Wetsuit vs Drysuit while in Cold Water

[Panama Jones]

I have never dove a drysuit. I have been in cold water in a full 7mm, then a 7mm step in vest (for 14mm) and hoodiesn gloves, and booties.

I am a little cold at 40 - 45 degrees (but tolerable) and comfortable at 45 to 55 degrees.

There are two stories I hear all the time. Story 1: At depth, you are just as warm or warmer in you wetsuit, it's when you get out that hurts. Story 2: I'll be way warmer in a drysuit at depth.

I dive the cold mountain lakes of Canada. In know enough to peel off the minute I am out of the water and get into something warm till the next dive regardlesz of the temp outside.

Any thoughts? Should I stay or should I go (dry)?

 

[doctormike]

Not even any question, you will be much warmer in a dry suit than a wetsuit. You are very brave to dive water in the low 40s wet, and maybe you are just naturally a warm person! Story 1 is ridiculous, Story 2 is correct. I also think that a dry suit is a lot more comfortable than a heavy wetsuit.

There are several types of dry suits, but the common "shell" type suit has little intrinsic insulating capabilities - the warmth comes from your choice of undergarment which traps air and resists heat loss. I am on my second dry suit, a Santi E.Motion, which I love - very well designed, durable, great pockets, etc.... I use a Whites MK2 base for cold water, a Fourth Element Xerotherm top and bottom for warmer water, and both for very cold water.

Another advantage of a dry suit is that it can serve as redundant buoyancy in case of a wing failure. That's why I dive mine in the St. Lawrence river with temperatures in the mid-70s. I have a pretty heavy set of doubles and in fresh water it's nice to have that...

Two main downsides of a dry suit - the cost, and the need for training. A dry suit requires learning some (relatively straightforward) techniques, to avoid inversion and a feet first ascent, but this quickly becomes second nature.

 

[diverrex]

I just started diving dry in SoCal waters between 54 - 60 degrees. You are definitely warmer at depth when dry. I wouldn't call it warm, you can still feel some cold but it's a much more tolerable cold, almost like you could bear it indefinitely. Plus as you said once you get out dry it is much better than when wet in cold air.

---------- Post added May 1st, 2013 at 02:51 PM ----------

Not even any question, you will be much warmer in a dry suit than a wetsuit. You are very brave to dive water in the low 40s wet, and maybe you are just naturally a warm person! Story 1 is ridiculous, Story 2 is correct. I also think that a dry suit is a lot more comfortable than a heavy wetsuit.

There are several types of dry suits, but the common "shell" type suit has little intrinsic insulating capabilities - the warmth comes from your choice of undergarment which traps air and resists heat loss. I am on my second dry suit, a Santi E.Motion, which I love - very well designed, durable, great pockets, etc.... I use a Whites MK2 base for cold water, a Fourth Element Xerotherm top and bottom for warmer water, and both for very cold water.

Another advantage of a dry suit is that it can serve as redundant buoyancy in case of a wing failure. That's why I dive mine in the St. Lawrence river with temperatures in the mid-70s. I have a pretty heavy set of doubles and in fresh water it's nice to have that...

Two main downsides of a dry suit - the cost, and the need for training. A dry suit requires learning some (relatively straightforward) techniques, to avoid inversion and a feet first ascent, but this quickly becomes second nature.

At what temps are you still comfortable in only the fourth element xerotherm? I am wearing the fourth element artic for 55-60 water and wondering what to wear when our water gets to 65-70.

 

[doctormike]

At what temps are you still comfortable in only the fourth element xerotherm? I am wearing the fourth element artic for 55-60 water and wondering what to wear when our water gets to 65-70.

I haven't really pushed it - I bought the Xerotherm for use in relatively warm water. The first year I dove in the St. Lawrence I was diving single tank, so I just used my 5 mm wetsuit. The second year I was in doubles so I wanted to use my dry suite, but the Whites undergarment seemed to be too heavy, so I used the Xerotherm.

Fourth Element has a pretty cool page on their website that shows you what is appropriate for what temperature - go to Technical Dry Diving Gear from Fourth Element and click on "Undersuit Layering Guide".

 

[TSandM]

My husband dove wet here in Puget Sound for the first six months we were diving. It was summer and fall, and water temperatures were about 50. He concluded that, for the first dive, he was about as warm as the dry suit folks -- it was the subsequent dives where he had trouble rewarming.

I'm not sure he would have felt the same in water in the mid 40's. That winter, when the water got that cold, I HAD to give up diving wet gloves. I couldn't stand them any more.

 

[spectrum]

Panama Jones,

Based on your wetsuit observations you have a combination of a good wetsuit and good cold tolerance.

The comfort while on the surface, especially post dive goes to the drysuit whenever it's not calm, sunny and warm, no question about it.

At depth the reality is a little more complex. How comfortable you feel will be a function of how good/heavy your garment is and how you manage air in the suit. It's easier to be comfortable in a full foam neoprene suit but those suits dry slow and may need more weight. You can certainly be as warm or warmer than in a wetsuit if your dress accordingly. Insullation means trapped air and that means wearing weight. This is the tightrope drysuit divers walk.

However... do not lose sight of the fact that it is a drysuit. Being dry, that is haveing zero water infiltration drops your heat loss dramatically. You can dress moderately to where you do feel less than toasy but not really cold and end the dive much less fatigued. The reduced heat loss from water flushing is probably the biggest advanatage over diving wet.

If back to back dives in the cold are part of your game then avoid the neoprene suit on that count alone. The fabric faced foam will make for a lot of evaporative cooling when topside. Ultimately most divers end up with a laminate sort of laminate suit some of which carry very little external water and dry fast.

Pete

 

[scjoe]

It's really a matter of comfort. If you can do the number of dives you want in a day and are comfortable, then there should be no need to shell out the extra money for a drysuit. You'll hear a lot of people say once they tried a drysuit they would never go back to a wetsuit, but I know a number of people who have tried the switch and gone back to their wetsuit. They tend to be beach divers. I dive a custom 7 mil, skin in, farmer john with attached hood and I'm quite comfortable in So Cal year round, whether on a boat or beach. Of course, the water temps never get down to 40-45 degrees.

 

[spectrum]

scjoe,

When conditions permit, which is most of the summer up here diving wet if by far my choice. I'm comfortable and capable in my dry suit but nothing (to me) beats the sheer carefree simplicity of a wet suit. Any way I look at it, from ease of use, ease of donning, dealing with summer heat, maintenance cost/risk etc. When it's a tossup for underwater comfort the wet suit usually wins out. Many of the downsides of diving dry are not even on the radar screen when diving wet.

Consider the dry suit a tool. For the right dives in the right conditions it's indispensable but it's not the only game in town.

Pete

 

[bumcikaz]

In 41 degree water im fine with just mares 6.5mm semi dry isotherm wetsuit and hood, 7mm gloves and boots, will try to get in to dry suit in the fall to see the difference, the only place gets cold for me is my fingers sometimes

 

[Dhboner]

I made the decision to dive dry when it occurred to me that, while I was fairly warm for the 30-40 minutes of the dive, I would be in serious trouble if anything happened during the dive that delayed my exit from the water (long surface swim for instance). When you dive wet in really cold water (I would routinely do 30 minutes in 38 degrees in my 7mm) you have no margin of error. Do yourself a favour and go dry!