So, how cold is it... really?

[nwbobber]

At first I don't think you will have a problem with your wetsuit. Make sure it fits, and you will be comfortable on dives to 60 feet or so. The suit compresses the deeper you go and it can get chilly deeper than that. All summer you will be fine. Save your money though, cause in the winter you'll be wanting to make the switch. Forget the days in the low thirties in a wetsuit. It's OK suiting up and OK in the water, but once you get out in that wind, it's not fun believe me. 2nd dive? Forget it. Not me anyway.

As for renting, if you can get a good fit in a used wetsuit, and you figure you will use it all this summer you will probably be money ahead to buy used. Get one that fits really well, and you can get your bouyancy nailed, rather than having to try something different because you rent from another shop or something. Discount scuba usually has an assortment of used suits you can try on to get an idea. I bought my first wetsuit there for 200 bucks, it served me well, and I hope I never have to dive wet here again.

[Alexitt]

I did my OW cert in January in a wetsuit @ Edmonds and it's not that bad especially if your on a budget... I'm still using it today, though I'm looking at going dry soon. I use a 2 pc. 7mm farmer john so that I have the double layer around my core... Like others have said the only real shock is when you put your face in the water and you'll get that wet or dry... Warm gloves and boots are more important than wet or dry because your extremities are what's going to get cold first... Oh, and a couple gallon jugs of nice hot water to pour over yourself during the SI... These drysuit divers don't know what they're missing...

[Berritt]

Thank you all!!

I went down to Point Defiance today with my kids and stuck my hand in the water hoping it wouldn't really be as cold as I remembered it being, but yep. It is.

Can I ask... what temperature will a wet suit make the water feel? I used to swim in the ocean in california as a kid. I think it's about 65 degrees? It's cold getting in, but after a bit, it's nothing. Will the wetsuit make it feel maybe like that?

[Dusty2]

Being in a wet suit will be about the same. You'll get a flush of cold when you first hit the water but then you'll warm up. How ever the longer you stay in the water the colder you will get. It's not unbearable as long as you warm up a bit in between dives. Your coming into the warmer months now so you shouldn't have too much trouble. If the sun is out you will warm quite fast in all black and soon be wishing you were back in the water. Don't let it freak you out. You'll love it once you get in there and start sight seeing.

[WylerBear]

I did over 200 dives in a wetsuit before going dry and it is tolerable. Even doing 2 or 3 dives is tolerable if you follow some of the good advice that was given here. What I found was there was the first shock of the cold, then warmed up and I was fine until about 10 minutes into the dive where I usually said to myself, "Dang, it's cold down here." Then I'd see something interesting and forget about it until 40 minutes or so into the dive at which point I'd feel the cold again until the rest of the dive unless something else interesting showed up. I think you'll do fine if you go into it with the right attitude, let yourself get distracted by all the cool stuff, and stay warm on the surface intervals.
Good luck and welcome to the club!

[ljjames]

yes, it will make it feel like that you'll be amazed at how warm the water that is inside the wetsuit gets...

Thank you all!!

I went down to Point Defiance today with my kids and stuck my hand in the water hoping it wouldn't really be as cold as I remembered it being, but yep. It is.

Can I ask... what temperature will a wet suit make the water feel? I used to swim in the ocean in california as a kid. I think it's about 65 degrees? It's cold getting in, but after a bit, it's nothing. Will the wetsuit make it feel maybe like that?

[Joshua Smith]

Thank you all!!

I went down to Point Defiance today with my kids and stuck my hand in the water hoping it wouldn't really be as cold as I remembered it being, but yep. It is.

Can I ask... what temperature will a wet suit make the water feel? I used to swim in the ocean in california as a kid. I think it's about 65 degrees? It's cold getting in, but after a bit, it's nothing. Will the wetsuit make it feel maybe like that?

Hey, look- the water here IS cold. But it's manageable. I took OW with my wife, who is one of the least cold-tollerant people on earth. If she could do 45 minutes in the water here, in a wetsuit, in March, anybody can. Just relax and try not to worry too much. You'll be fine.

[Joe Blow]

I use a wetsuit, and think it's just fine. When I bought my wetsuit I just made sure i was getting something that would work well in cold water. I went with the Tilos Titanium suit. http://tilos.com/cart/index.php?main_pa ... cts_id=284

It's not shown there, but it came with an extra layer shorty type suit that goes over the top. I paid $240 for it new. The suit keeps me plenty warm too. Sure the water is a bit chilly when you first step into it, but that goes away and then you warm up when you start moving around pretty quickly. There is no real reason to automatically assume you will be cold. I thought i was going to be cold in this suit because I typically crank up the heat at home. I actually found myself flushing my suit in 50F water. Hood Canal in February. So I hope this just goes to show ya that you don't have to spend $500 or more to be warm. I bought my suit at Salem Scuba in Salem, OR, so it might be worth the drive to save yourself a few hundred bucks if no local shops will match or beat the price.


On the contrary I'll be diving the White's Fusion this weekend. I intend on buying a dry suit, as i think most people agree it's the way to go. I just wanted to try it before I buy it, and thought this was a great opportunity to do so. $75 for a two tank boat dive and a free White's Fusion for the day. Unbeatable deal. So if you want to try out one of these suits look around your local area and find out when the White's Fusion Days event will be happening.

[Joe Blow]

It appears they will be doing this up in Washington next weekend.


http://whitesdiving.com/sport-diving/ev ... er-sports/

[Jaksonbrown]

Dont spend money twice... take it from me.. get what you need the first time. Buy a drysuit, if your going to dive here, you will end up buying one anyway sooner or later. You dont have to spend a fortune either. Look up Typhoon drysuits online. You can get them new for less than 600 bucks. My wife and I bought 2 of them over a year ago and they are still going strong. Dont buy into the idea that you have to spend big bucks at the dive shops on new gear.

[Rooinater]

Whether you will be warm our not has a lot to do with how warm of a person you are or how cold of a person you are. I'm a very warm blooded person, and only dove a wetsuit in the sound once while I was waiting for my new drysuit to arrive. I was still warm after a 40 minute dive. You do get cold water drafts down the suit from time to time, but my body had no problem warming the suit back up. As for how cold the water is in the puget sound... Since I started diving again and am fairly new to diving in the sound, the temperature has ranged from 47 to 49 degrees... I'd take your classes in a farmer john wetsuit, and save up to buy a used or new drysuit.

[LCF]

From watching Peter's students, I'd say you won't feel the cold too much when you get in the water, and you probably won't get too cold DURING the dive, unless you have to sit still for some time, waiting for other students. You will rapidly get cold once you get out. It's key to have a strategy for getting warm BETWEEN the dives. That can include having a jug of hot water to pour down your wetsuit, and a heavy, windproof coat to wrap up in. Have something to put on your head. Be sure to drink something hot between the dives. The second dive is going to be colder, but after that one, change as quickly as you can into heavy, warm, dry, windproof clothing, and again, cover your head.

My husband dove wet for the first few months we were diving here, and he maintains adamantly that there is no real difference between dry and wet for the first dive. It's the second one.

[nwbobber]

I saw Cindy (Girdiver) at cove 2 today, and she was diving in a semi-dry suit- a wet suit designed to limit the amount of water moving in and out of it. she said she dives all summer in that, and prefers it, then switches to a drysuit in winter. I also have a semi dry suit and I really liked it in the warmer months, The second time I dove when the air temp was in the twenties I decided I had to have a dry suit. I could have avoided diving on days that cold, but when the currents are right, you just have to go...

[H20doctor]

I dove wet for 2 years ... In a 2 piece thick Neoprimage Black sexy suit ... It was untill I did a dive at cove 2 during the winter and it was raining Hard .. Outside temp was 42 Deg.. And during my SI I froze my butt off.. Hot water didn't help at all.. I gave that suit to Casey B for free... Get a Dry suit ..

[BASSMAN]

Diving wet? Hot water is your friend.
Diving Dry? Hot water is good for hood soup!

Just go buy a large cooler to fill with hot water.
It works well for wet suit diving, dry suit diving and rinsing of the gear.

[ArcticDiver]

Yet another perspective from one who certified in a November Alaska in a wet suit.

>It can be done in a wet suit, I did it. There was some face and hand pain but not intolerable. Maybe the fact that I sat in a horse trough kind of thing filled with hot water between dives helped? After certification I dove wet for quite awhile. But, it definitely was an overcoming experience, especially in those moments after getting out of the water. Also, at the time I was spending a lot of time outdoors in remote areas so I was mentally accustomed to the cold.

>Considering the difference I'd almost go so far as to say if the shop you are considering won't certify you in a dry suit go somewhere else. When I certified dry suit diving wasn't common. But even then the instructors wore dry suits. Now dry suits are very common and after certification you will most likely be renting a dry suit until you can afford your own. Especially if you are cold sensitive I wouldn't even consider a wet suit.

>Size Matters: I took off 20 pounds a year ago and have kept the weight off. With the reduced fat I get COLD and I never did before. In fact I get so cold now I'm considering becoming a warm water wuss diver exclusively. Reading these pages you will see the physically small people are always looking for better ways to stay warm.

>Don't pee in your suit. It makes a mess and is something to clean up. Plus, it doesn't keep you warm.

Congratulations on starting the learning process. I've done more than my fair share of fun things over my life and SCUBA is right up there with the best.

[BASSMAN]

>Don't pee in your suit. It makes a mess and is something to clean up. Plus, it doesn't keep you warm.

My daughter, who had a very short dive addiction,
told me that when she farted in her wet suit, It warmed her up a little.

And to that, I responded, "That's my girl!" "Keeping all things honest!"

I would say that the peeing in your wet suit is a very short term relief, that is more messy and stinky than it is worth.

And peeing in a rented wet suit? Well that is about as gross as it gets, if you consider that the person before you might have peed in it too!

I'm all for the..."Don't pee in yours or anyone elses wet suit!"

[LCF]

If there is no possibility that someone is going to be able to buy a dry suit in the near future, I don't see a lot of point in doing the certification class in one. Dry suit rentals, as far as I know, start at $60 a day and go up; that high a cost is going to make someone rather reluctant to dive very often. But it is true that almost anyone who dives avidly here ends up in a dry suit, and it is also true that used dry suits can often be picked up at VERY reasonable prices. Such suits may have their issues, but are probably still better than diving wet.

Peter and I have noticed, with the classes he teaches, that very slender women sometimes just can't cope with the cold in a wetsuit, which is probably a product of having no personal insulation AND the fact that rental wetsuits aren't sized well for very thin people.

I can't speak from any personal experience. I got certified in a dry suit, and I have never put toe to Puget Sound in a wet suit, and I never will

[Anthony]

I don't know if this will help you, but I was using 7mm wetsuits when I started (renting, begging, borrowing) and froze my butt off even in the middle of summer. About 5 months ago I bought a used 8mm wetsuit for a couple bucks that I was worrying about possibly being too tight. IT FREAKING ROCKS!! I have been diving since December in that thing and I'm WAY warmer even in these frozen times than I was with my slightly less tight 7mm counterparts in the middle of summer. I know a lot of people don't like the thick suits because they can effect buoyancy at depth, but I'm usually bottoming out at 45 feet. I've gone deeper (to about 75) but didn't really notice a buoyancy problem. Perhaps I will at 100+. I leave the suit on and stay fairly warm even out of the water. I've stood in the rain and have been okay until I started taking it off. The only pain in the neck I have is trying to get that thing off when I'm starting to get cold and I'm trying to get the bottoms off my feet. FROZEN CHICKEN DANCE HELL.

And I am also a skinny dude. 6' and 145lbs. I have no insulation to speak of and get cold easily, so believe me when I say the 8mm was a world of difference. I bought my suit off craigslist for $35, best gear score I've had next to finding dropped gear at the bottom of the ocean.

[Mattleycrue76]

I know a lot of people don't like the thick suits because they can effect buoyancy at depth, but I'm usually bottoming out at 45 feet. I've gone deeper (to about 75) but didn't really notice a buoyancy problem. Perhaps I will at 100+.

Although I have observed some rather astonishing buoyancy changes in really thick (read 2 layers of 10 mil neoprene) wetsuits at depth, the most common problem with deeper dives in wetsuits is that the neoprene compresses so much that it looses a significant amout of it's thermal insulation. If you plan on spending some bottom time at the deep end of the recreational spectrum this will likely become an issue.

Personally I'd rather spend $400-$500 on a entry level used drysuit than shiver between dives - especially in the winter. YMMV

[Berritt]

Thanks again. This has been helpful.

I don't really know if I am all that cold sensitive. I mean, I hate getting into cold water. I guess we'll see what happens.

There IS something I can sell that would get me about $600... I'm trying to figure out if I want to sell it. That would be a good start. I keep looking on craigslist, but until I know more about what I want/need, I am just sort of window shopping. Can't wait to get in the class and start diving!! Still scared. I was hoping that everyone would just tell me it was not going to be as bad as I was expecting. Thanks for being honest, though.

[Alexitt]

Still scared. I was hoping that everyone would just tell me it was not going to be as bad as I was expecting. Thanks for being honest, though.

You'll be fine , just take your time until you figure out what you want and enjoy it in the meantime...

[Dashrynn]

There IS something I can sell that would get me about $600... I'm trying to figure out if I want to sell it. That would be a good start. I keep looking on craigslist, but until I know more about what I want/need, I am just sort of window shopping.

FME craigslist can show up some pretty darn good results, i bought my drysuit for 300$ with dry gloves. But now im looking for a good used front loader thats trilam or close to it. Depending on your size there is a nice used dui front entry suit in bellingham for 350$

[pensacoladiver]

And peeing in a rented wet suit? Well that is about as gross as it gets, if you consider that the person before you might have peed in it too!

I'm all for the..."Don't pee in yours or anyone elses wet suit!"

I have never pe'ed in my drysuit. I have however, done it several times in H2O doctors.

Seriously though, when I get back to Florida, diving wet, I will be pissing in the wetsuit all the time. There, it is more of a relief issue than trying to stay warm, but the outcome is the same.

When I am done, I rinse my gear very well, as I do here. It all comes off/out.

As a matter of fact, I don't remember any of this, but I have been told that when I was younger, from about age 0 to age whatever the hell it was, I would routinely piss and even crap in my clothing. It was cleaned up and amazingly enough, my legs have not fallen off to this day from any of it.

I say piss away.

[Paulicarp]

I was hoping that everyone would just tell me it was not going to be as bad as I was expecting. Thanks for being honest, though.

Yes, that water is cold, even in the hottest time of the year. With an exposure suit appropriate for your planned dive(s), it's no big deal at all. It might take some trial and error for you to dial in the thermal exposure plan that keeps you toasty warm and comfortable. We've all been there, but in the end I think just about everyone here will tell you that it was totally worth the effort!