Thermals for diving in warmish water in a drysuit

[BlueTrin]

i am going to the Canaries, it will be 18 to 20 degrees Celsius (64 -68 Fahrenheit)

Ideally I would have brought a 7mm but I have only a trilam drysuit and a 5mm so I’ll have to bring the drysuit.

I only have thermals for cold water, what should I wear for these temperatures under my drysuit.

Edit: mentioned that my drysuit is trilam

 

[Storker]

I dived in Tenerife almost two years ago. February (damn how time flies!). Some 18-19 degrees in the water. We wore rental one-piece 5mm suits, no hood. Didn't miss my drysuit one second. And it was rather nice to dive wet for a change. After all, there's a bit more task loading when you dive dry.

I know that different people have different tolerances for cold water, so I'm just trying to provide one single data point. IJS it isn't certain that you'll need your DS.

 

[BoltSnap]

Some 18-19 degrees

It is around 18 degrees right now in the Med. in Libya. We can get away with a 5mm in shallow short one dive in a day but any deeper, longer or more dives will be too cold and the diver will get muscle cramps leading to major issues underwater. I wouldn't advise using 5mm in these temperature especially in multi-dive/multi-day scenarios and going deeper than 10 meters. I'd use 7mm with hood and 3mm gloves. Drysuit and semi-dry will be best. Thermal protection under drysuit required will depend on type of drysuit, neoprene vs. trilaminate, but generally light thermal protection as along as you aren't technical diving requiring long deco stops.

 

[Storker]

It is around 18 degrees right now in the Med. in Libya. We can get away with a 5mm in shallow short one dive in a day but any deeper, longer or more dives will be too cold and the diver will get muscle cramps leader to major issues under water.

We did two dives each day. Morning dive, lunch onshore (a mite chilly, but not disturbingly so), and then an after-lunch dive. Some 45-60 minutes each. No cramp issues, nothing indicating even a whiff of hypothermia. And my PDC logs bottom temps. Those numbers were bottom, not surface.

But as I said, different people have different cold tolerance, and I just wanted to provide one single data point.

 

[BlueTrin]

It is around 18 degrees right now in the Med. in Libya. We can get away with a 5mm in shallow short one dive in a day but any deeper, longer or more dives will be too cold and the diver will get muscle cramps leader to major issues under water. I wouldn't advise using 5mm in these temperature especially in multi-dive/multi-day scenarios and going deeper than 10 meters. I'd use 7mm with hood and 3mm gloves. Drysuit and semi-dry will be best. Thermal protection under drysuit required will depend on type of drysuit, neoprene vs. trilaminate, but generally light thermal protection as along as you aren't technical diving requiring long deco staps.

So I never used light thermals, should I just buy a fleece from an outdoor shop and wear some ski baselayer underneath ?

 

[BlueTrin]

We did two dives each day. Morning dive, lunch onshore (a mite chilly, but not disturbingly so), and then an after-lunch dive. Some 45-60 minutes each. No cramp issues, nothing indicating even a whiff of hypothermia. And my PDC logs bottom temps. Those numbers were bottom, not surface.

But as I said, different people have different cold tolerance, and I just wanted to provide one single data point.

Storker, I think you have some mighty Viking ancestry ? I think you mentioned that you were diving in a northern country

That might explain your resistance to colder temps

Back on topic, I thought I would take the week to dive more in drysuit as well as I have only 4 dives in drysuit so far and I need more drysuit experience.

 

[Storker]

So I never used light thermals, should I just buy a fleece from an outdoor shop and wear some ski baselayer underneath ?

That's impossible to answer not knowing what kind of DS you're using. Shell (trilam or crushed neoprene) or neo?

 

[BlueTrin]

That's impossible to answer not knowing what kind of DS you're using. Shell (trilam or crushed neoprene) or neo?

Trilam sorry

 

[Storker]

Storker, I think you have some mighty Viking ancestry ? I think you mentioned that you were diving in a northern country

That might explain your resistance to colder temps I thought I would take the week to dive more in drysuit as well as I have only 4 dives in drysuit so far

That's flattering, but the other folks on the boat were Brits. And they didn't seem particularly bothered either.

 

[BlueTrin]

That's flattering, but the other folks on the boat were Brits. And they didn't seem particularly bothered either.

Brits are tough guys too.

I am a French guy living in the UK (maybe not for long with Brexit ), so I ain’t as tough as you guys