestion and it's a simple one based on my experience with diving in so Cal (I live here) and shepherding many students over the years in the water here.

Find a wetsuit that fits properly. A wetsuit should fit you like a glove, with no loose neoprene.

If you were shivering in a 7mm in Catalina in October (just about the warmest month for the water here...) there is a very high chance you had a poorly fitting wetsuit. If your wetsuit doesn't fit well, it's not going to work.

A lack of bioprene (i.e. your "stringbean" description) does matter also. But one of my pet peeves is newish divers that rely on the "experienced" people at a shop to help them fit their gear properly, and are given an ill fitting wetsuit.

I have nothing against drysuits, and a drysuit would certainly take care of the issue. But wetsuits are relatively inexpensive and simple, and require no additional training or maintenance. I'm willing to bet if you find one that fits you properly, diving here will be a completely different (and much better) experience for you.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Lex already mentioned getting a freediving suit.
Freediving suits are probably the warmest cut when it comes to wetsuits. They are a john jacket style with a beavertail. They have attached hoods so no cold water going down your back and they are also “skin-in” which means they don’t have a nylon lining on the inside, the neoprene is raw and the suit needs to be lubed up with 1/2 hair conditioner and 1/2 water mixed up in a spray bottle. You spray the whole inside of the suit first then slide in. Nobody uses talcum powder anymore that is dinosaur old.
Freediving suits also don’t have any zippers so they have less areas for cold water to enter. The only problem with freediving suits is they usually use a soft supple neoprene and they do not take deep long dives well at all. If you stay relatively shallow and do shorter dives they work fine. I use a Yazbeck camo freediving suit for scuba and it’s been fine.

The other suit I should mention is to go to JMJ custom wetsuits in Torrance (I think it’s Torrance?) and get them to measure you exactly and have them build you a two piece suit with an attached hood. the attached hood makes all the difference in the world. You could spec a 7 mil or even a 9 mil but the 9mil would be a beast to try and move in plus you would have to use a ton of weight to offset it.
The other thing would be to start working out with weights, you mentioned you are into that. It would increase circulation and mass.
Eat a high calorie quality meal before diving to have some rich calories to burn. Also avoid coffee before diving as this will constrict blood vessels and also cause diuresis which will make you cold too. You want to remain well hydrated not pee it all out. Some people swear by eating cayenne pepper before but I think that’s a recipe for good heartburn.
A guy from LA that used to come up here to Norcal once a year to dive swore by bringing a five gallon bucket full of hot water to the dive site and right before we got in the water he would pour hot water down his suit. He said it worked.
Also, the more you expose yourself to cold water the more your body will adjust to it, but you have to do it all the time and dive a lot. I know an urchin diver who dived 3-4 days a week all day in 48 degree water in a wetsuit. He grew a 1/2” fat layer over his entire body like a seal, and after a while the cold didn’t bother him. Amazing what the body will do to adjust to environments.

I personally despise drysuits for many reasons, I absolutely hate them. I would rather dive naked and die of hypothermia then wear a drysuit.
So I became Mr. Wetsuit. I’ve had three custom suits made over the years plus numerous off the rack suits. I’ve had everything from a three mil all the way up to a 1/2” commercial urchin suit.

 

[Jeff_O]

Just to chime in on the Dry Suit thing. I started with a regular neoprene drysuit in the mid 90's. I was cert in 80 and adv cert in 85. The course in drysuit diving was just me myself and I. In the pool seeing in shallow end how to get air in feet. Not supposed to do, but just to practice getting upright and vent the air in the suit. The suit was custom measured to order and I used it with its both manual and power inflater. I did free diving with lead and did well with scuba in it too. I did however found I needed more space in the suit for extra undergarment thickness an warmth. I used the suit till no more was it worth patching and also drysuit zipper broke after 5 or so years of heavy use.

I got an off the rack DUI CF200 suit and it lasted a bit over 20 years with I think twice zipper replacement, neck seal replacement, wrist seal replacement, and attach boot replacement. Still that suit did not have really enough space to get the undergarment on comfortable. Off the rack an or not getting across the need for space for undergarment for custom made order is a big mistake.

Now I have a CF200 DUI Drysuit that was measured with my input exactly and it works very well.

Those heat pack that are boil and activate by pressing shock wave button to have it turn to crystal did not do very well for me. That is when I got the first drysuit.

The electric run battery devices range in price. I saw a guy using one of these and it might have been $300 to $400 but I don't know if they are enough. It is just one pad I think on chest.

Somewhere in the range $700 to $1K I suspect the 2 heat pad systems cost.

The systems made from some drysuit manufacturers I believe are up to $7K. It is a whole body jumpsuit and gloves. I dropped about half that amount on a custom drysuit and think it will be all I ever need.

The drysuits should you ever decide on one, in my experience is not to get one that is the trilaminate. What I mean is if they leak, buoyancy and warmth is gone in time and seems dangerous.

The regular neoprene drysuit I had made for me had the manual inflater corrugated hose pop off about 40 feet down a line leading down to a wreck drive of 100ft deep. No parts lost of the stupid compression fitting, as I was thinking to put them in a pocket if necessary. I indicated to my buddy what happened and decided to continue descending and complete the dive wet. I was OK through out the dive. Just when back on board the dive boat, my suit legs were bulging full of water. I reconfigured the fitting where there were both an clamp and compression fitting. The compression fitting I used again, but swapped it for the location that had less angular forces involved. Nothing ever happened like that again in the life of the suit.

I mentioned about drysuits because had some experience with some problems and wish other avoid those. Drysuit classes might be mandatory if purchasing at a LDS? I don't know if an when drysuit manufacturers would have test drive drysuit days again. I did one on Catalina Island with the electrically heated dive undergarments. I already owned the drysuit from that manufacturer, so pool part was not given to me. Could be something to see if it does not cost much just to try, not own. Basically I just paid for the Catalina Express round trip to the island and paid little amount for a lunch.

So if drysuit is not now or even ever, a wetsuit with plush neoprene inside and attached hood is good. I felt three dives a day and then had to get out of it to warm back up. Those nice special made robes to wear over the wetsuit if not getting out of it are probably a good investment.