Cold Water Die-Hards vs. Warm Water Wimps

[bundok]

Okay, so I've heard both sides of the fence on this one from varying sources and thought I'd get it all in one forum post. I've heard people say "...learning to dive cold water actually produces a better trained diver. I for one, refuse to dive with anyone that earned their certification in warm water. It's just a waste of my time and money. Invariably, they will abort a dive here (Ontario) for some silly reason or they aren't properly prepared to dive in water 38F -68F..." On the other side I've heard, "I'm not sure I agree that training in cold water vs. warm water makes much difference. Most people that were trained in warm water get a bit spoiled by it. They typically don't want to dive in cold water. But, it's not so much a skills issue as it is a "wimp" issue."

So what's your take on it? Do cold water students make better divers? Is it just an issue of mind over matter? Are warm water divers truly spoiled? And ultimately, assuming I'm given the same instructor experience would you recommend certifying here (in Utah winters...brrrrrr) or in the sunny Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica?

Once again, you guys are a wonderful resource. Many thanks in advance.

 

[Gombessa]

I think the additional discomfort and baggage that comes with cold water diving tends to "weed out" those who aren't supremely dedicated to doing it (many coldwater divers have spouses/SO's who are certified but will only dive on tropical vacations). But it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the most naturally gifted and well-trained diver ever, is living in Roatan right now and doesn't want to leave.

 

[Sam Maghsoodloo]

i can't help but be jealous of the warm water divers. But i do think that diving from the rocky cold-ish shore of socal (between 55 and 68) wearing all 7mill gear has made me ready to dive a lot of places. It would be nice to wear less weight though, and have flexibility, and no hood, and......sigh...

 

[Damselfish]

well, if you train in warm water you're not immediately ready to dive in cold water, at least not without being a mess. If you train in cold water, moving to warm water is trivial. If you actually do your local diving on a regular basis, you will probably get better faster than someone who dives occasionally on vacation. But if you train in cold water then never dive at home again, any difference (if there is one at all) is probably going to disappear after awhile.

Each environment has it's unique challlenges. Someone who does most of their diving in a lake or quarry gets comfortable with low viz and (hopefully) gets very skilled at buoyancy control since it's harder in cold water, but may not get experience in surf, waves, currents, surge, etc. So I don't see much use in generalizing and saying any group of divers is better, individual divers are what they are.

If you have any inclination to do it at home I'd say go for it. You will certainly learn things you won't learn in Costa Rica. Variety is good. But I could make an argument that learning in warm water where certain things are easy, then moving to cold water and adding more skills and tasks, may make more sense for some people. Especially ones that are likely to drop out if their first experience is in cold murk wearing lots of suit and lead.

I trained in cold water, did it for a couple years, then gave it up for warm. It wasn't skills or the wimp factor, just that the work/reward ratio wasn't good enough for me anymore.

 

[NarcosisDave]

I don't believe training in cold or warm water makes you a better diver at all - the skills needed are still the same - I prefer cold water purely because the whole experience of suiting up with the 7mm suits or dry suit etc is just a pain the butt - much prefer the dive if I can use just a pair of boardies or a steamer.

Personal choice I guess!!

 

[Colliam7]

Do cold water students make better divers? Is it just an issue of mind over matter? Are warm water divers truly spoiled? And ultimately, assuming I'm given the same instructor experience would you recommend certifying here (in Utah winters...brrrrrr) or in the sunny Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica

I know of no objective data suggesting cold water-trained OW divers are 'better' divers. But, the transition is probably easier from cold to warm. I agree with the observation that cold water 'weeds out' some divers, not because of skills but simply comfort. So, there may be some (?many) who live in colder climes but only dive warm water on vacation, therefore dive less frequently, therefore do not develop / maintain skills to the same degree. Not a rule, just a numerical possibility. I have the utmost respect and admiration for those who dive wet in 45 degree water. I won't. If drysuits didn't exist I would either move to FL or dive only during summer months in NC. So, as to where to certify - it is hard to say one locale is better based on skill acqusition. If you plan to continue to dive primarily in Utah, consider the benefits of certifying there, to establish links to a local diving community / LDS, and to get used to the environment in which you will continue to dive.

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

I have seen cold-water die hards loose their sh** out here where the waters are warm and clear. So I would not say that training or diving regular in cold water with limited viz makes you a better diver. All it takes is a simple mask problem. Or sometimes the increased spacial dimension plays with them.:11: But what makes someone a better diver...having experience in ALL environments...and LOTS of it!!!!

 

[MikeFerrara]

I have seen cold-water die hards loose their sh** out here where the waters are warm and clear. So I would not say that training or diving regular in cold water with limited viz makes you a better diver. All it takes is a simple mask problem. Or sometimes the increased spacial dimension plays with them.:11: But what makes someone a better diver...having experience in ALL environments...and LOTS of it!!!!

I tend to agree. It's all different and anything that's different can throw you some kind of curve.

As with all things, a solid foundation in the basics is probably most important. Why does a diver trained in warm water, have trouble getting set up in a heavy wet suit or a dry suit? Often it's because they just don't understand the mechanics of the whole thing. Then again, tour the cold water sites and the cold water divers aren't so good at it either. They're just used to living with he problems. LOL

I don't mind cold water because I wear adequate exposure protection to stay warm but I've had about all the cold weather I can stand. Diving in cold water is one thing, messing around suiting up and dealing with wet gear in sub-freezing temps is something else. I've done about enough of it.

On that quarry vis thing...the fact is that lots of quarries have really nice vis before the divers get in the water. ok, it's not the caribbean but 20 ft - 30ft is very common 30 - 50 isn't too surprising and in some qurries at some times of the year I've seen it pretty close to 100 ft. But...divers will always think it's bad because they always make it so.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Since I started divingin 1985 (in cold water) I have observed a few things:

1. Cold water divers tend to dive because they want to dive.

2. The cold water diving motivation may be to get certified locally before going south to dive with pretty fishes in warm water loctions and if that is the case, then they quickly convert to warm water divers who dive on one or two trips per year.

3. Some cold water divers start out with good intentions but get ruined/spoiled by warm water/pretty fishies diving and their cold water diving drops off substantially and in turn so does there total dives/hours in water per year, greatly slowing the learning and development curve.

3. If divers remain cold water divers, it is because they like to dive, and a subset of these divers will be divers who like to dive just to dive and will dive just about anywhere deep enough to fully submerge.

4. Cold water diving is a bit of a pain. Thick wet suit, gloves, hood, more weight, takes about three times as long to gear up, etc. If you doi it frequently, it is because you want to do it

5. Almost no cold water dives are destination dives where a crew or DM will set up your gear and hold your hand, so on average cold water diving requires a bit more independence and self reliance than warm water diving.

6. Cold water diving almost always means less visbility and as such usually offers more demanding conditions as holding depth, maintaining a slow rate of ascent in mid water with no surface or bottom in sight is much more difficult than it is in the ocean where one or both are often in sight, maintaining buddy contact and navigating during the dive are all more challenging. Plus a 100' dive in cold water is almost always dark, cold and limited visibillity whereas a 100' tropical dive is warm wit both surface and bottom in sight and is more of a thing of being able to look up and note that the boat hull looks smaller than it does at 20'.

7. Cold water diving offers less in terms of pretty fishes and margaritas on the beach, and often takes a hit as there is "nothing to look at". But on the other hand, a warm water reef is analogous to an oasis in a desert while cold water marine environments tend to have more flora and fauna and almost any body of freshwater is jam packed with life above 30-40 feet. So beauty tends to be in the eye of the beholder and my biased opinon is that cold water divers tend to appreciate the more subtle beauties of cold water more than warm water divers. Whether that trait develops because they dive cold water whether that is a motivator for diving cold water in the first place is open to debate.

8. When cold water divers get bored, they work on new skills, new certs, etc and in effect become better divers.

9. When warm water divers get bored, they move to new destinations, move on to different sports or buy a Harley.

10. The end result I think is that dedicated cold water divers are on average more skilled because they dive more, dive in more demanding conditions and over time dive in a much wider array of conditions and become much more experienced and well rounded as divers.

11. The differences within a group are usually as large as the differences between groups and the same thing applies to cold and warm water divers - there is a lot of variance.

 

[Busdiver]

It is all about being jealous. As I as get ready to go and shovel the drive from last night snow fall I am cursing my friends who live in the Keys. Darn them and their warm temperature and warm water diving.

No seriously, I believe it comes down to equipment. Getting accustomed to diving dry and covered head to toe in gear can be difficult. I also believe you have to truly want to get in the water some weekends when you dive cold. It is so easy to push off a dive when the weather drops below 32.

However, some of the best divers I have ever seen are in warm water areas. They are more accustomed to hazardous water conditions then many of the divers I swim with in Michigan. We have a taste of a heavy current by diving the Rivers and battling freighters, but it is not the same.

So, as I get ready to grab the shovel, darn the warm water wimps.