Wetsuit for cold water diving

[VooDooGasMan]

Peter you made me check zky's post and is answer resumed that a commercial wet is more involved for sport diver is why he said go dry.

sayang honestly the O'Neil Jsuit has hood attached and back spine zip very little water comes in and its dry in torso areas after dives, its the cold weather out side that is killer, In the next month I will transition back to wet as It is more enjoyable dive for me, and I start off with no bc, kinda vintage diving.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

So devon I am leaving in a few minutes for a Deep Air Bounce dive and would hate to not know why it is safe for hot water post dive and dcs, In case I die as I have been told how unsafe it is.

 

[mathauck0814]

Warming your skin increases bloodflow to a part of your body. Bloodflow impacts gas transfer - seems pretty obvious to me why this would be a bad idea (at least in theory - you'd have to be pretty close to the edge of the gradient though), no?

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Math I say no< cause on other forums the it never went far cause nobody knows, yes if ya get in shower blood vessels change, but hot water in suit I do not think is a contributor, that's why I wonder where devon picked up his info, but no response.

after reading, way to many beers at happy hour, but, still devon please explain where you found info on this.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

VooDooGasMan and Peter_C,
The reason I am turning people to drysuits now for cold water is because:
A) My source for commercial grade custom wetsuits is becoming scarce.
B) Off the rack wetsuits suck for cold water because of inferior grade material that smashes down to nothing at depth and is basically junk after about 10 good deep dives.
C) Even if high grade super thick and warm commercial suits could easily be obtained there is a learning and fitness curve to making it tolerable to use.

What I mean in answer C is that dense commercial grade material is much harder to get in and out of, it is brutal to get geared up and into the water especially on the first dive and double diamond difficult if doing a shore dive.
There is a commitment in cardiovascular fitness and in muscle strength just to be able to make a dive happen wearing one.
Many urchin divers have to first break in the new john with the old jacket and then break in the new jacket with the old john before attempting to use both new components at the same time.
Once I break in my 1/2" I have to dive it exclusively or else I get out of shape for it and the suit returns back to it's unbroken in condition which means that I have to start all over again if I wait too long between dives. Or if I get busy with work and get off my exercise regimen it also becomes miserable to use.

So this is why I say just get a drysuit if you are going to dive super freezing water. You'll more than likely freeze your ass in a cheap 7mm wetsuit and then it's really no fun.
I personally love to dive wet so that is why I will do anything even go through trying to make a super duty commercial wetsuit work for regular recreational diving, but then I'm not normal either.

 

[DevonDiver]

I think it's quite self-explanatory why immersing a cold body in hot water after a dive is a bad idea re: DCS. I've had this same advice from several dive medics and chamber operators. Creating a drastic and/or localised change in the vascular system isn't a top idea when it comes to off-gassing.

VDGM: I suggest you query this on the Dive Medicine forum for a first-hand, rather than regurgitated, answer. I doubt you'd be anything other than cynical with anything I'd recommend.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Thanks devon My search never came up with a actual dcs hit from it, of course not to say you knew someone that did.

 

[johnboywalton]

That depends on what you mean by "cold."

Check out this list: Best Semi-Dry Suits

It seems the owners of the Top 3 all come back and say they wear these suits regularly in mid-40 degree water. That is cold in most people's books, albeit not freezing cold.