Question Newbie: Worried about water temperature
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always interesting diving here in early summer when the surface temp is 65ish. then at almost 30 feet it drops to 50ish. good lesson for the students though. i try to get them to hover just above the themrocline and reach a hand down into it to fell the drastic difference. if they are really getting good control of buoyancy they can slowly drop into it and see the two layers of water. i am getting old now. i prefer to dress lighter and stay above the thermocline.
Good luck with your class; diving is a whole new world!
When I started diving I started in a 7mm rental the shop gave me and got heat exhaustion, then a shorty that was perfect (the rest of the class was wearing 7's), and then I bought a 3mm thinking that it would keep me warm anywhere. You already have a better understanding of how thermal protection works than I did then.
Staying warm underwater without overheating is a complex dance of your body's innate hot and cold tolerance, your energy level for a particular dive, the heat you generate during the dive, suit thickness, suit fit, suit design and quality, and thermal accessories like gloves, boots, hoods, skins, vests, and other layering accessories. Increased thermal protection is also increased work for the diver; a 3mm is fairly easy to get on and off and may only require a few pounds of lead to offset, whereas a 7mm is a pain to put on and needs a lot more lead to sink. But you need to wear what you need to keep warm.
Right now you need to focus on learning your body's thermal tolerance. I would suggest contacting your instructor or the dive shop and asking them what the temps you will be diving in are likely to be and what suits will be available for the class. You could also post your temp experience here for comment. For example, I prefer a swimsuit down to the upper 60's before I go to a 3mm. Other people are in their 3mm's in the 80's.
When I started diving I started in a 7mm rental the shop gave me and got heat exhaustion, then a shorty that was perfect (the rest of the class was wearing 7's), and then I bought a 3mm thinking that it would keep me warm anywhere. You already have a better understanding of how thermal protection works than I did then.
Staying warm underwater without overheating is a complex dance of your body's innate hot and cold tolerance, your energy level for a particular dive, the heat you generate during the dive, suit thickness, suit fit, suit design and quality, and thermal accessories like gloves, boots, hoods, skins, vests, and other layering accessories. Increased thermal protection is also increased work for the diver; a 3mm is fairly easy to get on and off and may only require a few pounds of lead to offset, whereas a 7mm is a pain to put on and needs a lot more lead to sink. But you need to wear what you need to keep warm.
Right now you need to focus on learning your body's thermal tolerance. I would suggest contacting your instructor or the dive shop and asking them what the temps you will be diving in are likely to be and what suits will be available for the class. You could also post your temp experience here for comment. For example, I prefer a swimsuit down to the upper 60's before I go to a 3mm. Other people are in their 3mm's in the 80's.
Great post. This is a clear example of how cold tolerance varies immensely. If I were in a swimsuit in the temps @Bierstadt prefers I would be hypothermic in 10 minutes! I'm in a 7mm in the low 70s, 5mm in the mid 70s to low 80s, and don't move to my 3mm until the water is 83+. I'm never in a swimsuit when diving, ever. Everyone is different and learning what works for you really does take trial and error unfortunately.
ChiDiver77
Registered
Hi
I do a fair amount of diving in the keys and looked at my logs for the last 20 or so spring dives in the Keys in 21 and 22. Generally, my logs would say that there is very little temp variance or thermocline.
The coldest late spring temp I registered was in early June 21 at 118 ft. Surface temp was 82.4 and min temp was 77. In my dives less than 100 ft (27 - 70 ft) the temp barely changed. Average across 15 dives was 82.4 with min of 80.6.
My winter (Jan and Feb) dives avg 75 surface, 73 at depth with a low 69.8 at 81 ft.
So..as to what to wear to keep warm - looks like some good suggestions above. As for temp variation and thermocline - I would say not to worry too much about it.
I do a fair amount of diving in the keys and looked at my logs for the last 20 or so spring dives in the Keys in 21 and 22. Generally, my logs would say that there is very little temp variance or thermocline.
The coldest late spring temp I registered was in early June 21 at 118 ft. Surface temp was 82.4 and min temp was 77. In my dives less than 100 ft (27 - 70 ft) the temp barely changed. Average across 15 dives was 82.4 with min of 80.6.
My winter (Jan and Feb) dives avg 75 surface, 73 at depth with a low 69.8 at 81 ft.
So..as to what to wear to keep warm - looks like some good suggestions above. As for temp variation and thermocline - I would say not to worry too much about it.
Belzelbub
Contributor
Great post and some real good points.
The activity level (heat generated during the dive) of a particular dive is a great point, and often a bit of an unknown. The coldest I've ever been during a dive was a spring dive in FL. FL springs stay fairly constant at around 72F. Might fluctuate by a couple of degrees, but that's about it. On this particular dive the water temp was 71. I was wearing the same wetsuit I've worn in water that was in the low 60s. On those previous dives, I was fine. This one, I was freezing.
Main difference was activity level. On this spring dive, I was accompanying my daughter on her checkout dive. So, while she was doing her skill checks, I was just kind of hanging around. RMV was much less than typical for back then, but I was freezing. For the next day, I grabbed a 1mm rashguard to wear as well. That was much better.
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Yes. But big factor is where you live. Your body acclimates to the local climate. In winter on the FL panhandle you see locals often bundled up while northern snowbirds are in T shirts.
Great post. This is a clear example of how cold tolerance varies immensely. If I were in a swimsuit in the temps @Bierstadt prefers I would be hypothermic in 10 minutes! I'm in a 7mm in the low 70s, 5mm in the mid 70s to low 80s, and don't move to my 3mm until the water is 83+. I'm never in a swimsuit when diving, ever. Everyone is different and learning what works for you really does take trial and error unfortunately.
Growing up in NYC area I hated cold water. Left there age 23. After a few years in subarctic Canada I was maybe comfortable in water 20 degrees F colder than before. Then moving to Nova Scotia, with a much warmer climate, I gradually started getting colder diving over the years. Some say it's age, and maybe to a small extent being 68, but then why couldn't I tolerate cold in NY at age 23?
Same is true of heat tolerance. It boggles my mind that anyone could get hot underwater, no matter how thick their wetsuit, but lots of folks swear it's true. I could probably wear my 7mm in a hot tub.
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