BENEATH THE SURFACE | By Erin Magee
With the right gear, you can stay warm when the water’s cold
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Posted - Friday, December 04, 2009 11:00 AM EST
A well-fitting suit can keep divers comfortable when the water is cooler than in summer.
It was mid-February and I was getting suited up to go diving. I wasn’t diving in Florida, mind you. I was diving in a rock quarry in Virginia where the water was probably in the high 40s. I was also a fairly new diver with only around 30 dives under my belt so I was ready to get in the water any which way was possible.
So I put on my sweatpants and sweatshirt, a second set of sweats and wool socks, all of which I wore underneath my drysuit undergarment, a bulky fleece-lined garment that looks an awful lot like a snowmobile suit. Then I put on my drysuit, took off my drysuit since I’d forgotten to pull up the suspenders on the inside of the suit, put it on again and started to close all of my dry zippers. I pulled on my 5-milimeter hood and gloves, then gathered up the rest of my gear to head down to the water edge. I looked and felt an awful lot like Ralphie’s marshmallow-like little brother from “A Christmas Story” going outside to play in the snow, teetering around because I couldn’t fully bend my knees or lower my arms.
But I was determined to get in the water and after my 30-minute dive I’d only barely started to shiver. If you’ve met me you know that I’m no fan of cold and wear jackets when it drops to 75 degrees outside.
But with a good amount of determination and the right amount of exposure protection, even I, the biggest wimp ever to dive cold water, was able to make that dive.
It just goes to show that the cooler seasons don’t have to signal the end of diving, especially down here in South Florida. Even if you’re done eating Turkey and are starting to think about buying a Christmas tree, you can still feed your diving habit. They key is to find ways to stay warm in whatever diving environment you’ll be giant-striding into.
Most divers think of cold water and thick, stiff wetsuits in the same sentence, but before you even think about starting to build layers of neoprene upon one another it’s important to make sure you’re using a suit that fits.
Worth every penny
When I worked as a scuba instructor, I was always trying to save money by buying a cheap suit that never really fit right, but the first one you get that actually fits your body is worth every extra penny you put into it. If suits don’t fit properly they will flush, meaning that water will move easily into and out of the suit. Wetsuits only work if the water pretty much stays inside the suit once it gets in. If it’s flushing it doesn’t matter if it’s a 1-mm or a 7-mm suit. It just won’t keep you warm.
If you’re lucky enough to fit a stock size suit great, but many people don’t and just cope with a suit that they can get on, but is too loose in one spot and too tight in another. For instance, I’ve got a longer torso and suits were always too short for me, causing them to flush constantly at the back zipper.
Custom suits are a great solution to this problem. And they make great holiday gifts! Though if you’re getting someone a custom suit it’s pretty hard to surprise them with it, unless you can find a good excuse to follow them around with a measuring tape.
But if your suit fits well and still isn’t doing its job, it might be time to consider its age. As neoprene gets used and ages it will get stiffer and thinner. The bubbles inside the neoprene that are meant to keep you warm will get crushed, which can make a 3-mm or 5-mm suit into about a 1-mm suit. So even if your 10-year-old suit has “5mm” written on the sleeve, it could be much thinner. A single suit won’t last your entire diving career and if you’ve had it a few years, it might be time to let it retire.
And if all else fails, you can always think back to Mom’s advice and wear the scuba version of a nice warm winter hat, the diving hood. Most of your body heat escapes through your head and even a thin hood makes a big difference. Many divers don’t like hoods because they restrict head movement, but if they fit right, it shouldn’t restrict very much.
So when you’re at home, prepping for the holidays and wishing it was 90 degrees and sunny, just remember that with the right amount of neoprene, you can forget that it’s winter for a little while and get out to do some diving.
