Changed my mind about dry suits after a winter in the Puget Sound

Used to think dry suits were just an expensive pain to deal with until I did 4 straight weeks of 45 degree water dives up near Bellingham. After the third week I finally dialed in my undergarment layering and realized I wasn't shivering after 2 hours underwater for the first time. Anyone else have a specific setup that finally clicked for them on cold water jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jamie27d ago

Oh man, I gotta say dry suits are totally overhyped, I'd rather just run hot taps through my wetsuit.

simonl1127d ago

Last season a buddy of mine tried that trick with a cheap wetsuit and ended up with lukewarm water running down his back for an hour before giving up, @the_jamie. He said it was miserable once the initial flush wore off and he was just stuck in a soggy suit. Dry suits might be a pain to get into, but at least you're not fighting the cold the whole time.

faithwalker27d ago

Yeah totally, @the_jamie I tried the hot tap trick once too and it was nice for like 10 minutes then I was just wet and cold. I finally caved and got a used dry suit last winter, best thing I ever did for my sanity on those 45 degree dives.