I´m cold!

[achu]

I thought I was a wimp when I first got here... but now it is worse!!!

I certified in the Puget Sound, 7.5mm wetsuit and thought, "I´m crazy! Who the heck wants to dive in this freezing cold water". My feet started to numb as I walked into the water for my first OWC shore dive...

Now 2 years later, I´m living here in Cozumel. I wear a 3mm full, 3mm shorty and a 5mm hood... and guess what? I´m FREEZING! I now think that 95-100 degree air temp is starting to get hot outside and 75 degrees is truely cold (polar fleece pullovers for the 75 degree weather).

I´ve already started to dive less and less because I get so cold... but I LOVE diving...I want to go diving, but don´t like being frozen! So, what am I doing wrong? Should I be eating a massive meal before going diving? Do some exercise on a diving morning to get the blood pumping? Eat Peppermint patties on the dive boat before backrolling? Bring some mexican hot salsa and down that before the dive?

Sigh, ok, if you guys don´t have any great ideas for me, at least tell me I´m not the only one that has to debate about whether I REALLY WANT to backroll into that freezing water...

Achu

 

[jbd]

I've never dove with a dry suit, but it sounds like you may need one. Possibly a thorough check up with your doctor would be in order.

 

[Lost Yooper]

I'll be going out with a group of OW students in a couple weeks. The water temp might get up to 36F up here in Superior.



Mike

BTW, try eating a high protein meal prior to diving and get a drysuit ASAP.

 

[large_diver]

42F water on Cape Cod a few weeks ago...wet suit.....

 

[MASS-Diver]

You might want to see a doctor if you are really that cold all the time, poor cirulation etc.

A few New England tips:

Pour hot (not scalding) down your wet-suit before diving.

Duct tape your wrists and ankles.

Get a dry suit w/argon

 

[lakesdiver]

Try a 6 or 7 mm jacket/john?

Going out today and hoping for a water temp of 40F.

 

[SubMariner]

If I hadn't switched to diving dry at the DMC stage, I would NEVER have continued diving in Canada or other similar cold water sites. Why? Because I got so bloody cold! In a full 7mm wetsuit with hood, booties, etc., my max bottomtime was a whopping 25 minutes... and THAT was stetching it!

Then when I got out I was cold & miserable. Not worth it!

Diving dry is the best way to go, otherwise the "discomfort" factor will far outweight the "pleasure factor" and you will deprive yourself of some wonderful diving because you get cold.

There are a lot of very competitively priced drysuits out there from good manufacturers; go take a look.

And once you have made your purchase, take a drysuit course from an Instructor acredited in the Specialty. That way you can learn to use the suit safely and effectively.

BTW, we recently got back from a great week of diving in The Red Sea. We wore our drysuits, while the others onboard wore 7mm of neoprene. They HATED us!

~SubMariner~

 

[Tractor Tom]

This is a question that I have been "mulling" around in my 48 year old head... Should I invest in a heavy wetsuit for diving in the Great Lakes, or should I save my pennys and watch for a deal on a dry suit right off. I know that some of the BARE dry suits are getting pretty affordable, and the LDS will offer a dry suit cert, along with my open water cert for another $100. (From now on, $100 is to be called a "dive unit" as everything I need seems to cost some multiple of $100... this is a system I used with the sailboat, and it seemed to work....) So, a good 7mm wetsuit will go maybe 3 or 4 dive units ($300-400) and an 'affordable' dry suit will go, 5 to 7 dive units.

Am I smarter to just wait, or should I go looking for a wet suit first?

I'm planning on a shorty suit to take to the islands in January for diving, along with my basic gear, but I may not take a regulator/BC and rent those insted.

Manythanks,

Frankenmuth Tom (not yet a Great Lake Gorilla...)

 

[Blargh]

Originally posted by frankenmuth_tom
Am I smarter to just wait, or should I go looking for a wet suit first?

Forget it and go straight for a dry suit.

(imvho, of course)





----
"Just anoher dry suit diver"

 

[MASS-Diver]

I agree, go Dry, once you learn to dive with one, they are great.