nairn_diver
Registered
Folks,
I have recently moved from a warm and toasty neoprene drysuit to a shell drysuit. Now I am getting cold on my dives and I am in the process of figuring out how to get warm again. I dive in Vancouver (British Columbia) waters, which normally range from 7.2°C (45°F) to 8.3°C (47°F), and my dives average 45 minutes to an average max depth of 90 feet.
I specifically want to know if I need to use more weight to allow for more air in my suit when I am between 30 feet and the surface? Currently, I am weighted such that my BCD and drysuit are both completely empty between these depths. I also have a fair amount of suit squeeze. Would more air in my suit keep me warmer? I seem to be warm at the deeper parts of the dive then cold near the end when I get shallower. Note that I have enough weight (36 pounds) to safely stop just below the surface (~3-5 feet) with ~300psi in my tank. Would I be getting cold because there is no air in my suit at shallow depths (rather than too few undergarments)?
Additional Information on Drysuit(s):
- New Suit: Whites Catalyst Self-Entry (with drygloves); undergarments: Whites MK2 and MK1, 1 layer of wool/synthetic socks, and 3mm neoprene soft boot
- Old Neoprene Suit: 7mm Oceaner back entry (with drygloves); undergarments: fleece pants and top, synthetic long underwear, and 1 layer of wool/synthetic socks
I am also open to other suggestions on how to stay warm in a shell suit? However, at this time I am not considering Argon for drysuit inflation or replacing my current undergarments (e.g. no Weasel).
Thanks for the help.
Cheers,
Nairn
I have recently moved from a warm and toasty neoprene drysuit to a shell drysuit. Now I am getting cold on my dives and I am in the process of figuring out how to get warm again. I dive in Vancouver (British Columbia) waters, which normally range from 7.2°C (45°F) to 8.3°C (47°F), and my dives average 45 minutes to an average max depth of 90 feet.
I specifically want to know if I need to use more weight to allow for more air in my suit when I am between 30 feet and the surface? Currently, I am weighted such that my BCD and drysuit are both completely empty between these depths. I also have a fair amount of suit squeeze. Would more air in my suit keep me warmer? I seem to be warm at the deeper parts of the dive then cold near the end when I get shallower. Note that I have enough weight (36 pounds) to safely stop just below the surface (~3-5 feet) with ~300psi in my tank. Would I be getting cold because there is no air in my suit at shallow depths (rather than too few undergarments)?
Additional Information on Drysuit(s):
- New Suit: Whites Catalyst Self-Entry (with drygloves); undergarments: Whites MK2 and MK1, 1 layer of wool/synthetic socks, and 3mm neoprene soft boot
- Old Neoprene Suit: 7mm Oceaner back entry (with drygloves); undergarments: fleece pants and top, synthetic long underwear, and 1 layer of wool/synthetic socks
I am also open to other suggestions on how to stay warm in a shell suit? However, at this time I am not considering Argon for drysuit inflation or replacing my current undergarments (e.g. no Weasel).
Thanks for the help.
Cheers,
Nairn