When is it "warm" enough?

[bubba105]

I had to put a sweater on to read this thread

 

[DeepBound]

Last winter and spring I did a lot of dives in 32F water with a two-peice 7mm wetsuit. The longest I could manage before getting too cold was about 40 minutes. By too cold I mean that my hands and feet would become completely numb/unusable. Cold tolerance varies a lot from person to person though. If you are thin and easily get cold, be very careful, because hypothermia could sneak up on you.

I should also add that people kept telling me I was nuts And I have a drysuit for that kind of diving now

Also, only do this if the air temperature is reasonable (above freezing) and plan to hop back into your car to warm up even before changing out of your wetsuit.

well guys its finally happened, after a long winter of staring at ice in the harbour the water is finally showing itself. i have been inpatiently waiting all winter to go diving again and i was wondering, when is it warm enough to start diving in nova scotia again? i wear a 7mm 2 piece with boots/gloves/hood. now i know it wont be warm enough to enjoy a nice long comfortable dive for a long while, but when is it considered to be warm enough to go for a quick one tank dive for a couple scallops without risking hypothermia by the time your face is underwater?

 

[sambolino44]

Now. Go now. You can get your scallops and not die. You may even be surprised that it's not as bad as you thought it would be. Take a bottle of warm water to put into your wetsuit right before you enter the water, and plan ahead to make it easy to get dry real quick when you get out.

I don't have many dives, but most of them have been in cold water, and I HATE being cold. You can do it. Let us know how it went.

 

[Allison Finch]

It's only warm enough when you finish unpacking your gear on the liveaboard, then jump into crystal clear 86 degree tropical water, IMHO.