How effective are drysuits? I feel the cold!

[Jack Hammer]

Everybody's cold tolerance is different. When diving A drysuit with thick undergarments for cold waters on a hot day you can sweat excessively and feel super cold because your undergarments are damp and transfering the cold. Heated UGs are only as good as your battery and controller. I frequently make dives in near freezing waters and am glad I'm in a drysuit. I also find I prefer the drysuit in Mexico because I get too cold in a wetsuit. I have friends who can dive a 5mm in 4c/39f water, I need a drysuit with thi k undergarments. Did I mention different people have different cold tolerances?

 

[broncobowsher]

Drysuit doesn't keep you warm, it is what is between you and the drysuit that keeps you warm. The drysuit keeps that insulation dry so it will work.

The thickness of the hood makes a huge difference. 5mm is my warm water hood, 7mm my cool water hood, and have not got a true cold water hood yet. The hood is still a wetsuit.

Dry gloves are another way to stay warm.

 

[boulderjohn]

Just in case the other posts did make it clear enough, there is no question that a drysuit will be part of a package giving you all the warmth you need for any water temperature. The issue is the choice of undergarments you wear with it. The same drysuit will be comfortable in the coldest waters of the UK and the warmest in the caribbean, provided you use the proper undergarments for the environment.

 

[RobM77]

Everybody's cold tolerance is different. When diving A drysuit with thick undergarments for cold waters on a hot day you can sweat excessively and feel super cold because your undergarments are damp and transfering the cold. Heated UGs are only as good as your battery and controller. I frequently make dives in near freezing waters and am glad I'm in a drysuit. I also find I prefer the drysuit in Mexico because I get too cold in a wetsuit. I have friends who can dive a 5mm in 4c/39f water, I need a drysuit with thi k undergarments. Did I mention different people have different cold tolerances?

Well, yes, that’s the whole point of my post. I’ve described my own cold tolerance in what I hope is a clear way, and I’m wondering if a dry suit is enough to help someone with my sort of sensitivity to the cold to dive in the UK.

 

[RobM77]

Norwegian diver here, I have roughly the same cold tolerance as you describe, ie. I had to add a hood for Red Sea diving (Octrober by memory) in full 5mm new suit.

I dive year round in Norway, always in a drysuit, no electric heating.

Get a proper sized drysuit that allows the required underwear, add a 10 mm hood, and you'll be good!

Tusen takk. That’s the perfect answer. It seems you are similar to me. The Red Sea in October is 26, so I guess that’s the lower end of my 29/30 degree kit of a 5mm full with a hood, but equally the UK sea is warmer than Norway,

 

[RobM77]

Thanks for all the answers. I think it’s likely I’d be ok

 

[broncobowsher]

When you run out of insulation, there is still the electric heater option. But the electric heater is best used as a little boost and not primary warmth. Sometimes they don't work.

 

[Gachnar]

Part of the key is to avoid as much as heat loss as possible, which means minimizing water interaction. I'm definitely not as cold sensitive, but a hood that fits well is huge, and what gloves you have. I have a set of lined gloves that might as well be dry, they just don't exchange water. Others prefer a dry glove setup, which seems like would be good for you.

I have only dove trilam bag suits a couple times, but I find that I much prefer a crushed or compressed neoprene suit as it takes less insulation to retain heat. I think I've been properly cold in my dry suits twice. Once in a shark tank aquarium where I was just stationary for most of an hour, and once in a night dive in a 35 degree water where we were just sitting watching students. Moving around, even a little, can make a big difference.

 

[Rollin]

I dive dry even in Tenerife, and everybody else on the boat is always looking at me like I'm from Mars. I don't care, I don't like to be cold, not even a little bit. I do video, so I'm laying still for extended periods.

But I did dive in the north of Norway, even in winter, in Iceland and even in Greenland underneath icebergs at -1°C water temperature. It's all about the insulation and heating when needed. One, two or even three layers of undergarnment, dry gloves, a well fitting hood with small facial opening, even a 5€ aqualung lips cover makes quiet a difference to me. Invest in good socks, use a neoprene neck seal. I use a Santi heated vest (which I like much better than the suit) when temperature drops below 12°C.

Neoprene drysuits are nice, but undergarnments are limited. For real cold water diving, everyone I know uses trilaminate suits. And they don't have to be bags. A well cut suit is worth the investment.

You will be fine, but the weight you'll have to carry around to get all the insulating air down will be a pain.

 

[KenGordon]

Thanks for all the answers. I think it’s likely I’d be ok

Where in the U.K. are you? Warmer in the south. The inland sites are normally colder too, especially deep ones.