Diving in NW US

[gomi_otaku]

hey all, I am currently going through my certification in Minnesota. However, I will be moving to Seattle in August, and would like to know what to expect. Here I would have to expect cold water, but can still use a wetsuit and BC- I've heard that the NW is pretty much a drysuit or you stay out of the water. I don't want to invest too much money into equipment that I will end up having to get rid of when I move. What do you NW people use for most of your diving, in the way of exposure protection, bouyancy control, regulators, etc.
gomi_

 

[hdtran]

hey all, I am currently going through my certification in Minnesota. However, I will be moving to Seattle in August, and would like to know what to expect. Here I would have to expect cold water, but can still use a wetsuit and BC- I've heard that the NW is pretty much a drysuit or you stay out of the water. I don't want to invest too much money into equipment that I will end up having to get rid of when I move. What do you NW people use for most of your diving, in the way of exposure protection, bouyancy control, regulators, etc.
gomi_

Welcome to Scubaboard (though this is not the welcome thread, nor am I a greeter :dazzler1: )!

You might want to visit the travel forums & look in US. There's quite an active community of Pacific Northwest divers there.

 

[Blitz]

Most people that do a lot of diving use drysuits here. You can dive wet, but it will be hard on you if you plan to do multiple dives a day, especially in the winter. As for a bc, go with what is comfortable, but make sure you have a fair amount of lift. Regs are personal choice, I will only caution you to go with an enviornmentally sealed first stage. Welcome.

 

[SeanQ]

I dive wet near Victoria, which is northwest of Seattle. I would prefer to be diving dry but can manage a wetsuit. I use a 6.5mm fullsuit and a 6.5mm shorty. You warmth prior to the dive has a large role in your warmth during the dive. If you can't get warm on the surface, you shouldn't be in the water.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

hey all, I am currently going through my certification in Minnesota. However, I will be moving to Seattle in August, and would like to know what to expect. Here I would have to expect cold water, but can still use a wetsuit and BC- I've heard that the NW is pretty much a drysuit or you stay out of the water. I don't want to invest too much money into equipment that I will end up having to get rid of when I move. What do you NW people use for most of your diving, in the way of exposure protection, bouyancy control, regulators, etc.
gomi_

Most people do use drysuits here, but for the warmer months a wetsuit will do fine. Even in winter you won't get cold using a wetsuit while diving ... but the surface intervals can get downright uncomfortable. Those who use wetsuits typically use something like a 7-mil farmer john.

Reg and BCD choices ... if it works in those cold Minnesota lakes, it'll work here.

There's a pretty active forum here called Pacific Northwest Orca Bait. You might want to check it out, and ask questions there since it's pretty much directed to people who dive in this area.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[OE2X]

Most of us do dive dry, though I see plenty of folks going wet. Bob is right surface intervals are much harder in a wetsuit. In the winter, you get out of your drysuit and are still protected by your thermal gear. Getting out of your wetsuit though can be pretty chilly.

Steel tanks are generally preferred, though you do see plenty of AL's.

Whatever reg you use in Minn. will work fine here.

A lot of us prefer back inflate BCD's to jackets. You will likely be using somewhere between 20 - 30 lbs of weight for a single tank. Putting some of that weight into a BP might worth considering.

Do spend money and buy the best light possible. A lot of us really like HID's. At times during a day dive to 100' it can seem like a night dive.

 

[JasonH20]

Pretty much agree with everything above. Just wanted to add my vote for a dry suit. I was certified in a dry suit, so can't speak to how cold I might get in a wet suit, but I love my dry suit.

This weekend I did a 70 minute dive in 48 degree water and didn't get chilled at all. For the surface interval I just threw on a hat on. Second dive was for 50 minutes, and again I didn't get chilled. After the dive i just took off the drysuit and drove home in my diving undergarment. Easy as pie!

Only possible downside is you can't go pee all over yourself.