The water here in washington is to cold for me to were my wetsuit, its 3-5mm, im not sure what thickness exactly. The question is: can i freedive with my drysuit, its warm enough for winter diving, and at the local pool i seemed to have enough mobility, but would this be a smart move? Thanks for any info.
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Wondering
- Thread starterBaka
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Thread Status: Hello
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hi,
staying on the surface is ok. diving down will be a bit tricky. first, you'll need a ton of weights and second, just a few meters down you'll get properly squeezed.
when scuba diving you regularly equalise the suit by letting air into your suit via a seperate lp hose, no?
tailormade freediving suits are the way to go. they keep you warmer than you might think and cost very little actually (www.eliossub.com, for example).
cheers,
roland
staying on the surface is ok. diving down will be a bit tricky. first, you'll need a ton of weights and second, just a few meters down you'll get properly squeezed.
when scuba diving you regularly equalise the suit by letting air into your suit via a seperate lp hose, no?
tailormade freediving suits are the way to go. they keep you warmer than you might think and cost very little actually (www.eliossub.com, for example).
cheers,
roland
I can dive to about -10 m with a dry suit (not flexible material). The deepest I've gone was about -14m, but I think that dive may be one of the biggest factors if it ever turns out I cannot have children...
Perhaps with a neoprene suit, you could add a meter or two, but the squeeze will be tremendous.
The buoyancy change is huge, like immerlustig mentioned. I had about 10 kg of weight and had to work very hard to even sink. But at -10m, I was like a stone. The preferred method for dry suit diving is free immersion, which makes it a bit more humane.
Dry suits are very good for snorkeling in cold water and for the occational shallow dive they may work, but not in my experience for "serious" diving.
A lot of people dive in very cold water using custom fit wetsuits very succesfully, so I would recommend that as the primary option. A 5mm elios, combined with a reasonable amount of "bioprene", will keep me reasonably warm in ~12 celcius (surface, more or less +4 at depth) water. I can stay in for a couple of hours. In winter conditions it's still ok for 30-60 min if you put it on dry (talcum). But the importance of the tailor made fit and open cell inside is huge! I have a scuba suit that is 7mm + 5mm torso, so at parts 12mm total, and it is colder than the 5mm elios...So choose your suit carefully!
Propably a 7mm or even 10mm would be warm enough in any conditions imaginable.
Perhaps with a neoprene suit, you could add a meter or two, but the squeeze will be tremendous.
The buoyancy change is huge, like immerlustig mentioned. I had about 10 kg of weight and had to work very hard to even sink. But at -10m, I was like a stone. The preferred method for dry suit diving is free immersion, which makes it a bit more humane.
Dry suits are very good for snorkeling in cold water and for the occational shallow dive they may work, but not in my experience for "serious" diving.
A lot of people dive in very cold water using custom fit wetsuits very succesfully, so I would recommend that as the primary option. A 5mm elios, combined with a reasonable amount of "bioprene", will keep me reasonably warm in ~12 celcius (surface, more or less +4 at depth) water. I can stay in for a couple of hours. In winter conditions it's still ok for 30-60 min if you put it on dry (talcum). But the importance of the tailor made fit and open cell inside is huge! I have a scuba suit that is 7mm + 5mm torso, so at parts 12mm total, and it is colder than the 5mm elios...So choose your suit carefully!
Propably a 7mm or even 10mm would be warm enough in any conditions imaginable.
there are many freedivers in BC, Canada who dive all year round. with a custom fit 7mm wetsuit you'll be fine. it might still feel cold to start with but you'll soon get used to it. i regularly dive in 4-5C (40F??) in my 7/5 Elios and my time in the water is limited only by cold in my feet and hands. i usually stay in for around an hour, maybe 90mins tops.
i wouldnt use a drysuit. it's potentially quite dangerous. it might seem ok in a shallow pool but in open water i think it would be a bad idea.
i wouldnt use a drysuit. it's potentially quite dangerous. it might seem ok in a shallow pool but in open water i think it would be a bad idea.
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it is pretty much impossible to freedive in a drysuit. I have tried it out of curiosity. You get very bad squeeze from about 5m. It is NOT warm as you can't add air to the suit, you have to wear shed loads of weight and you can't swim properly... not recommended (and probably impossible below about 10m max)
The other problem is drysuits are horrible once you put your head straight down as all the air rushes to your feet making it very difficult to turn around. Try it in a pool with a buddy so that you don't get stuck and drown yourself, it is really hard to get your head back up once you have gone vertical in a drysuit with your head down.
I used to where a cresci competition 5mm wetsuit for diving in alpine lakes in alberta canada and off of vancouver island, BC. Average temperature about 4 degrees celcius in the lakes, and you know what the west coast is like. The only thing that got cold was my feet with the 3mm socks that fit in my freedive fins.
There is a huge difference between a 5mm scuba suit, and a 5mm apnea wetsuit. Don't mess with the drysuit, get a decent apnea suit...
There is a huge difference between a 5mm scuba suit, and a 5mm apnea wetsuit. Don't mess with the drysuit, get a decent apnea suit...
I have heard the term "Apnea suit" a few times now, and am curious what the difference between an Apnea suit, and a one piece Excel Polartec (6.5mm w/ integral hood). It keeps me warm throughout the Ca. winter in the Channel Islands area.
Thanks
Rick
Thanks
Rick
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