No more cold hands & feet !!!

[kathydee]

My friends are right ;-). They usually are! So I just want to pass on the great advice .

Even with a dry suit I was still freezing! After 50 minute dives my feet were so numb I couldn't feel the ground when I walked out of the water & my fingers were so stiff I had difficulty using them.

I swapped to dry gloves, swapped to thicker socks, wore multiple layers of socks, bought a hi-loft undergarment but, after 50 minute dives, my feet and fingers were still really cold.

Finally, I listened to friends and ordered an Otter Bay 12m custom hood & dove it today.

My head was unbelievably warm and finally -my fingers & toes are toasty!! . And, I only needed to add 2lb of lead - but it's so worth it!!

Ps. Everyone complains about how tight Otter Bay cuts the jaw of the hood. So when they were measuring my head - I told them I had TMJ & couldn't stand a tight jaw - it worked great & the jaw fits fine – no Otter Bay Helmet lockjaw

Wetsuits


http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/exposure-suits/216794-otter-bay-12mm-hood-review.html

 

[rdjiv]

yay for body-circulation induced heating

 

[mikeguerrero]

Wow,

I'm seriously thinking about getting the Otterbay helmet. One thing though, I don't ever get cold in my drysuit, seriously I feel cool but not cold.

Wonder if the Otter helmet would just make my dives seem like the tropics? If that's the case, sign me up!!!

I am so happy for you Kathy, I couldn't understand why you were getting so cold in your drysuit. Can hardly believe, that just a hood can make that difference. I guess it's right what they taught us in Open Water about the head losing the greatest amount of heat.

Now imagine if you started injecting Argon into your suit? What would happen then? :shocked2:

I'm also thinking, could it be that Cricket at Otterbay is secretly injecting Argon into the closed cell neoprene for stellar insulation.

 

[mikemill]

Congrats. I'm pretty sure that thing counts as ballistic protection too...

 

[TSandM]

Hmmm. My friends have been telling me for years to do this, and I haven't because my 7/5 fits me well. Maybe I should just pull the trigger. (Although adding two MORE pounds of weight sounds dreadful.) There's not much else I can do -- already in drysuit with Pillsbury Doughboy undergarments, dry gloves, and argon . . .

 

[rhlee]

Hmmm. My friends have been telling me for years to do this, and I haven't because my 7/5 fits me well. Maybe I should just pull the trigger. (Although adding two MORE pounds of weight sounds dreadful.) There's not much else I can do -- already in drysuit with Pillsbury Doughboy undergarments, dry gloves, and argon . . .

Look at it this way; it's 2lbs of buoyancy you can add to your head, and 2lbs of ballast to add down low... It's like the secret head-down trim-fixer

 

[Thalassamania]

My friends are right ;-). They usually are! So I just want to pass on the great advice .

Even with a dry suit I was still freezing! After 50 minute dives my feet were so numb I couldn't feel the ground when I walked out of the water & my fingers were so stiff I had difficulty using them.

I swapped to dry gloves, swapped to thicker socks, wore multiple layers of socks, bought a hi-loft undergarment but, after 50 minute dives, my feet and fingers were still really cold.

Finally, I listened to friends and ordered an Otter Bay 12m custom hood & dove it today.

My head was unbelievably warm and finally -my fingers & toes are toasty!! . And, I only needed to add 2lb of lead - but it's so worth it!!

Ps. Everyone complains about how tight Otter Bay cuts the jaw of the hood. So when they were measuring my head - I told them I had TMJ & couldn't stand a tight jaw - it worked great & the jaw fits fine – no Otter Bay Helmet lockjaw

Wetsuits


http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/exposure-suits/216794-otter-bay-12mm-hood-review.html

Glad someone turned you on to keeping your head toasty. That's why I use a dry hood (an even better solution, I think).

 

[Peter_C]

Hmmm. My friends have been telling me for years to do this, and I haven't because my 7/5 fits me well. Maybe I should just pull the trigger. (Although adding two MORE pounds of weight sounds dreadful.) There's not much else I can do -- already in drysuit with Pillsbury Doughboy undergarments, dry gloves, and argon . . .

You're not using an Otter Bay :shocked2:

Dang even Rick jumped on the bandwagon and swears by one, and said "This hood really rocks! I ordered it based on a recommendation from Peter C, TSandM, Camerone, dannobee, limeyx, and hoyden." Now how did your name get into the mix if you do not own one?
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/exposure-suits/216794-otter-bay-12mm-hood-review.html

 

[elan]

Did your previous hood fit you well ? I find that I get cold less than my friends who dive the zipping hoods + latex seal. I have neoprene seal + henderson gold core hood which fit's very well and seals nice against the neck seal. 60mins yesterday in 44F water and still felt no trace of cold. In 50F we stayed for 2 hours an were getting a bit chilly at the end.

But yeah good hood makes a lot of difference.

 

[elan]

Can hardly believe, that just a hood can make that difference. I guess it's right what they taught us in Open Water about the head losing the greatest amount of heat.

To believe it just make a dive without a hood