How Cold Is Too Cold?

[Zyxistal]

Was talking with a co-worker (who is also a diver) the other day about the possibility of taking a weekend trip up to one of the quarries up north of us around mid-December. His response was that he would be interested in joining me but not until the spring as it was "too cold for anyone to dive right now."
So whats the call here, is it ever TOO cold to dive or should you just don a thicker suit and jump in, even if it is through the hole you cut in the ice?

[Cojrock]

8oC was the coldest ive ever dived and i think i might try and keep it that way.

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by Zyxistal

Was talking with a co-worker (who is also a diver) the other day about the possibility of taking a weekend trip up to one of the quarries up north of us around mid-December. His response was that he would be interested in joining me but not until the spring as it was "too cold for anyone to dive right now."
So whats the call here, is it ever TOO cold to dive or should you just don a thicker suit and jump in, even if it is through the hole you cut in the ice?

My coldest in a wetsuit has been 39F. Coldest in a dry suit was 36F. Don't like the chopping the hole in the ice stuff that much. Neither was that cold... and the dive was fun.

Note: If you have anything exposed at those temperatures (say your face), expect some pain until it goes numb. After the numb part, it can be interesting keeping your reg in your mouth.

[Silverlode]

Originally Posted by Puffer Fish

... After the numb part, it can be interesting keeping your reg in your mouth.

Never thought of that... it would be interesting alright.
How do people under ice kind of thing then? How do they keep their reg in their mouth, or do they use full face mask?

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by Silverlode

Never thought of that... it would be interesting alright.
How do people under ice kind of thing then? How do they keep their reg in their mouth, or do they use full face mask?

Water, even over ice can vary a fair amount in temperature. The 38 was an ice dive.

It is not that your muscles don't work, it is that you cannot always feel the regulator.

I did my drysuit diving in a face sealed hood and a full face mask... very strange diving in water and never getting even slightly wet.

With a wet suit... and hood.. as long as you are not going deep, you can be fairly warm (O'neal J suit is a semi-dry). I just tell myself to hold on, even when it is numb, or hold it in my mouth with a hand.

[Silverlode]

Just did a conversion of your 38F to C, and it's only 3C. Brrrrr.
That would be too cold for me. But thanks for explaining how it is done. I cannot imagine what it's like to dive in water and not even get slightly wet. And do not foresee the possibility of doing it (never say never though).

I'd dove tropical for my training and did two dives in Victoria a few weeks ago in 13-14C (55.4-57.2) using a 7mm semi-dry. I found it an interesting experience, body warm and almost frozen feet by the end of the second dive. But hey! Now I know I would be able to dive here regularly. So that temperature is not too cold for me as yet. I did use a hood and gloves to start off with, but found them too cumbersome and did not use them for the second dive.

Edit: I will have to try diving next winter to know at what temperature I would stop diving.

[kenmendes]

I dive in the PNW and the water temp doesn't change to much. It usually stays in the lower 50's

[Zenagirl]

Coldest I will dive is about 72. Guess everyone simply has their own limits.

[scubaculture]

Coldest for me was 7 centigrade, just managed a 45min dive with a 7mm and a hoodie, I get cold pretty quick though so maybe I should finally get a dry suit

[MSilvia]

I dive year-round in the Boston area in water as cold as 3 degrees C.

If you're interested in what goes into a "chop a hole in the ice" dive, I made a video of a PADI Ice Diver class last winter.