Comprehensive "stay warm" plan

[TSandM]

I have to say that I was kind of jealous of Tim in his dry suit, peeling down to warm, DRY T-shirt and pants, when we had to go into the air-conditioned Subway store to get lunch. As much of a hassle as dry suits can be, they have some major advantages. When they stay dry, that is

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Batteries are in a canister...much ado about nothing.

I have a few pair of electric socks that I wear while ice fishing and hunting. They're powered by a little nine volt battery that sits in a little naugahyde carrier at the top of the socks. If you know of a pair of battery powered socks that have the battery in a waterproof cannister, thats a more burly pair of socks than any I've heard of previously!

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Well today my drysuit saved my flabby butt. It was 42 degrees in the lake and I had one student have issues so instead of doing two checkout dives I got to do four. While drysuits are wonderful, including tropical dry suits I have to admit I enjoy it when I can go back to wetsuits.

 

[Wayward Son]

They make chemical warmers designed to go in your socks, too. So if you don't want battery socks, you do have an option to add a little heat down on the toes.

 

[rmannix]

Shaved my wrists today.

 

[TheRedHead]

Shaved my wrists today.

Eeewww. Hairy hands. That's worse than peeing in your wetsuit.

 

[Darnold9999]

my 2 cents

Vancouver is just OK diving - Vancouver Island is WAY better, I am told that northern Vancouver Island is even better - Port Hardy, Campbell river. More current to deliver nutrients so you get more life. Plan to get there later this winter or spring. Lots of the LDS's offer trips - will need to do a little research and pick one or two for March or April.

However Vancouver has Whistler which makes up for it. Have not skiied much of the world so can't compare, but the skiing is excellent. At the moment the base is something 109 inches - 9 feet of snow! and only 5,000 vertical feet to ski on two mountians.

Nice picture Bjorn - the only problem is that I haven't seen the mountians for days because it is raining today, was rainging yesterday and will be raining tomorrow. You guys in Hawaii keep sending us these tropical storms - warm, but wet. We call them the Pineapple Express. Could use an arctic high right about now, getting sick of clouds. Whistler had an all time record snowfall last month 185 inches - which means we got much the same in rain. I'm going somewhere warm to go diving!

Not to disparage Vancouver - when the sun comes out I can't think of a better place to live, but I could use a little sun at the moment, I think I am getting mouldy

 

[rmannix]

Eeewww. Hairy hands. That's worse than peeing in your wetsuit.

Not that bad but made my wrist seals work better. Cursed with long arms, thin wrists and big hands. Water temp was 37

 

[GDCB]

Hey guys went as a tag along with my instructor today. Had to do 4th OW cert dive for a couple of students. Got asked along to get another dive in. Catherine, this will hit two of your threads. 47 degree water and zero viz. couldn't read my guages with a light at 25 ffw. This was a lake dive and lots of wood debris at the surface. For some reason I was more comfortable than at Monterey in 52 degree water and 10 foot viz. It really tested the navigation part of the dive. At one piont there were 4 of us holding the float anchor line and we couldn't see each other. The instructor was holding my hand and she shivering so bad I started to worry about her. She usually dives a dry suit. I didn't know how bad it was until I tried to take off my fins and the buckles on my BCD. My fingers were dead. Moral was good. I think because it was a small group and we knew each other. NO second dive. But I never shivered. My core was OK. Anyhow interesting experience for me.

Carl