Is cold water diving worth all the hassle?

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

I live in the midwest USA we learn all of our diving in quarries. I finally went to Florida to dive Blue Grotto in December I was in my trunks and t-shirt most folks had 5 mils on and shivering. I also went to Gulf Shores and overheated in my wetsuit. I am used to the "cold water" look forward to diving lake Michigan one day

[@attilawagner7599]

Just tried out cold water diving in a lake. Water temp was 5C, i gone with a trilam drysuit with wet gloves and hood. The first 30 second, well, let's call it the terror of 30 seconds :D But after that, it was really comfortable, and enjoyable. First I assumed much worse than actually was! Just go, and try it! You'll be fine! ;)

[@olabashanda]

Talk to me about the Blue Hole, NM and it’s 62°F water please….

[@lmlmd2714]

Diving round these islands is stunning and I feel sorry for those who only dive abroad - you really *really* are missing out. There's so much life around here. I live in Cornwall so am very fortunate coast wise. There are tons of shore dives here where you never break 10m and have a fantastic dive that would absolutely blow any Mediterranean site out of the water and give a Red Sea reef a serious run for it's money in terms of quantity and diversity of life parading before your eyes. I think people tend to over think diving here thinking it's complex or difficult, but you can have a lovely diving season with a single tank and semidry for a good 8-9 months of the year.

[@erinholt391]

Back here in Arizona the only decent site is lake pleasant , which I love diving and want to dive all year round, but my next dive trip there in December I estimate the water to be 57 on the surface and 55 at depth, Because I am still growing I do not use a dry suit for the diving I use a 7mm wetsuit and some thick gloves and a thick hood. It still is very cold but it is definitely worth diving. I would still much rather be diving in warm water. Do you have any tips about keeping warm and any more useful equipment for cold water diving? Wish you all the best, and safe diving!

[@gamernick1533]

I dived on my first warm UK day last week and really struggled with the heat gearing up and between dives... not only that but because it had been warm all week the vis was pants! Seems like I prefer cold water and I'm actually kind of glad I trained/had first half dozen leisure dives in the cold as I'm spoiled! I'm 100% fine in the cold, I hardly feel it through my dry suit at all and it's much easier to warm up on the surface than it is to cool down.

[@MaartenSchilperoort35]

I only dive in the Netherlands and Belgium so always cold water love it

[@UKDiver]

Great video dispelling some of the myths around UK diving 👍 You shouldn’t knock it till you’ve tried it! Cheers ✌️😎

[@scubavery]

.I get ask the same question.I dive mostly sea lochs in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and I love it . I can dive all year round Compared to wetsuit divers . Yes we need to carry more weight more gear . But it’s well worth it . Few days ago 4c in the North Sea. tomorrow diving in sea loch and hopefully get some decent photos or videos for my channel. 🥶🤣

[@ScubaDiverMagazine]

That is awesome!

[@morganames8142]

... and DON'T FORGET when purchasing your own drysuit to equip it with the [usually] optional Pee-valve and a donned "Texas catheter" [condom-like connector to the valve's exhaust tubing]] to relieve your bladder, as necessary. If using a drysuit that does not feature a Pee valve (or for women divers, the "She-Pee", which conforms to the female anatomy to connect to the drysuit's exhaust valve to the ambient environment), then wear absorbent Pampers next to the body (under your thermal undergarments) to allow relief during your dives since you won't have the "luxury" of relieving yourself as you might in a wetsuit. Cold Water Divers Rock!!! CHEERS!

[@ScubaDiverMagazine]

Definitely worth considering if you are going to be doing longer dives. I find I can normally last an hour or so on recreational dives without the faff of a pee-valve.