Exposure Protection

[doug67]

You can also double up on the head gear. I where a beenie over my hood to help.

[mermaid]

A beenie OVER the hood Doug?  I would have thought it was worn UNDER the hood.

Pat, you're right, the thought does gross me out :-\ . 

[rcojr]

A large portion of your body heat is lost through your head.
One of the best things I have bought in recent years was a custom made 12mm (about 1/2 inch) hood.
You can contact Otter Bay Suits at

You have to contact them and they will email you the 5 measurements they need to custom fit your head
When I bought mine (about 2years ago) it cost $75 delivered to my mailbox
Since then I have had four fellow divers order one and haven't heard anything negative about it
Michelle they even make custom neoprene mermaid suits ;D
Bob Olson

[mermaid]

Bob, are you talking about a custom neoprene wetsuit or drysuit?  I'm already planning on a (possible custom) trilam drysuit in the near future.

[rcojr]

Michelle
Check out the link
They make custom made" MERMAID" suits ;D ;D
Bob

[mermaid]

OMG BOB, I would NEVER have believed it if I hadn't seen it!!!!  ABSOLUTELY, LOL HYSTERICAL!!  (and definitely for a MORE EXPERIENCED mermaid...I'm still a guppy after all) Too bad they don't have more pics of all their products though. 

[arcFlash]

Wetsuits work better the less wet you get, thus, semi dry and the very good Italian free dive suits. Keeping water warm is a waste, it's mass and you waste heat keeping it (mass) warm. So neoprene works by keeping heat in, not warm water. The myth is based on the idea that the water next to you is warm but as all heat energy comes from you, it's still a waste. If it was true, dry suits wouldn't work or we'd have wetbag suit. 

Have something warm to drink right before the dive. Heat inside the body is the best. Decaf lemon tea is my favorite for winter camping.

Duct tape the boot/leg and glove/arm transition to prevent water transport. My neck in back pumps water as I breath and that's a huge waste but I rarely dive it anymore so I have not worked out a solution.

A polartec (fleece) also helps fill in the spaces and reduces water (mass) but the hood is the best value.

[Dragon Eye]

It's one of those things... the water will warm up and somewhere in the mid 50's you should be ok, and may get a little chilly.  The vis is usually better in the lakes before everyone starts swimming and boating, but this year I'm not so sure. You can stay above the thermocline, but you usually can actually SEE below it. So your option is to wait or just get it over with and jump in.

[ballfrog]

The vest will help, sometimes I wear one with my 5 mil.  If you are flushing much water through your suit, wear it under the suit to keep the transfer minimized.  It will make your suit tighter.

Like arcflash says, heating water is a waste of body heat.  Heating a lot of water is worse.

I'm of the school that puts the hood and gloves in the cooler of hot water when I'm diving cold.

...Besides it is mostly mind over matter...  If you don't mind, it don't matter.

I do disagree with that thought.  Hypothermia can lead to fatal mistakes.  Fatal mistakes matter.

[DetectorGuy]

That comment I made was pain transfer kinda thing I used to use, and I throw the comment around more than I should.

Hypothermia can lead to fatal mistakes... No question in my mind that is true. The only way a person can gain experience in anything is to do it. Now to go out unprepared, unplanned, and under equipped would be asking for problems. Under controlled conditions with experienced people along to assist with problems, people who haven't seen the edge of their own personal limits can gain experience. This experience may not be something they are willing to ever do again, or this may let that person know that this is not so bad and I would like to try that again.  I did a wetsuit solo dive at 45 degrees for about an hour and fifteen minutes once, and I was wondering if my fingers were going to make the zipper work to get out of the suit. Since that dive my personal limit to diving wet is 50 degrees. If your body isn't telling that its too cold to dive for an hour then its either not too cold, or your internal thermostat is out of whack. I think its a good idea to learn from your own mistakes by logging them in your book. I think of it as my personal reference book as to what worked at 45 degree water and what didn't. Most people don't write much detail in their logbooks (if they even write anything at all). I usually write it down if any part of me was cold on a dive so that if I am ever going to be in similar conditions, I can be educated about how to dress.