Red Sea -- Dry or Wet?
- Thread starter Peter Guy
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I'm with the dry guys.. especially if you are thinking of doing a couple of tech dives.. 70mins at the moment would have me coming out blue. Although I am on the mini side, and don't have much body fat to keep me warm. I am still in a wetsuit with hood and many layers, but am doing a max of 30M depth and max of 60mins dive time. Having said that, I do often do three dives a day, so my core temperature drops as the day progresses.
To give you an idea, the water in Sharm at the moment is around 27ºC a little cooler in Tiran and Dahab. The air temp is still mid thirties though, so you warm up quickly. In Hurghada, you have a much more open sea, so whilst it is further south, it can be a little cooler too. And factor in the wind chill as the autumn breezes start to kick about.
Hope that helps a bit.
Enjoy your trip.
To give you an idea, the water in Sharm at the moment is around 27ºC a little cooler in Tiran and Dahab. The air temp is still mid thirties though, so you warm up quickly. In Hurghada, you have a much more open sea, so whilst it is further south, it can be a little cooler too. And factor in the wind chill as the autumn breezes start to kick about.
Hope that helps a bit.
Enjoy your trip.
Just spoke to a friend who has been on the simply the best last week.
Water 27-28 she was in a shorty doing 4 dives per day
Water 27-28 she was in a shorty doing 4 dives per day
Peter, I'm not familiar with the Fusion... does it have a PV?
hg frogman
Contributor
A drysuit for Red Sea diving in October is plain overkill (with water temperature ranging from 24 to 28°C at any depth) unless you've been living there (or in a warm country) for long and you get "tropicalized".
That's why (plus maybe the wanna-look-cool effect) some dive professionals wear stuff that would otherwise look ridiculous for the time of the year.
That's why (plus maybe the wanna-look-cool effect) some dive professionals wear stuff that would otherwise look ridiculous for the time of the year.
Well, to report . . . Water temperatures ranged from 77 to 81. Peter dove his 5 mil suit with a 2 mil hooded vest, and I dove dry on all the dives but one.
I absolutely LOVED diving dry, and would do it again. (In fact, after my experience on this trip, I may never dive in a wetsuit again.) The one time I dove wet, I didn't feel the least bit cold during the dive, but once I surfaced into the wind, I started to shiver, and it took quite a while to get warm. In the drysuit, I'd get out of the water just as comfortable as I went in (despite some leaking issues here and there).
I used my Fusion with a set of Lands End Polarfleece sweats under it. I wasn't overheated getting ready, and I was deliciously comfortable during and after the dive. And I did my tech dives inflating on backgas (with 21/35) and didn't get cold.
Peter was generally comfortable, but we hit some thermoclines (one of 7 degrees!) where he got pretty chilly. He says he'd probably dive wet again under the same conditions.
I absolutely LOVED diving dry, and would do it again. (In fact, after my experience on this trip, I may never dive in a wetsuit again.) The one time I dove wet, I didn't feel the least bit cold during the dive, but once I surfaced into the wind, I started to shiver, and it took quite a while to get warm. In the drysuit, I'd get out of the water just as comfortable as I went in (despite some leaking issues here and there).
I used my Fusion with a set of Lands End Polarfleece sweats under it. I wasn't overheated getting ready, and I was deliciously comfortable during and after the dive. And I did my tech dives inflating on backgas (with 21/35) and didn't get cold.
Peter was generally comfortable, but we hit some thermoclines (one of 7 degrees!) where he got pretty chilly. He says he'd probably dive wet again under the same conditions.
Horses for courses
from November onwards the wind chill and the reduced air temperature would shift the preference to dry
Did you actually enjoy the trip?
from November onwards the wind chill and the reduced air temperature would shift the preference to dry
Did you actually enjoy the trip?
Did we enjoy the trip? It was absolutely fabulous. I'm working on a trip report, but it's painfully long and I haven't even put the pictures in it yet. We saw hammerheads, swam with dolphins, scootered wrecks, saw sea fans bigger than I am . . . it was an amazing trip, and lived up to all my expectations and my hopes as well.
OP
Yes, we enjoyed the trip!
Most of the people on the boat were diving wet but a few were diving dry, including the lead Diver who used this trip to switch from wet to dry.
Fusion -- from White's Manufacturing in Canada -- is a "two piece" drysuit. There is an inner "baggy shell" that is waterproof and comes in 3 (?) sizes and thus works with many different types of body shapes and sizes. (Lynne uses my L/XL as her backup suit to her S/M suit and it works fine.) The suit has an outer shell of either Lycra (ours) or a thin neoprene. The shell is pretty stretchy (especially the Lycra) and thus molds the baggy inner shell to the body. Lynne has put a PV on hers, I'm still not mentally able to use a PV so I haven't put one on mine.
Most of the people on the boat were diving wet but a few were diving dry, including the lead Diver who used this trip to switch from wet to dry.
Fusion -- from White's Manufacturing in Canada -- is a "two piece" drysuit. There is an inner "baggy shell" that is waterproof and comes in 3 (?) sizes and thus works with many different types of body shapes and sizes. (Lynne uses my L/XL as her backup suit to her S/M suit and it works fine.) The suit has an outer shell of either Lycra (ours) or a thin neoprene. The shell is pretty stretchy (especially the Lycra) and thus molds the baggy inner shell to the body. Lynne has put a PV on hers, I'm still not mentally able to use a PV so I haven't put one on mine.
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