I still got cold... any suggestions?

[PerroneFord]

Really?

Good to know, I SURE as 'ell Wont be plunking down $1500-$3000 any time soon if That is the case...

Educate yourself a bit. A drysuit's job is to keep you dry, not warm. The undergarment's job is to keep you warm. He choose undergarments poorly. That's all there is to it. I've had my Pinnacle undergarment (not the warmest they make either) in 54 degree water, and with minimal movement, I was a bit too warm.

 

[PvtStash]

Educate yourself a bit. A drysuit's job is to keep you dry, not warm. The undergarment's job is to keep you warm. He choose undergarments poorly. That's all there is to it. I've had my Pinnacle undergarment (not the warmest they make either) in 54 degree water, and with minimal movement, I was a bit too warm.

Assuming properly chosen undergarments then... How cold (whether realistic/practical or not) do you think you could dive in and still remain, if not warm, not Cold either?

And as far as the education part, yeah you got me there... I guess my "just certified last week and have 5 dives to my name" is really showin' through eh? In fact I have been here since last September gleaning this Education you so patronizingly endorse.

I'll Glady take the educational benefits of those with years and experience beyond my own, but please... leave your ego at home.

 

[PerroneFord]

Assuming properly chosen undergarments then... How cold (whether realistic/practical or not) do you think you could dive in and still remain, if not warm, not Cold either?

And as far as the education part, yeah you got me there... I guess my "just certified last week and have 5 dives to my name" is really showin' through eh? In fact I have been here since last September gleaning this Education you so patronizingly endorse.

I'll Glady take the educational benefits of those with years and experience beyond my own, but please... leave your ego at home.

Tell you what. I'll leave the ego and patronizing out of the posts, and you refrain from belittling the thousands of divers who wear drysuits because they need them, even if you don't yet understand how or why they are used. Deal?

Now, as to your question of how cold can the water be and still have relative comfort in the water? Well, my instructor used his for research at McMurdo Research Station at the South Pole. He also does research in the great lakes. In both cases the water is between 32.3 degrees and 38 degrees, and the dives last from 45 minutes to 2 hours. The drysuit allows them to do 2 or more dives per day in relative comfort. I say relative because your hands and head still get quite cold.

We used drysuits in caves and deep water not only because we do long dives that would be nearly impossible diving wet because they provide redundant buoyancy that would allow us to safely exit. This is not so with a wetsuit. Drysuits also protect against wind on the surface interval, so even in bad weather, we are quite comfortable on the surface where a wetsuit diver with no shelter would be facing hypothermia.

Oh, by the way, water in the 20s is ice. Water, freezes at right around 32F, a bit colder for saltwater.

 

[chgodvr]

48 Degree For 42 Minutes Is Pretty Good. You Dont Mention Where You Felt The Cold. You Might Feel A Slight Chill Even With The Proper Garmentafter That Length Of Time. I Suspect It Is The Undergarment That Is A Rental (and Used And Hopefully Cleaned After Every Use). The Undergarment Loses Some Insulating Factor With Every Washing. You Popped For A Tls350 Next Should Be Your Own Undergarment.

 

[RJP]

well... like I said... Good to Know.

There's several stages of knowledge, and the first is "you don't even know what you don't know"

 

[SteveAD]

QUOTE=PvtStash;3612843]Assuming properly chosen undergarments then... How cold (whether realistic/practical or not) do you think you could dive in and still remain, if not warm, not Cold either?

And as far as the education part, yeah you got me there... I guess my "just certified last week and have 5 dives to my name" is really showin' through eh? In fact I have been here since last September gleaning this Education you so patronizingly endorse.

I'll Glady take the educational benefits of those with years and experience beyond my own, but please... leave your ego at home.[/QUOTE]


I'm the one in the hole, facing the camera. I was in the water 3 hours straight that day because the water was warmer than the wind chill.

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[PvtStash]

Tell you what. I'll leave the ego and patronizing out of the posts, and you refrain from belittling the thousands of divers who wear drysuits because they need them, even if you don't yet understand how or why they are used. Deal?

Maybe you could "quote" my OP to show Exactly where I belittled anyone... what I expressed was an incredulity as the to the insulating characteristics of a top of the line, high-dollar dry-suit; the diver was immaterial and thus never mentioned. Now... lets see you backpeddle...

Maybe you cant tell the difference? or maybe ANY questioning (to one of your Obvious knowledge) is seen as "belittling"

 

[PerroneFord]

Maybe you could "quote" my OP to show Exactly where I belittled anyone... what I expressed was an incredulity as the to the insulating characteristics of a top of the line, high-dollar dry-suit; the diver was immaterial and thus never mentioned. Now... lets see you backpeddle...

Maybe you cant tell the difference? or maybe ANY questioning (to one of your Obvious knowledge) is seen as "belittling"

It's not a stretch to think that someone who might have spent $1500 - $3000 on a DUI (or other quality) drysuit might feel slighted by your comment that essentially their purchase was worthless. But regardless, those people who've had some actual experience with drysuits would understand that your comments were probably well meaning but made out of ignorance. Such as not understanding that drysuits don't keep you warm. That is not their function. Especially so for shell suits.

I am not interested in getting into a pointless argument here. The OP got the answer to his question. Hopefully you now understand a bit more about the function of a drysuit, and nothing more need be said on either subject. I wish you well as you continue your diving career.

 

[PvtStash]

I admit my ignorance, and am welcome to be corrected/informed, thank you.

 

[dave4868]

Ok, I did my first dive today with my new DUI TLS 350. Water temp was about 48 degrees. Dive was 42 minutes. I had on a pair ff Under armor cold gear and a used DUI 400gram Thinsulate undergarment from rental. I still got cold. Any suggestions on a different setup or undergarment type?

So much good advice has been given! Is this a great place or what?

I'll just suggest you keep thinking about where you're losing core heat and how you want to stem that loss and that you should experiment a lot! You'll soon find your personal solutions for achieving your desired level of warmth.

Most people have to tweak their drysuit gear to match dive conditions, activity level and personal factors. What works for the next guy may make you overheat, get sweaty and then get cold later in the dive. What works for you on one dive may not be just right on the next dive.

Most of these tips have already been mentioned, but they're worth repeating.

To improve drysuit warmth try to:

• avoid losing core heat prior to the dive (wear extra clothes when setting up gear at the site- you can actually increase core heat prior to a dive and that can make a big difference)
• avoid pre-sweating your undergarments (gear up in other warm clothing)
• avoid constriction of the extremities (armpits, hands, feet). This includes not having a tight-fitting suit jammed with undergarment, not positioning an extremity such as to slow blood flow, such as bending an elbow for a long time, or having tightness behind the knees or gripping something all the time.
• consider improving hand, face and neck protection with better gloves, an ice cap underhood and homemade 1/8" x 2" neoprene neck bands
• avoid crushing your undergarments with excessive squeeze (use more weight, put enough air in the suit)
• avoid using cotton fabric, even an undershirt (I'm looking for polypropylene shorts after my last sweaty scallop dive....looked like I pee'd myself!)
• consider adding a homemade fleece chest pad or kidney pad
• adjust insulation as needed for dives with higher or lower activity levels

My personal solutions involve all of these, but the biggest factors for me have been avoiding constriction, having plenty of air in the suit, and maintaining warm extremities.

Assuming properly chosen undergarments then... How cold (whether realistic/practical or not) do you think you could dive in and still remain, if not warm, not Cold either?

My super-wuss goal has been to achieve thumb-sucking, by-the-fireplace, fall-asleep "toasty" warmth while drysuit diving....

My setup lets me have that kind of warmth for about 2 hours at 40-degrees.

In 34-degree water, I only get about an hour of that kind of warmth....during the next hour my hands and toes get a little chilly.... I'm working on improving that with better dryglove liners, looser Rockboots and Merino wool and Weezle socks!

Seriously.

Dave C