Diving in cold water - does your head freeze?

[Mustard Dave]

How cold is the air that comes from the regulator? Does it feel like drinking something cold?

A little. Expanding gas gets cold, which is one of the appeals of rebreathers as you are breathing warm, moist air.

 

[lowviz]

How cold is the air that comes from the regulator? Does it feel like drinking something cold?

Not really. For me, the dryness is much more annoying...

 

[18diver18]

Yes it will be cold as already said, but you dont really feel it. The best trick is to have a new hood and gloves for the second dive, as they will be warm and dry!

 

[maniago]

Dang! I'm getting a core shiver just from reading this thread. Had to pull the blankets off the back of the couch as I typed!

 

[lowviz]

Yes it will be cold as already said, but you dont really feel it. ...//...

Truth.

 

[616fun]

Yes it will be cold as already said, but you dont really feel it.

It only hurts till your face goes numb.

 

[lowviz]

It only hurts till your [-]face[/-] brain goes numb.

apologies...

 

[AfterDark]

During the winter i regularly dive water in the mid to high twenties. With a decent trilam drysuit. 5mm Neoprene fold-in neck seal, and a 10mm slightly tight, but not chokingly so hood, and 5mm wet gloves.. I can to about 50 minutes to an hour.
I rarely notice my head getting cold, but I feel my coretemp lowered. I tend to blow a little bit of air from my mask into my hood. Gives instant warmth.

That is an old dry suit method of putting air in a drysuit. Old as in before there were valves on dry suits and the hoods wereattached. Venting was done from one of the wrists. I still introduce air intomy hood via my mask for the same reason you do.


---------- Post added March 29th, 2013 at 12:23 AM ----------

When you live in the lands of colds that come and go frequently for many months, a more pertinent question is "do you dive when you have a cold?"

I do, but I dive the shallows [<30'] in the winter, and yes I do take decongestants a little before the dive so that I can equalize my ears. I don't do a second dive so the meds don't have time to wear off and be an issue as far as reverse squeeze or whatever you call it......though there may be other ramifications from certain decongestants.

Even on one dive reverse squeeze is possible doing what you're doing. I only do the decongestants if I'm making money on a dive, for rec diving I wait. Be careful.

 

[johncon3]

I'm in New England where the water temp is usually in the 50's (at depth) in the summer time. Get yourself an Aqualung SolAFX 8/7mm, I have dove down to 45 degrees and never felt too cold.

 

[AfterDark]

How cold is the air that comes from the regulator? Does it feel like drinking something cold?

If you have a tooth with an exposed nerve, the temperture of the air will make that tooth HURT! Been there done it couldn't dive because of it.