just as cold in a drysuit

[KOMPRESSOR]

Excellent points. Hoods that have made a difference for me are DUI and Viking. (The DUI edges out slightly better because of the awesome venting.)

Not sure about drygloves, although never tried them myself. Knew too many people who told me their hands actually got colder in drygloves. Seen too many people have trouble with squeezes etc, as well. Personally, I feel life is too short to be *ing around with soda straws up my wrist seals and so forth.

Deep See makes GREAT wet gloves - never been cold in them. In fact, I've been known to undo the cinch for a moment because my hands were too HOT.

The point is very well taken however that it's particularly important to keep your extremities warm. To that end, don't forget to keep your feet toastie!

I've had some good experiences with the Viking hood as well. Therefore it came as a surprise to me that many users over here have had trouble with them breaking. Viking do not make their hoods themselves, so maybe origin of production can vary?

Never tried the DUI hoods, but I know for a fact that their undergarments are "best in class" when it comes to insulation AND bouyancy control. They are also the most expensive. You cannot wash them very often, since they do not machine wash as well as cheaper garments. -So you tend to smell a bit after a while...

Dry gloves? Well, don't wear them for the first few times when "it really counts". You do need a bit of getting used to putting them on correctly, and you may very well get very wet the first few times. I had 4 out of 5 of the first dives end pretty wet and cold. Since then I have 55 successful dry dives with them, so they work! I do not have a tube for the air. I pull my thin wool sweater trough the cuffs and into the gloves. Works well for air sirculation and heat exchange. If gloves are flooded you abort the dive... If deep & tech, you do the tube trick instead. -Or some other trick.

 

[mech]

Otterbay Wetsuits and Drysuits out of Monterey in my oppinion makes the best drysuit hoods.
Their custom 12mm is what most of my friends and I dive.

 

[jtrain01]

Let me try to answer everyones questions. I dove cape ann this weekend and the water temp was 46-47. I have been in colder water with my wetsuit in the begining of spring this year. I am not usually a cold person. Quite the opposite actually. My hood is definatly way too big and also it is a westuit hood with the huge bib on it. So the hood already has two strikes on it. I got the bare 200 because I was told that this thing will keep me EXTREMELY warm in the summer and warm enough in the winter. My LDS and DIVETANK.com both said this. I am 6'5" and 265 lbs so I dont normally get cold. I cant really add more air without adding more weight and I am already a floaty guy to begin with. I am definately getting a new hood and hopefully it will help.

 

[Soggy]

IMO, a 200g undergarment is insufficient for Cape Ann diving, especially as the water temperatures get cooler. It is completely insufficient for dives of any duration in the winter months when the water is in the mid 30s. Your LDS and divetank were both trying to sell you a piece of gear, which is probably why they told you it would keep you warm. If you are cold, you need something warmer...period.

Let me try to answer everyones questions. I dove cape ann this weekend and the water temp was 46-47. I have been in colder water with my wetsuit in the begining of spring this year. I am not usually a cold person. Quite the opposite actually. My hood is definatly way too big and also it is a westuit hood with the huge bib on it. So the hood already has two strikes on it. I got the bare 200 because I was told that this thing will keep me EXTREMELY warm in the summer and warm enough in the winter. My LDS and DIVETANK.com both said this. I am 6'5" and 265 lbs so I dont normally get cold. I cant really add more air without adding more weight and I am already a floaty guy to begin with. I am definately getting a new hood and hopefully it will help.

 

[doole]

In that kind of water, I find that not even a 400g quite cuts it, when the water is in the mid 30s. I would DEFINITELY add polypro undies.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

In that kind of water, I find that not even a 400g quite cuts it, when the water is in the mid 30s. I would DEFINITELY add polypro undies.

So you would, huh? Plastic fantastic!

Nope, no help in those. If long exposure to cold water, use a 400 DUi + ONE THIN LAYER of wool undies. Wool is the only thing for us here in Norway in the winter.

Says me, the old army sgt who had several Georgia National Guard companies on winter training in Northern Norway -MAN WAS THAT FUN!!! Yeayeayeayeah!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Let me try to answer everyones questions. I dove cape ann this weekend and the water temp was 46-47. I have been in colder water with my wetsuit in the begining of spring this year. I am not usually a cold person. Quite the opposite actually. My hood is definatly way too big and also it is a westuit hood with the huge bib on it. So the hood already has two strikes on it. I got the bare 200 because I was told that this thing will keep me EXTREMELY warm in the summer and warm enough in the winter. My LDS and DIVETANK.com both said this. I am 6'5" and 265 lbs so I dont normally get cold. I cant really add more air without adding more weight and I am already a floaty guy to begin with. I am definately getting a new hood and hopefully it will help.

Usually don't get cold is fine. However you are getting cold so why not get warmer undies rather than fight it. A well fitting hood is a great start but just because lds and dt said it should be enough why take that as gospel? Dt is a great outfit and I'm sure your local lds is also. But if everybody and his brother said it should be enough and I was still getting cold I'd get warmer undies. I'm into diving for enjoyment and yeah it's cool and kind of a tough guy sport diving cold water but it should still be enjoyable. I'd rather add a little weight and air than be miserable because I'm usually warm but now I'm freezing my cahoneys off. If that's the case the drysuit was a waste of money.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

So I'm not crazy :biggrin: I also often feel warmer in the wetsuit than the drysuit. I have Viking 400g thinsulate undies (I was repeatedly asked if I was SURE I wanted them that heavy) and wear a thin polypro layer under them on most of my dives, I've finally found a combination that keeps me relatively comfortable. One thing you may have to give up is the mental assumption of how warm you will be in the drysuit; when I stopped expecting it to deliver something it was never designed to do I felt much warmer. Dry gloves made a huge difference for me. I wear a pair of thinsulate winter shooting gloves (gotta love Bass Pro Shops!) under them instead of the regular liners; I don't use straws or anything to allow air to enter the glove but the thickness of my "liner" keeps my hands from being squeezed. I have an attached hood on my drysuit and the "beanie" keeps my head quite warm even though wet. You might try putting a close-fitting fleece hat under your wetsuit hood, I do that when I dive wet and though it looks silly it helps

Good luck in your quest for warmth. I was told "you trade lead for heat" in other words if you want to be really warm you have to be willing to add a little lead to counteract the extra positive buoyancy.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[doole]

So you would, huh? Plastic fantastic!

Nope, no help in those. If long exposure to cold water, use a 400 DUi + ONE THIN LAYER of wool undies. Wool is the only thing for us here in Norway in the winter.

Says me, the old army sgt who had several Georgia National Guard companies on winter training in Northern Norway -MAN WAS THAT FUN!!! Yeayeayeayeah!

Well, it's certainly true that Norwegians have as much to say about cold water as Canadians (or anyone else for that matter) but - wool?? I'd get so itchy that I'd probably kill my buddy. I think you'd want to put one of those back-scratchers with the plastic hand on the end inside the suit before you zip it up.

Anyway, the polypro DOES work fairly well. I'm speaking from gruesome experience. Does so without increasing bouyancy significantly, too. (Although once yer up to 30 pounds of lead, a little more isn't going to make an awful lot of difference.)

 

[doole]

Dry gloves made a huge difference for me.

I hear this often enough that I guess I'm going to get zipseals put on the ol' DUI. At least then I could go back to the old way if necessary. Anyone have an opinion on those things? (If that doesn't count as a hijack.)