Ice diving...in wetsuits????

[JungleJoe]

We lost 2 divers about 2 yrs ago, father and son who lived on a lake, lake was not fully frozen over, they walked out, went diving, got lost , I guess they went toward shore to try to break their way out, but at the shore line the ice was too thick, ran out of air they both did, and died together.

Any diving can be dangerous , Ice is not IF you take the precautions and safety measures I spoke about earlier. As with any dive, if you don't take the precautions and do something foolish , you could end up losing your life. Diving under the ice w/o ropes and ppl watching out for you up top, is not safe. Nor is diving solo into a wreck or cave, not using a reel or have back up gear and the training to begin with, you could end up going OOA after you silted out a compartment and die from that.

 

[texdiveguy]

I would hope that anyone entertaining the idea of ice diving for the first time would invest in the proper training.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Years ago when my husband took his ice diving class 1/4 inch wetsuits (6.5mm) were the only thing they had. He said he's too old for that now but back then it wasn't any worse than being at depth in the Great Lakes or diving in the quarries in March.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[BarryNL]

I was up in my new hometown of Minneapolis the other day and had a few hours to kill so I stopped by a couple diveshops to check out the local conditions.

In the shop In Eagan they told me that they go ice diving in 7mm wetsuits! I don't mind cold but that seems out of control! These were not well insulated individuals either.

Has anyone gone under the ice in a wetsuit?

Is ice diving worth the chill?

I have a dream of diving in Antarctica someday (probably open water) so I suppose I should get ready for the cold. Thought I would get drysuit trained so I was surprised when they told me about the wetsuits.

People certainly do it - though I'd consider it ridiculous. Apart from anything else, you're coming out of the water into temperatures well below zero. In a drysuit you can just twist the dump valve closed, pump a load of air into the suit and you're immediately dry and warm. With a wetsuit you are still cold and wet and need to strip off to get dry - it's asking for hypothermia.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Somewhere at home my husband has a picture of December check-out dives in Indiana or Ohio--I don't remember which. There's no ice on the water but the DM who had just gotten out and walked toward their "campsite" has ice hanging off of his gear and his beard.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[altitudemike]

I dove ice once in my 7mm for about 15 min. I got out of the water, dried off, drove straight to my LDS bought my drysuit & got back in time for the 3RD dive of the day. Not reccommended to dive wet in ice. As for the vis it's way better during winter, The way the ice looks from the bottom side is also very cool to see, it's beautiful.

 

[texdiveguy]

I dove ice once in my 7mm for about 15 min. I got out of the water, dried off, drove straight to my LDS bought my drysuit & got back in time for the 3RD dive of the day.

I love it!!!!!!

 

[wardric]

I did my ice diving course in a wetsuit in '98. It was not as bad as some might think. In fact, in the water, it's not much colder than under the thermocline during summer months (here at least). And since the fun is near the surface, the suit doesn't get compressed as much. I did the same dives as my fellow drysuit divers. The problem when ice diving in a wetsuit is the air temperature and the second dive. It is often more comfortable in the water than out. The second dive is a problem if the air temp is extremly low and you have to put on a wet wetsuit. Fortunately, we had a heated tent on site.

But now, I have a drysuit and it's much easier.

and btw, yeah, it's worth it.

 

[Barracuda2]

"Why, when I was a kid...." dry suits were worn by only the pros back in the 70's and 80's. Then I joined the ranks of the wuss's in the late 80's when I got my first closed neoprene Posidon Dry suit. Did my first ice dive in the 70's and was glad I wasn't the line tender; he was a lot colder than me........until I had to change back into clothes.
Pass me the hot coffee!

 

[jimclarke]

Used to dive under ice every winter in fresh water. 8 mm long john and 8 mm jacket.
The main problem in the water was the forhead pain between the hood an the mask.

Getting changed in the snow with a good breeze was also cool. that was the early 70s