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Dry suit vs wet suit for cold water, I finally picked one
After three months of freezing my butt off in a thick wet suit up in Puget Sound, I broke down and got a used dry suit for 400 bucks. My first dive with it was on a wreck near Edmonds and I stayed warm the whole 45 minutes without shivering once. Sure, getting in and out of the thing takes forever and I nearly flooded it on my second dive because I forgot to zip the neck seal. Anyone else made the switch and regretted the extra hassle?
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wendysanchez1mo ago
Heard a guy say dry suits are like wearing a trash bag, but hey, at least you're warm.
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anthony1291mo ago
Yeah, the trash bag comparison is pretty spot on honestly. I remember my first time wearing one, I felt like a giant crinkly potato just shuffling around the dock. The worst part is the sweat though, you stay warm but you end up soaking wet on the inside from your own body heat anyway. Still beats being cold and wet at the same time, that's for sure.
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taylor.sean1mo ago
Man I feel you on that sweaty mess! What FINALLY worked for me was cutting a few small slits under the armpits of the trash bag. Let just enough air in to breathe but still kept the heat in. Also started wearing a thin cotton shirt underneath instead of going bare skin - that way the sweat soaked into the shirt instead of just pooling on my back. Made a WORLD of difference on those long dock shifts. Still felt like a crinkly fool but at least I wasn't peeling my shirt off at the end of the day.
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