How can I be nice and cozy in my drysuit?

[Gareth J]

I have the Hot Socks I was told these are warmer then the regular socks. I did not have cold feet at all



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Hot socks are great, as your base layer.
I wear hot socks and then the Arctic socks over the top. Never had cold feet since I started doing this. The only issue is do you have space in the boot to get both on.
My suit has 'rock boots' (or a variation), I have two sets of boots, the small set for just the hot socks (summer diving) the bigger set for hot socks + FE arctic socks (winter diving).

 

[WetRocks]

The Fourth Element website has a "Layering Guide" that might be handy.
http://fourthelement.com/inline/useful-information/temp-guide.php

In addition to the thicker hood, consider adding a vest. Keeps the core warm without sacrificing flexibility/arm ROM.
What weight merino are you using now? I find the Icebreaker 260gm works fine as the next-to-skin layer.

 

[Storker]

Ok, so I think it is clear that I'm going to be investing in a good 10mm hood. I'm going to start by trying the thicker hood on Saturday. I will start by looking at what my LDS has on offer of thick hoods and if they don't have what I want I am going to order it online.

Make sure it's nice and snug. If at all possible, I'd buy it in a brick and mortar store where I can try different sizes. Just like for a WS, you don't want any water circulation inside.

I did a mistake and bought my first Waterproof hood a bit too large. I tried the Medium, thought it was bit too tight and went for a Large. Mistake. Then I got a 7mm ML which fits me better and is nice when the water isn't too cold, but I realized that for real cold water diving I prefer the slightly tight feeling of the M. No water circulation at all.

I can't hear crap when I'm wearing it, though. "Huh? What? CAN'T HEAR YOU!" (inserts finger an pulls hood away from ear)

Currently I use 5mm wet gloves. I have dry gloves with my suit, but I ordered them way to small. Apparently there are two ways of measuring your glove size one is by measuring the width of your hand, this is what I did, the other is by measuring the length from the tip of your middle finger to the bottom of your hand. It looks like I have long thin fingers, so the glove was way too short. I'm going to start making work of getting some proper sized gloves.

IME it's more important that length is correct as long as the gloves are wide enough. You control the amount of air in the gloves anyway, so if they're just a little on the wide side, a slight squeeze will take care of that pretty effectively. And if you, like I do, carry a camera rig, you'll find that unless you let go of the camera tray with one hand and raise your hand for a few seconds once in a while to get some air in, you'll get cold fingers. Hands lower than torso -> air travels out of the gloves -> liners not properly lofted -> cold hands.

 

[dimito]

In addition to the thicker hood, consider adding a vest. Keeps the core warm without sacrificing flexibility/arm ROM.
What weight merino are you using now? I find the Icebreaker 260gm works fine as the next-to-skin layer.

I will consider a vest if still can't stay warm after trying all the hood and gloves. I currently don't have Merino underwear, but I was thinking of getting at least the 250gm type.

IME it's more important that length is correct as long as the gloves are wide enough. You control the amount of air in the gloves anyway, so if they're just a little on the wide side, a slight squeeze will take care of that pretty effectively. And if you, like I do, carry a camera rig, you'll find that unless you let go of the camera tray with one hand and raise your hand for a few seconds once in a while to get some air in, you'll get cold fingers. Hands lower than torso -> air travels out of the gloves -> liners not properly lofted -> cold hands.

I just bought some gloves when I was getting my tanks filled at the LDS. I could try them on, so now they fit. I got the fit like you suggested. I can't wait to try them!

Thank you for the tip on the dry gloves, sounds really useful.

 

[RVBldr]

Just a quick and pretty cheap option on socks, REI sells very thick mountaineering wool sock, so I'll wear a very thin liner sock and the thick mountaineering socks, and I haven't found any other socks that have been as warm, including the Arctic socks.

 

[RJP]

Just a quick and pretty cheap option on socks, REI sells very thick mountaineering wool sock, so I'll wear a very thin liner sock and the thick mountaineering socks, and I haven't found any other socks that have been as warm, including the Arctic socks.

Yup - there are lots of great options for drysuit undergarment layers OUTSIDE of dive shops that are as good/better and far less expensive.

 

[Littlerayray]

Get dry gloves and make sure their installed properly the drier you are the warmer you will be

 

[toby43]

I recently got a trilaminate drysuit and did my first 2 dives in it last 2 weekends. My first dive in it went really well, but the second dive was a bit more difficult. I think it was because the visibility was quite bad and that made it difficult to pay enough attention to my buoyancy. This weekend I'm doing another dive in it and I hope to improve.

What became clear to me after some time in the water is that a drysuit is not a warm suit I wasn't freezing or shivering, but I had this picture in my head that drysuit diving would be really nice and warm, but it wasn't. The water temperature was about 6C (~43F) and we did dive for 30 minutes and 45 minutes. At the end of the 45 minute dive I started to really feel the cold, it was still tolerable and I definitely was warmer then I my wetsuit, but it was not what I expected.

The post dive period was much better then in a wetsuit the moment I got out of the water I started the warm up quickly and it was fun that I wasn't wet when it was freezing out side.

I have a Fourthelement Arctic undersuit and some thin underwear that doesn't provide any warmth but just keeps you dry. To be a bit warmer I tried wearing my sharkskin under the arctic undersuit instead of the underwear. This kept me a bit warmer, but not a lot and I also needed some more lead.

What can I do to stay warm? This weekend I'm going to try a thicker hood that I'm going to loan. I'm also thinking of buying some merino wool underwear from Icebreaker if that helps. Do drygloves make a big difference?

The suit came with a 250gr thinsulate undersuit that I was thinking of putting on over my Arctic but after trying it it became clear that this would be too bulky and would limit my movement too much. Would this Thinsulate suit be warmer then the Arctic undersuit? The Arctic suit is Polartec so it is stretchy and feels warmer then the Thinsulate when I wear it at home.

I too am diving right now in 6 degree water (fresh) with a trilam suit. This works for me; thin merino wool T shirt, thin Helly Hansen base layer, 4th Element Xerotherms (2 piece), 4th Element Arctic (one piece). Dry gloves with 20 gram thinsulate inners. thin socks with thick wool socks over them. 5mm Waterproof hood. Good for an hour no problem. Dry gloves make a big difference. Why? by elevating your arms above your shoulders you get a whoosh of warm air from your body making its way to your fingertips. You can't beat it. Likewise if your feet get cold you can do the same for them (assuming you have learnt how to avoid feet first ascent). It's really trial and error I'm afraid.

 

[dimito]

I did a 40 minute dive yesterday in 5°C (41F) water wearing the 7mm hood, dry gloves, thin Merino underwear and the Arctic underwear. I was much warmer than my first dive in 7°C water.

I've now started looking for a thicker hood (10mm), I could immediately feel the difference between my hood and the thicker one. The dry gloves also made a very big difference, I did not get cold hands

Someone suggested me yesterday to get the xerotherm the underwear instead of the Merino underwear because it is warmer and less buoyant. So I am going to start look around for the price of those as well.

I think I also need a bit more lead so I can put more air in my suit. At the end of the dive I was getting more and more shrink wrapped and could really feel the cold coming through my suit.

 

[KenGordon]

For what it is worth this is what I do with an O3 crushed neo suit:

Warm sea diving (say 15C and above) arctics, down to about 8C to 10C I add a Helly Hansen Dry base layer, maybe add a Warm (wool) for the second dive if cold. Below that I start with both the Dry and Warm layers.

If diving a twinset do make sure you can still do a shutdown with extra base layers. Also that you can hold stops as appropriate with low gas.

I use wet gloves as thin as I can get away with so I can still use my fingers. That is a game of too thick neoprene vs cold stopping them working. I usually use a 5mm hood. Maybe I will try a thicker one.

I try very hard not to get wet or cold or sweaty before getting in the water. I avoid moving kit about wearing the under suit, such as from the car to the boat. All the usual not being too tired, being fed and hydrated all help too.

I also find that some days I am just more susceptible to the cold.