Exposure Protection & Temperature Limits

[IndigoBlue]

swimsuit alone: never!

dive skins for 95F to 85F

3mm for 85F to 75F

shell drysuit for less than 75F (you can vary the insulation yourself, from long underwear only to thick woolies).

 

[miketsp]

When diving in Summer in the tropics I normally just use shorty 3mm during the day but for night diving even in warm water I use a lycra full body skin under the shorty and a hood ie full body coverage - too many bad experiences with jelly fish and parasites attracted by the light. During the day jelly fish are easier to spot so are less of a problem.
Plus I do a lot of wreck diving where fire coral is common. In these cases it's not just temperature that determines the coverage you need.

 

[Scubaguy62]

1mm 84F and above

3mm jumpsuit 76F and above

3mm jumpsuit+2mm vest and beanie hood 70F - 76F

3mm Jumpsuit+3mm shorty+beanie hood 70F and below

2mm gloves at all times

Dry suit - never.

 

[eod]

Have been diving dry in 18 degrees C, not a problem. Have been diving wet in 8 degrees C (7+7mm) it was cold, very cold in fact. Therefore I always use my trusted 905 when diving. Maybe if I can afford going to a tropical location I will use a wet suit again, but not before that!

 

[adshepard]

There are war water wusses and then it ranges up to the Eskimo types.

I don't get cold very fast and will dive in just a skin down to 70f.

Temperatures n the 60's only require a 3mm with a hood and gloves at the lower limits.

Temperatures below the 60's is drysuit time. I suppose I could go with a thicker wetsuit but I don't need to spend more on an extended wardrobe.

Coldest I've ever hit is 29f. Suit made it comfortable but the reg froze after 15 minutes.

DSDO

Alan

 

[String]

18c wearing my weezle is more than comfortable. Summer water temps here reach 17c-18c absolutely maximum and nearly everyone still dives dry. Of course, air temp has a lot to do with it.

I dive for fun. When im cold its not fun thats why its a 5mm full for me for ANY temp above 22c.

 

[The Kraken]

Exposure protection requirements are probably one of the most personal physical gear requirements we face. It's ALWAYS better to have too much than too little, in my persoanl opinion.
One thing to keep in mind is that, even though you feel "comfortable" (and many people equate this as cool as opposed to the ambient air temperature), your body is giving off heat at an alarming rate.
Never underestimate the potentially deadly grip of the old devil Hypothermia.
Albeit one is probably not prone to hypothermia in most diving circumstances, the result of the reduction of the body's core temperature can result in less than "great dives" for the remainder of the dive day.
As much as we would like to emulate them, we are not cold blooded fish (damn it!!)

 

[AevnsGrandpa]

This last Saturday (the 8th) I dove at a quarry about 90 miles from my home. On their web site temps were listed as 57 at the surface and 42 at depth (50 feet).

I wore a 5-4-3 full wet suit, 5mm boots, 3mm hood and some gloves there were way to thin. The thermocline was at about 30 foot. Below this really the only things that froze were my hands. After about 50 minutes or so my lips and feet were pretty cold, but I was over all happy with the dives. I thought I would be a lot colder and have to wimp out sooner!

It also helped that the above water temp was 85 and sunny!

Jeff :dazzler1:

 

[DBailey]

Well, so far, my dives fall into two temperature ranges:

45-ish F (6-ish C): 7 mil combo, boots, gloves, hood

80-ish F (26-ish C): 3 mil full suit, boots

I was quite comfortable in both situations which really surprised me in the cold water. Now I am looking for another wetsuit to handle the 60-ish F water.

 

[UndrWatrDan]

So I've been wondering...

What do you all consider to be your minimum temperatures for choosing...Scott

* minimal exposure gear: swim suit and t-shirt during late July, Aug and Sept in fresh water lakes here in Tx.

* 3 mm suit mid 70s F

* 7mil semi dry: 50s - 70 (coldest in semi-dry so far has been 49 with hood and gloves which was in late December)

* drysuit - below 50