mikedarmody
Guest
In buying gear I noticed that some gear is rated as "cold water." I dive regularly in San Diego water in about 55-68 F. Is that cold warm or in between?
how cold is cold
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Cold. If I can't dive in just a swim suit, it's cold.
MakoMermaid
Guest
mikedarmody:
For me personally, that's cold. In the larger scheme of things, I think that's considered "temperate" water.
MSilvia
Contributor
I occasionally see bottom temps below 38 degrees, so from my perspective "cold" is when there's a real danger of regulator ice causing a free flow. That's different from "chilly" or "cool".
Some regulators are designed to be less prone to that happening, and some exposure protection is designed to keep a diver comfortable in those conditions. That's what I think of as cold water gear.
For me, 55+ in a wetsuit is warm. Before I started diving, I grew up swimming in seawater like that with no exposure protection at all.
Some regulators are designed to be less prone to that happening, and some exposure protection is designed to keep a diver comfortable in those conditions. That's what I think of as cold water gear.
For me, 55+ in a wetsuit is warm. Before I started diving, I grew up swimming in seawater like that with no exposure protection at all.
Cold is when you start shivering 
I believe a lot of people in your area dive dry or definately have thick one/two piece wetsuits (at least 5mm) - i will tell you now 55F in an old one piece 5mm at 100ft with a 3mm hood, 5mm boots and 2mm gloves gets cold fairly quickly I would have taken a 7mm on that dive or in fact next time i will go dry! As for the rest of the stuff, the only other thing beyond exposure protection that is really a problem in cold water are regs 55F is not freezing temp for a reg, but i bought the environmentally sealed regs that i can use travelling to colder places and also in very silty/sandy water where i dont want crud getting trapped in the reg. Its not much more for such adaptations compared to non-sealed.
What are you seeing equipment-wise that you think might suggest cold water requirements? Where do you plan on diving, just SD or further afield?
I believe a lot of people in your area dive dry or definately have thick one/two piece wetsuits (at least 5mm) - i will tell you now 55F in an old one piece 5mm at 100ft with a 3mm hood, 5mm boots and 2mm gloves gets cold fairly quickly
I would have taken a 7mm on that dive or in fact next time i will go dry! As for the rest of the stuff, the only other thing beyond exposure protection that is really a problem in cold water are regs 55F is not freezing temp for a reg, but i bought the environmentally sealed regs that i can use travelling to colder places and also in very silty/sandy water where i dont want crud getting trapped in the reg. Its not much more for such adaptations compared to non-sealed.What are you seeing equipment-wise that you think might suggest cold water requirements? Where do you plan on diving, just SD or further afield?
The Kraken
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Well, when you come out after the dive and you have to sit down to pee, well that was cold . . .
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The Kraken:
... and when you go to stand up and are frozen to the toilet seat, well that's cold ... :11:
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
matt_unique
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mikedarmody:
55-68 degrees would not be considered cold water for gear purposes in my experience. You would seldom have to worry about a reg icing in water above 50 degrees for example. Lot's of factors that can affect this but under most circumstances....
The Kraken
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NWGratefulDiver:... and when you go to stand up and are frozen to the toilet seat, well that's cold ... :11:
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
OUCH !!!!!
enguin:
MSilvia
Contributor
I was in the Caribbean in January when the temperature in Boston was -14. I had a local bartender on the verge of believing that that was so cold that if you went outside to pee, you could write your name in the air. 
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