Are cold water divers better?

[a22shady]

I was just curious as to others opinions. Are cold water diver's better divers? I don’t mean better as far as trim/buoyancy/SAC. Just overall diving. I dive here in the north east where it seem we need to be more prepared than other tropical or better conditioned places. Water here is at warmest 70F middle temp is 50-60 Viz can be anywhere from you can see your hand to about 20 or so feet depending where you are. SO does diving in these situations and training in these conditions make you more of a prepared diver for the event something happens.

I know most use dry suit’s carry redundant air supplies either pony/doubles seems more equipment hoods/gloves etc., yes others do it in warmer waters. But it just seems easier less work to hop into waters with 100' viz and temps in the 80's more comfortable less stressful. Again just how it seems not looking to offend tropical or warm/clear water divers I too like it. Just seems like it would be easier for someone diving in poor/cold conditions to dive warm/clear than someone trained/dives in war, /clear then going to northeast or somewhere similar.

 

[RTee]

I would think that if you fare well in the cold/limited vis environment you also tend to do very well in the tropical environment...not necessarily the case the other way around

 

[ItsBruce]

I hate to say cold water divers are "better" divers. In my experience, a diver who is used to cold water and limited viz can dive in warm water and great viz with little or no discomfort and little added risk. However, a diver who is not used to cold water/thick wetsuits or drysuits and limited viz, might be more prone to discomfort or problems.

 

[DiverBeth]

I wouldn't say cold water divers are better divers, but we learn to dive in cold low viz conditions and love it. In dealing with drysuits, thick gloves and hoods we have a little more to deal with than most warm water divers. I'm sure there are plenty of warm water divers given the opportunity and time would become excellent cold water divers.

 

[Bombay High]

I was just curious as to others opinions. Are cold water diver's better divers? I don’t mean better as far as trim/buoyancy/SAC. Just overall diving. I dive here in the north east where it seem we need to be more prepared than other tropical or better conditioned places. Water here is at warmest 70F middle temp is 50-60 Viz can be anywhere from you can see your hand to about 20 or so feet depending where you are. SO does diving in these situations and training in these conditions make you more of a prepared diver for the event something happens.

I know most use dry suit’s carry redundant air supplies either pony/doubles seems more equipment hoods/gloves etc., yes others do it in warmer waters. But it just seems easier less work to hop into waters with 100' viz and temps in the 80's more comfortable less stressful. Again just how it seems not looking to offend tropical or warm/clear water divers I too like it. Just seems like it would be easier for someone diving in poor/cold conditions to dive warm/clear than someone trained/dives in war, /clear then going to northeast or somewhere similar.

I would hesitate to say cold water divers are better divers. I would say divers with diverse experience make better divers. There is no doubt that cold water per se is more challenging both from a task loading point of view as well as comfort point of view.
However, warm waters also have a lot of the same challenges such as strong currents and low viz. You think of warm waters as high viz, because holiday destinations are chosen based on good viz and warm water (often)
I have dived as a commercial diver in warm and cold water and have found warm water to often be more unpredictable.
For me a good diver is one who exposes himself to as much variety in conditions as possible.

 

[TMHeimer]

In this much discussed topic, I think the biggest difference is the viz. Although I, like most, find it "easier" to dive down South, I don't necessarily think that makes me a "better" diver. Being used to the low viz up North simply means that. You tend to behave as logically as possible when faced with 2 foot viz and a bit of surge (ei. try not to do anything stupid--keep away from 0 viz). I don't think that takes hundreds of dives to accomplish. The water temp. differences and cumbersome exposure suits/wts./equipment don't IMO count for much--other than that cold water diving is generally more of a hassle from start to finish. Once you're OK with your buoyancy, you can do a weight check and be fine regardless of locale.

 

[Akimbo]

On average yes, cold water divers are better because the conditions are a form of natural selection. Diving in cold water is usually accompanied by lousy visibility and high seas. As a result, most dives are more physically demanding. The equipment investment and burden is also significantly greater. All these factors results in a more motivated diver — excluding fair weather divers so to speak. Highly motivated individuals are more likely to develop greater experience, skills, and knowledge.

It would be completely wrong to interpret this as warm water divers aren't any good. It does mean that their ranks are shared with a greater percentage of casual divers with little intension of developing advanced skills.

 

[Bogie]

You have to define "better diver". There are tech deep divers, cave divers, wreck divers, ice divers, commercial diver, instructors etc.
I think cold water diving is more difficult for general recreational divers because of all of the extra exposure equipment, more weight, surge, waves, water temperature, visibility etc.
When I have dove warm clear waters of Florida and Mexico it was so much easier. The challenge of cold water diving effects divers both physically and mentally. The stress level is much higher than in warm clear environments.
When I dive in Monterey with divers from warm clear waters they have problems. The full exposure suits make them feel claustrophobic and cumbersome. The cold, surge and low visibility can get them very nervous and there buoyancy is very unstable and they burn through their air quickly. The kelp can freak them out. I have seen them panic, shooting to the surface, choking on sea water at the surface and not inflating their bc, getting so tangled in kelp that they keep twisting around they look like spaghetti twisted on a fork. I have saved a few. Some said they had hundreds of dives.
Many times student divers getting certified in Monterey freak out on their training dives and quit and don’t finish their certification and wait until they can get certified in a warm water environment.
I agree a cold-water diver can adapt to warm water easily but a warm water diver has extra challenges diving cold.

Cold-water divers are experienced in much more difficult conditions and are more adaptable to various diving conditions.

 

[smorneau]

Last week after a late evening dive here in northern New England we had this discussion among four of us. A dive buddy who was an instructor in Florida was asked by a friend, why would he want to dive in water other than warm water.

His reply was it makes him a better diver. Having to dive with limited visibility most of the time makes him better at navigation. Having to dive with drysuits and think wetsuits and all that extra weight and increased task loading helps when things don’t go as planned. He also stated students who are taught and that dive in cold water tend to be better overall divers in most situations and that diving in warm water is easyier using a rash guard and 6 pounds of weight with 100 feet of visibility.

 

[reo]

I wouldn't say cold water divers are better. Cold water divers have to contend with different problems than do warm water divers. Most of my diving is in cold water, where I use a dry suit, hood, gloves. additional weight, and dark underwater conditions. It takes more preparation and gear than warm water. It is more challenging to dive in cold water. It takes longer to suit up, and the additional exposure protection tends to limit my range of motion to a degree. Diving in warm water is easier, but then I have to deal with stings if I'm wearing just a swim suit and t-shirt (my Cozumel exposure protection), or getting hot with my wetsuit on while I'm waiting on the boat in Florida.

Warm water or cold water doesn't matter, they're both good. I've seen good and bad divers in both.

Ron