Freediving in cold water

[Jonenalle]

I was diving today and the water was below 10 celcius. I had my 5mm wetsuit, gloves and boots. But my lips felt so cold, otherwise it wasn't that cold so is it dangerous or anything? I could dive in cold waters (it didn't feel that bad) but i want to know is it safe? =)

I have seen some videos where people is diving in 0 celcius waters between ice, do they use some gel or something on their face or is it just safe?

And yeah i live in Finland, so here the water is very cold.. =)

 

[efattah]

It's not dangerous, just make sure that your feet stay warm. If your feet get very cold, do not kick with your fins. Kicking with numb feet creates tendonitis, which is not good.

 

[Simos]

Hmmm - I guess it depends how cold you get. If you are shivering and can't relax, I'd call it a day. One thing I'd be a bit careful about if you are going deep is lungs - it's easier to get squeezed if you are cold and tense.

The other thing that happens to me if it's too cold is that my head freezes (or my brain rather) and I start getting disoriented - it can be painful too! I dive in warmer temperatures than you and I never got this with a hood but I did get this when going swimming without a hood (easily done, even in much warmer waters than 5C).

From what I've seen, it really depends on the person and how much you are conditioned to cold. I know of two particular guys that just simply don't get cold, they can dive with no suit in really cold water (and a 3rd guy I don't know personally, is Eric - but he's not your average freediver so I would take what he says with a pinch of salt haha)

Otherwise, cold water can be pretty cool!

PS thanks for the tip on tendonitis Eric - didn't know that. why does that happen if you know?

 

[Jonenalle]

Thank you for your answers so far! I appreciate it.

Oh and should i wear my 5mm boots like that it goes under my wetsuit on my ankle or that the wetsuit is under boots? Hope you understand my question, i'm just a beginner...

 

[Simos]

It depends on your booties I would say - you have to try. Most of them have at least an open cell seal on the top part on the inside (should feel like the inside of your wetsuit). If that's the case, I would fold the top of the booties down so that it exposes the open cell seal and then bring the wetsuit over this so that it creates an open-cell to open-cell seal.

If the booties don't have open cell on the inside or the seal is not good, I'd just pull the booties over the wetsuit. Otherwise if it doesn't seal and you pull the wetsuit over, it will be letting water through the wetsuit which you don't want.

I am assuming you have a freediving wetsuit? ie open cell and with a hood?

 

[Jonenalle]

Yes i have Subgear nano tech suit with additional hood, they are open cell. I have also had some problems with that hood because its hard to get it on that i wont leak at all... :/

My booties don't have open cell so i can't do that open-cell to open-cell seal.. :/ But i do that with my gloves. =)

 

[Jon]

Booties/socks go under the suit in cold water diving. If they don't then they have a tendency to "bellows" and flush out the warm water with every kick. It is a pain to do, but if you're diving in cold/ice water than it's always best to tuck you gloves and socks under your wetsuit. Sometimes you can even duct tape around the seals when your done donning the suit for extra warmth.

Jon

 

[Simos]

Booties/socks go under the suit in cold water diving. If they don't then they have a tendency to "bellows" and flush out the warm water with every kick. It is a pain to do, but if you're diving in cold/ice water than it's always best to tuck you gloves and socks under your wetsuit. Sometimes you can even duct tape around the seals when your done donning the suit for extra warmth.

Jon

Agree with Jon - if you are diving in cold water, get some booties that seal and put them under. I never tried putting booties over the suit but my gloves don't seal and I wear them over the wetsuit and they annoyingly 'pump' cold water up my sleeves every time I grab the rope etc.

In the summer or in hot countries it's actually nice to get a bit of cool water in the suit but with water as cold as that, for sure it won't be fun.

 

[Siku]

It's not dangerous, just make sure that your feet stay warm. If your feet get very cold, do not kick with your fins. Kicking with numb feet creates tendonitis, which is not good.

Interesting! I play the sax and a lot of musicians have problems with tendonitus, normally attributed to playing with TENSION.

I wonder if the numbness and the tension are equivalent here? Seems plausible.

 

[Simos]

Interesting! I play the sax and a lot of musicians have problems with tendonitus, normally attributed to playing with TENSION.

I wonder if the numbness and the tension are equivalent here? Seems plausible.

Hmmm not sure - I used to play guitar and it's common to get tendonitis but it's more to do with overuse and perhaps as you say playing with tension (sometimes caused by wrong position).

However I suspect the reason you can get it from finning with cold feet is maybe to do with the natural lubricating fluid around the tendon becoming less effective at lubricating the tendon at such low temperature. I guess the other reason might be that the tendon becomes very stiff at low temperature, thus making it easier to injure it as there is not enough flexibility. Just a guess though.

 

[Fondueset]

I agree with Jon and Simos about the socks - but my 3 finger mitts are MUCH warmer if I wear them on the outside. It's true they flush from time to time - but the difference is amazing. I used to wear them tucked in - even with wool gloves under. They would stay dry to 15 meters or more - but my hands were much colder. It seems counter-intuitive; but it definitely works for me.

FYI - for the monofinners in our midst: In winter I wear socks OVER my monofin. My feet stay warm and I don't have the circulation problems I had wearing them inside the fin. But I do tuck them into my suit. 3 mil socks worn this way (toes cut out obviously) seem good to at least 5 or 6c.

Also - I recommend Doc's Pro Plugs for cold water diving - really help with equalizing and keeping the ears warm on the inside.

 

[hteas]

Along with 7 mm socks tucked under my wetsuit, I use 7 mm 3-finger mitts. Both are open cell. Helps a lot. I get way too much flow into the socks and mitts if left on the outside.
I also never completely stop finning between dives during winter. It helps keep my body from freezing up, at the cost of shorter dives.

 

[Jon]

3-finger mitts are the way to go. By time you get a 5mm 5-finger glove on your hand you've already lost so much dexterity that you might as well go with a mitt. I find them easier to use than a glove as they allow me to adjust my camera controls, tie knots, and shoot my sling/guns without an issue.

I also use 6mm socks with my bi-fins for the warmest toes in the winter. I've found the C4 Mustang footpockets work the best when it comes to keeping feet warm in winter- only thing better is no-fins diving, which I do on shallow dives when it's really cold out. I will wear a pair of 3mm socks inside my monofin in the winter, but that only works when I wear a pair of 5mm half-socks over the monofin foot pocket as well. I tuck the inner (3mm) sucks under my suit leg and wear the outer (5mm) half-socks over the suit- turned inside out so that it seals against the suit. I have pictures post somewhere on this site of my set-up, but I don't have the time to search for them right now.

Depending upon what suit I'm wearing, I might also wear an Ice Mask- made by Henderson. I use this with my stock cut wetsuits, but have found them to be unnecessary when using a custom cut Elios suit.

Jon

 

[Fondueset]

I say again - GLOVES OUT - sometimes at 34f my hands are the only thing that is warm - also - I agree with Jon - 5 mil gloves lose it at about 55F

 

[JennyWren]

Sometimes you can even duct tape around the seals when your done donning the suit for extra warmth.

Just a warning - don't use duct tape on your suit if it is fragile - tape on nylon might be ok, but tape on a unprotected surface will just rip your suit when you try to get it off.

I'm booties-under (to avoid flooding my feet with coldness), gloves-over (too bulky to fit under the suit and I'd never be able to get the suit around the second glove once one hand is already inside the first glove!

 

[finflyer]

Last weekend we just did our AIDA** open water course in +10° water. In Finland of course

V

 

[Erik]

Tendons need blood supply to keep them operating and healthy. They "tend" to be undersupplied anyway, and IMO if you get cold feet/ankles, then there's even less blood circulating in that area. Add to that the MDR where blood flow is slowed to the limbs in any case, and there's your tendonitis.
I think.

 

[Simos]

Tendons need blood supply to keep them operating and healthy. They "tend" to be undersupplied anyway, and IMO if you get cold feet/ankles, then there's even less blood circulating in that area. Add to that the MDR where blood flow is slowed to the limbs in any case, and there's your tendonitis.
I think.

Not sure that's the reason Erik (not saying it's not, just not sure) - you are right in that the supply of blood is very low (hence why such injuries take ages to heal).

My guess was that in cold the tendon becomes less flexible and hence it's easier to tear when load is applied.

Probably the fact that there is less blood because of the MDR means they get even colder...

 

[sross]

I was diving today and the water was below 10 celcius. I had my 5mm wetsuit, gloves and boots. But my lips felt so cold, otherwise it wasn't that cold so is it dangerous or anything? I could dive in cold waters (it didn't feel that bad) but i want to know is it safe? =)

I have seen some videos where people is diving in 0 celcius waters between ice, do they use some gel or something on their face or is it just safe?

And yeah i live in Finland, so here the water is very cold.. =)

The Henderson Divewear Co. makes a product for extreme cold water called the Ice Cap ( Henderson divewear - Ice cap 3mm )

You put it on first, then put your regular hood on over top, so it gives you extra insulation, and protects your face as well.

Sam reviewed it here http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-equipment/39895-ice-cap.html

I know people who have tried it & claim it's great. I personally have been OK without it. The coldest dive I ever did was in a cove in Nova Scotia where the water temp was -0.2°C and there was slushy stuff floating in the water all over the surface of the cove. We were doing OWs for a bunch of univ. students who were getting certified to work on research projects. None of 'em had drysuits, only 5 or 7 mm wetsuits (starving students). The dives were much shorter duration than usual, and some of them could hardly move their hands or their lips by the end of the dive. We kept a van hot with its heater running full blast and put 'em in there to help them recuperate.

 

[Fondueset]

The ice mask does help massively with conserving overall body heat. That said, I quit using it a few years ago - once I quit having nausea problems with the cold water face hit. I don't like the totally encased 'submarine' feeling.