Dry Suits

Hi,

So, I'm completing a thesis at the northern tip of NZ's south island - some already has been in late summer/autumn where I was using a two piece 5mm suit with hood and that was getting a little chilly at the end there - like, sharp and piercing cold, haha.

Now, I'm going down tomorrow and the water temp is hovering between 12-13oC (55oF) for you imperial lot - the dry suit I just bought is necessary, correct? I'm a little worried given that I don't think the other hell diver/slightly stupid/macho diver will be wearing one - though, he tends to sprint underwater with a surface supplied source.

I suppose on a slightly different matter - my thesis supervisor said I can't buy a dry suit on my thesis but I can rent one - only the dive shops around here don't have my size to rent... the work and safety regulations here stipulate that 15oC is a guideline for dry suit diving and that I must be afforded adequate exposure protection to be comfortable in the given conditions and technically I'm actually employed as a research assistant during these trips as my thesis is a side issue on the bigger contract my supervisor has with this company.

I just dropped nearly $3000 on a hood, boots and a Whites Fusion Bullet - would you be pushing the issue with your supervisor or not?

Cheers!!!

Adam

If it were were me in your shoes, one question that I would ask would be - do you intend to keep diving after your thesis, and will you be able to keep the drysuit? If so, then I would consider it an investment in your future diving and get on with the project.

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^ This. A drysuit is a big chunk of change, so if you're buying one, then make sure you use it. The water temperatures you mention would be considered "warm" here in the Great Lakes. We maxed out at about 59° F this summer... in the top 5' or so. At depth, it never really got above about 41° and it was often colder than that.

My point is that you won't die from the cold if you have to dive wet. Lots of people/fools dive wet here... I just don't know why you would want to!

I mentioned in your "how to" thread that I had recently introduced a young friend to the joys of diving dry. Her exact quote following her first dry dive was "My wetsuit is officially dead to me!"... and it's currently up for sale! The water was 39° F on that dive... We were in for about 45 minutes and she was still toasty.

As an aside, you can sometimes find decent used drysuits for sale, but it sounds like you've made the committment already. My friend picked up a pristine Bare crushed neoprene/cordura suit with Smurf gloves and Fourth Element undies for $800 CDN...

Keep the drysuit for the future. The more important lesson I think is that if it is your thesis advisor you must realize that she pretty much controls your future. If the work is for hire and is paid for by a company, then what I would do to get some reimbursement and not piss off my advisor is to buy the suit then rent it to myself and have the company (not the university) pay the going rental fee each time I dove.

Bill

God, haha. I do not like cold water.. 12oC sounds awful I had a dip in a 12oC lake during a trek this summer... *Shudder*

Good idea on hiring it to myself, though..

Love this forum!

Speaking as a UK diver who dives year around when the warmest it gets in the UK is ~18/19C a drysuit is a must for a comfortable dive if your doing longer dives or multiple dives in the same day. If your doing just one relatively short dive a day, you can probably get away with a suitable wetsuit. For sheer comfort however, a good fitting dry-suit is a must. After 15 years of diving, 14 in a drysuit, i certainly wouldn't dive in a wetsuit in water that cold if I had a choice! Drysuit all the way..

Adam,

Your story reminds me of when I was graduate student in the 1980s. I bought a Viking dry suit so that I could sample for my thesis project. The full scuba tanks had to be air-freighted to where I did the work so I limited scuba to actual sampling but snorkeled to take photos that I used for illustrations during my thesis defense. For a good laugh (old gear especially mask) there is a shot of me doing this on my website about page: http://www.salmonography.com/About-my-photography

Tom