How often do you dive "dry" year round?

[Mo2vation]

SoCal - 100% of my non-lobstering diving is done dry year-round.

Dry suit, dry gloves, dry dry dry.

Why dive with wet hands and a dry suit?

Why dive wet when the water is 64 or below?

I'll do 250 to 275 dives in SoCal this year. All but maybe 15 will be dry.

I dive dry.


---
Ken

 

[divingbuddy]

Up here (Canada) I dive dry all the time. Bottom temp on my last dive? 38F. I own two of 'em, why wouldn't I wear one?

A lot of times with students I may end up helping out another DM or instructor, and I may spend a long time in the water (sometimes just hanging out watching). Even during warmer times (whenever they are) I still enjoy the comfort of the dry suit.

It's biggest advantage up here is early or late season when the top side conditions can be miserable. I've actually kitted up in my drysuit in the hotel, gone to the dive site and just jumped in because it was just too cold or stormy to do so at the dive site. I actually have a red toboggen as part of my dive kit - very handy during an ice dive or for pulling your gear through drifts between your car and the 'water'.

Man...I really should think about an early retirement and a move south (hopefully near cave country).

Cheers!

 

[Colliam7]

Do you just leave the wet suit on the rack or hardly ever use it anymore once you've got the warm feeling that only a drysuit can give a diver.

I am evolving to that point, and increasingly find I prefer to remain dry. I dive inland NC quarries in winter and summer, so dry is reasonable. For NC coastal dives in summer, I dive wet once or twice a year, but dry most of time time. (Plus, I am diving doubles almost all the time now, so dry makes sense). The only wet diving I will do now is in water above 73 degrees, and I won't wear more than 3mm. Even in summer, I am comfortable diving dry, although the process of gearing up in 95 degree, 95% humidity weather is not what I would call fun. I dove the Oriskany in May, and found the drysuit was great, UNTIL we came above the upper thermocline, where the water was low 80s. At that point, the DS was initially uncomfortable!! I acclimated during the 20 minutes of deco, and taking off the hood helped. But, that is the only recent time I actually wished I was in a wetsuit.

 

[Pearldiver07]

I have to agree. Although I live in Texas, I still do most of my dives dry. During later summer if I stay shallow I will use a wetsuit, but the thermoclines come quickly.

I'll have to look into the DUI 30/30 (thanks for the tip RJP). If it works for the warmer times I don't see any reason to dive wet.

But yes, I will almost certainly keep diving wet on tropical trips. Travel weight being the issue. I have a complete set of equipment just for travel, to keep it light.

Well, that's my 2psi worth.

 

[Rick Inman]

I finally sold my 7mm wetsuit so at least someone could enjoy it.

I dive dry all year, except if vacation somewhere warm, and then I bring my 3-2mm.

 

[TSandM]

I dive dry at home, where the water temperature never gets above about 56 degrees. Dry suit, dry gloves. Compressed neoprene suit and argon in the wintertime.

In warm tropics, I've used a 3 mil suit and 2 mil hooded vest, but after diving the 5 mil with the vest when I was just in Mexico, I suspect the 3 mil won't get much more use.

I have packed myself into my dry suit and all my undergarments when the air temperature is over 90 degrees. By the time I'm geared up, the cold water of Puget Sound looks pretty darned good!

 

[fdog]

I will confess that my current "dry threshold" is 75 degrees.


All the best, James

 

[RAD Diver]

I tend to dive my CF-200 most of the time, but last time I did deco in 80 degree water it was rough, I have a 6.5 semi-dry that I like in the above 70 water, even have a set of alum 100's doubled for any tech dives I want to do in warm water. I use a 3/2 full for tropical night or early morning dives & a 2mm shorty for day dives in said tropical waters. Over 85 degrees.
I used my 3/2 in Cape Hatteras N.C. 2 weeks ago in 77 degree water & was fine swimming, but got chilled on the hang. Still made 4 dives that way even tho I had my 6.5 in my gear bag the whole time.

 

[String]

I was curious how often drysuit owners dive dry both winter and summer months? Do you just leave the wet suit on the rack or hardly ever use it anymore once you've got the warm feeling that only a drysuit can give a diver.

Or do you only use a light wetsuit(2-3MM) during the heat of the summer in tropical waters?

THANKS!

Dry all year round for me. I'd never even consider diving in the UK in a wetsuit. To me, wetsuits are for foreign places where the water is 21c or warmer. Any lower dry is so much more comfortable.

I LIKE diving in a thin wetsuit (never less than 5mm) but i like being warm and comfortable so wet is only for tropics.

 

[pir8]

Dry in winter/spring Wet in Summer/fall