We are planning to dive Key Largo this weekend. The water temp down there is running between 74 and 78 degrees. I usually don't need a suit when I've surfed in that temperature range, but I've only dove in cold water once, it was about 64 degrees and I was in a long sleeve spring suit (2mm torso/1mm legs and arms). Will I be able to get by without using a suit for this coming up trip, or should I be concerned about hypothermia at that water temp?
Water temps and spring suits...
- Thread starter junior
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
jenmichigan
Guest
- Messages
- 108
- Reaction score
- 0
74-78 degrees. Ahhhhhh bath water. lol. When I dive in Florida I only where a skin or at the most a thermal skin. But I have Michigan diving blood too. It really depends on how you tolerate the temps and how long you will be in the water.
Have a nice time on your trip!
Jennifer,
http://www.MichiganShipwrecks.com
Have a nice time on your trip!
Jennifer,
http://www.MichiganShipwrecks.com
Hi Junior,
Take the wetsuit, unless you are use to cold temps that temp is marginal for most of us with no wetsuit. You might get away with one dive with no suit but the effect of cold is cumulative and if you are doing several dives over several days the cold starts to get to you. A little to warm is easy to handle, too cold is a bummer so if given the option, why take the chance of being cold. I find that even in 80+ water, I start to get cold on multiple dives. Guess I am a wimp warm water diver, Jennifer...haha
Take the wetsuit, unless you are use to cold temps that temp is marginal for most of us with no wetsuit. You might get away with one dive with no suit but the effect of cold is cumulative and if you are doing several dives over several days the cold starts to get to you. A little to warm is easy to handle, too cold is a bummer so if given the option, why take the chance of being cold. I find that even in 80+ water, I start to get cold on multiple dives. Guess I am a wimp warm water diver, Jennifer...haha
By all means - take the wet suit and probably the skins, for a choice. The effects of hypothermia are insidious and are best prevented than treated.
Hypothermia is a lowered body temperature less than 95 degrees F. Cold water near-drowning is considered a submersion accident often leading to unconsciousness or coma in water temperatures of 70 degrees F or less. A long submersion time is considered 4 to 6 minutes or greater.
Why is this important to scuba divers?
Decompression sickness or air embolism often lead to immersion hypothermia and cold water near-drowning as the natural consequences of these diving accidents.
Hypothermia may be mild, moderate, or severe. The presentation may range from shivering and piloerection ("goosebumps"), to profound confusion, irreversible coma and death. Significant hypothermia begins at temperatures of 95 degrees F and below. The lowering of the body temperature occurs as the body is robbed of heat by the surroundings. Water conducts body heat away up to 26 times faster than air of the same temperature. Normal body functions slow down with decreasing heart rate, decreasing respiratory and metabolic rate. Thinking is impaired and speech becomes confused. Reflexes are slowed and muscles become stiff and unusable. Then dangerous life-threatening heart rhythms develop which are hard to reverse.
If you are interested in more information about hypothermia, here are some web sites for references;
http://www.scuba-doc.com/hypoth.htm
http://www.scuba-doc.com/coldjolie.html
http://www.suboceansafety.org/Articles/hypother.htm
http://www.gvsu.edu/~dweller/lifeline/Bailey.htm
http://www.arf.fsu.edu
http://www.akcache.com/akcache/hypo1.html
http://www.adventuresports.com/asap/ski/skihypo.htm
http://www.diverescueintl.com/nondiving.html
http://www.islandnet.com./sarbc/hypo.html
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/advisory/WATER_SAFETY/hypo_therm.html
Hypothermia is a lowered body temperature less than 95 degrees F. Cold water near-drowning is considered a submersion accident often leading to unconsciousness or coma in water temperatures of 70 degrees F or less. A long submersion time is considered 4 to 6 minutes or greater.
Why is this important to scuba divers?
Decompression sickness or air embolism often lead to immersion hypothermia and cold water near-drowning as the natural consequences of these diving accidents.
Hypothermia may be mild, moderate, or severe. The presentation may range from shivering and piloerection ("goosebumps"), to profound confusion, irreversible coma and death. Significant hypothermia begins at temperatures of 95 degrees F and below. The lowering of the body temperature occurs as the body is robbed of heat by the surroundings. Water conducts body heat away up to 26 times faster than air of the same temperature. Normal body functions slow down with decreasing heart rate, decreasing respiratory and metabolic rate. Thinking is impaired and speech becomes confused. Reflexes are slowed and muscles become stiff and unusable. Then dangerous life-threatening heart rhythms develop which are hard to reverse.
If you are interested in more information about hypothermia, here are some web sites for references;
http://www.scuba-doc.com/hypoth.htm
http://www.scuba-doc.com/coldjolie.html
http://www.suboceansafety.org/Articles/hypother.htm
http://www.gvsu.edu/~dweller/lifeline/Bailey.htm
http://www.arf.fsu.edu
http://www.akcache.com/akcache/hypo1.html
http://www.adventuresports.com/asap/ski/skihypo.htm
http://www.diverescueintl.com/nondiving.html
http://www.islandnet.com./sarbc/hypo.html
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/advisory/WATER_SAFETY/hypo_therm.html
jenmichigan
Guest
- Messages
- 108
- Reaction score
- 0
Herman,
You're not a warm water wimp. I am just so used to 50 degree water that when I get anywhere near 75 degree water I get happy. It feels so nice in comparison.
Jennifer
My personal temperature/suit limits follow. These are based on three dives a day and warm (above 75F) air.
Water temp...Exposure suit
85+..........Bathing suit (skin if there are jellyfish)
80-85........0.5 mil
75-80........3 mil
70-75........5 mil or 3 mil with hooded vest
65-70........5 mil with hooded vest
below 65.....dry suit
If I'm only diving once a day, or twice a day and it's really warm out, I can comfortably drop the temperatures about 5 degrees.
Rick
Water temp...Exposure suit
85+..........Bathing suit (skin if there are jellyfish)
80-85........0.5 mil
75-80........3 mil
70-75........5 mil or 3 mil with hooded vest
65-70........5 mil with hooded vest
below 65.....dry suit
If I'm only diving once a day, or twice a day and it's really warm out, I can comfortably drop the temperatures about 5 degrees.
Rick
Your exposure protection should be gear to the amount of exposure you plan on subjecting yourself to at the coldest part of the dive. 99% of the time, that's going to happen at the deepest portion of your dive. So, if you plan on diving well into the thermocline range then, don't forget that with each exhalation, you lose some of your core body temperature...
Having said that, just about everybody has a different tolerance to cold as well. I happen to be happy as can be in cold water, and my idea of cold is in the 50's.... Yeah I know what your thinking... therapy huh... sorry but I'm just used to it. Though I'm a San Diego diver, I happen to like to play below thermoclines... the second ones that is... hehe
Anyway, just take your long sleeve wetsuit with you and use it on your first dive. If you get warm, you could always unzip it some and let the water flush through.
Enjoy
wish I was in your shoes...
Mario
Having said that, just about everybody has a different tolerance to cold as well. I happen to be happy as can be in cold water, and my idea of cold is in the 50's.... Yeah I know what your thinking... therapy huh... sorry but I'm just used to it. Though I'm a San Diego diver, I happen to like to play below thermoclines... the second ones that is... hehe
Anyway, just take your long sleeve wetsuit with you and use it on your first dive. If you get warm, you could always unzip it some and let the water flush through.
Enjoy
wish I was in your shoes...Mario
Similar threads
