Changed my mind about drysuits after that 39 degree water hit me

I used to think drysuits were for wimps and extra neoprene was all you needed. Then I did a job last month in Puget Sound where the surface temp was 48 and the bottom was a COLD 39 degrees. I was in a 7mm farmer john with a hooded vest and my core was shaking after 20 minutes. The lead diver handed me his backup drysuit and told me to just try it for one dive. That warm, dry feeling blew my mind, I could actually focus on the work instead of fighting shivers. I looked up the stats later and found out hypothermia sets in way faster at those temps than I ever realized. Now I own a drysuit and I'm never going back, has anyone else made the switch later in their career?

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spencer_wood5d ago

Man, I feel this in my bones. That first time you get hit by water that cold and realize you were wrong about something so basic... it's humbling. I had almost the exact same moment a few years back when I was doing some harbor work in January and thought my 7mm was enough. Nope. Ten minutes in and I couldn't even grip my tools right. Switching to a drysuit felt like cheating, like I wasn't supposed to be that comfortable down there. Good on you for making the change, it's a real game changer once you let go of that old mindset.