ChefMatt
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Brr. Tried a few dives with a semi-dry in 45-50f water.....hands and feet got too cold....
Cold water diving - we LOVE it!
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ChefMatt
Registered
The coldest I've done so far was 57 °F in San Diego a week ago. Is that cold? I'd like to get a drysuit so I could dive locally here in Wisconsin when there's not ice but the water is still freezing. Or under the ice, a local shop hosts ice diving regularly in the winter.
MntryDvr
Registered
I went dry back in the 70's and never looked back for diving N. California. Yeah, diving with a good thick wetsuit in cold water can be be fun, but there's no denying that the cold takes a serious toll on repetitive dives. I used to frequently do three dive boat trips out of Monterey and it was the very rare wetsuit diver who made the third dive of the day.
57F ~ 14C. Personally, we would not argue it is cold per se, but we all have different tolerances and thresholds as to what cold is. We never ever thought we'd dive as cold as we do, but apparently we have an "oddly perverted, un-natural attitude towards cold water"
( @OMyMyOHellYes )Definitely look into getting a drysuit if you are interested in diving locally or somewhere else cold. Going cold water diving in a wetsuit is a no-go. The only downside diving dry is that everything is a bit more cumbersome, especially those bulky drygloves, but somehow we manage those too.
TheSnowBeast
Registered
Living in a cold place you either only dive on holidays or learn to love the cold 
. I find the reduction of weight and gear needed (vs cold water diving) makes tropical diving that much more relaxing
. I find the reduction of weight and gear needed (vs cold water diving) makes tropical diving that much more relaxingEric Sedletzky
Contributor
If I didn't dive locally in cold water I wouldn't be diving at all. I'm not in a position time wise or financially to just fly off somewhere on a whim to go diving.
I learned years ago to "suck it up cupcake!" and dive locally. You get used to whatever you put your body through. No whiners!! If you want wine there are several good wineries close by and you can even have cheese and crackers with that whine.
Besides that I love it, there is a lot of life in cold ocean water.
You just haven't lived until you get slammed in surf or get so cold that you barely move your fingers enough to unlock the door on your truck much less turn the key to start it so you can crouch down holding your hands under the floor heater to make them work again.
It's invigorating!
I learned years ago to "suck it up cupcake!" and dive locally. You get used to whatever you put your body through. No whiners!! If you want wine there are several good wineries close by and you can even have cheese and crackers with that whine.
Besides that I love it, there is a lot of life in cold ocean water.
You just haven't lived until you get slammed in surf or get so cold that you barely move your fingers enough to unlock the door on your truck much less turn the key to start it so you can crouch down holding your hands under the floor heater to make them work again.
It's invigorating!
I prefer cold water to warm. I've even taken lots of vacations to cold water diving. I've found warm water diving to be somewhat boring, or annoying because of currents.
The variety of life in a cold water environment alone makes it more interesting to me.
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