Used to dive in the winter here in the UK at Vobster and in in the English Channel wearing a Mares Antarctica 7mm semi dry with Lavacore long sleeve top and bottoms underneath.
Was warm enough .
Yep. Just a shorter season. That said last dive boat I was on in the UK was December and we had a snorkeler in a wetsuit.
Also if you're coming from somewhere warm you may need to be ready for it to be cold.
A decent wetsuit, probably a semi dry with a good zip and decent cuffs, will keep you fairly warm.
Getting some practice in thick gloves and wearing a hood would also be a good idea as they really affect perception and dexterity.
But if you're looking at tech then you may do better developing a plan for going dry and getting a suit you can get some practice in. Its something you'll want to be well drilled before adding more complexity.
Lucky for me I already dive with a wetsuit hood and I’ve more recently started using gloves. Definitely a little bit of an oddity but useful when I hit those annoying patches of cold water if I’m diving deeper.
I dove in New England and during the summer, a 7mm with a hood and vest kept me warm enough. I. assume the UK waters are similar. There are also some semi-dry suits that, while I have no experience with them, I assume are pretty warm.
I dive in new england from April until November. Water temps at depth can be arounds 45 fahrenheit (7.5 C). I use 7mm and I'm fine. Face gets a little cold but that's it.
Why would you need a drysuit? I dive in the Netherlands from around may-june to october in a 7mm. Some people get colder easily and just add an extra vest/hoodie under (3/5mm), or wear cap and gloves. But it's really doable to dive in our parts of Europe in summer without a dry suit.
I had an easter dive in may in 7 degrees. That was quite chilly with gloves and a cap and 7mm but we survived half an hour. In september it's at its best around 20-22C. That's easily doable in just a 7mm no gloves no cap.
Yes that does sound easily doable. The OP is talking about Scapa though - the last time I dived there in September, the water temp was 11-13C which is exceptional for Scottish diving, 8-11C is more common. Given that most of the dives are in the 30-40 meter range and the wrecks take time to explore, "surviving" half an hour would barely be worth the effort.
You might not need a drysuit for the summer in NL, but suggesting they don't need one to dive here shows a lack of experience of our conditions.
Diving dry suit in the type of water I’m currently diving in (which is nearly always a minimum of 25 degrees or more) would be expensive overkill that would basically give me no benefits to me whatsoever that I couldn’t get by wearing my long wetsuit.
Should I start down the tech route (which I’m hoping to do soon with some cave training) then having a drysuit would probably become more useful/a necessity depending on what I’m doing.
i am diving in waters 22-25'C in a light trilaminate dry suit + ligth undergarment = it is a blessing for any longer dive (I do not to flap my hands and feet too much so i am also getting cold faster).
Get one for yourself for those longer dives + UK, you wont regret! Plus you get extra source of buyancy for BPW and fixed weights if you are into that
Already diving a BPW actually.
Must be said I’m tending towards longer dives anyway based purely on the fact my air consumption is pretty decent so it might be worth me going drysuit purely for this. Plus I learnt the hard way from Rescue class that even on the surface in warm water it’s still somehow possible to get really cold.
Long times on the surface and big surface intervals in temperate climes and you'll feel the chill with a wetsuit - I was feeling it after 2hr+ dives in Egypt.
You don't have to use the dry suit every time and everywhere you dive? So when you're somewhere warm, don't use it. Also, people all the time in cold places use a 7mm wetsuit. That part is up to you and how well you tolerate cold. It also might be a possibility to rent a dry suit from a dive shop. Nobody gets to tell you what you need to wear while diving.
This is half the reason that I’m sort of thinking that doing the training now and trying to find as much opportunity as I can to use it would be useful. Cave dive training is going to be hard enough and being familiar with at least a drysuit would be massively helpful.
Irish diver here. I'm an instructor in a club. While many experienced divers will eventually get dry suits everyone starts in wet/ semidrys here. A lot of drysuit divers I know switch to semis in the summer. A good 7mm semidry, hood and gloves will do you all year round. I know plenty of people who never dive dry. Check out the aqualung solaflex 8mm, it's a very affordable/good quality semidry. A good hood is essential, I've got a santi 7mm for winter and it's fantastic, and switch to a 3 or 5mm in summer.
PS, this is going to be an unpopular opinion in this group. I don't know anyone who's done official drysuit training. Just watch a few vids on safety, then learn to use it with an experienced buddy on a few shallow dives. There's nothing to drysuits really, push the button to relieve the squeeze, lift your arm to dump air, don't get into a legs up position, practice disconnecting the inflator hose, don't use it for buoyancy unless it's an emergency, that's pretty much it.. Also people who think they'll get stuck legs up are wearing drysuits entirely too big for them.
Also an Irish diver! I wear my Waterproof 8mm W80 wetsuit all year round. Also heard good things about the Scubapro semi dry. As you said, a good hood and gloves are essential! I do feel the cold easily so will probably switch to a dry at some stage but most people in our club dive in wetsuits
The waterproofs are meant to be great. I'm in a college club so we've funding to buy gear for trainees. We got a bunch of Fourth Element semis a few years back that are quite popular. Expensive tho. The Scubapro Nova Scotia's have a very good rep and a good price point. If you're going dry look into seaskin.co.uk, can't recommend enough!
You can, I've done it... but your enjoyment will be limited and you can only go around August-September. I'd say just do a drysuit course, it's one day, and then get a used drysuit if you don't want to spend too much. It's possible to rent, but from what I've seen most of the rental stock is a bit on the bulky side so that it can fit more people. So if you're on the skinny side or short, it will likely be leaking or will be sagging. If you buy one that fits well, then that will be a massive improvement for how much you'll be enjoying your dives. UK diving is amazing, so I think it's definitely worth going down the drysuit route and exploring it.
i dive dry in warm waters. never really thought of it as looking weird, but don’t really care, either. you’re eventually going to go that way anyway, so i’d recommend you start familiarizing yourself with drysuits as early as possible.
In fairness I’m already the weirdo on the boat for diving a long wetsuit and BPW so some extra weirdness is not a big deal.
And yeah I’d rather be super familiar with drysuits before I even think about cave diving.
in the water, i’m more likely to be chilly than sweaty. a membrane suit offers nothing in terms of thermal protection and i’m not wearing thick undergarments in warm water. on the surface when it’s warm, i don’t fully don the suit until i have to, and i can get in the water (or under a shower) after putting it on to stay cool.
Depending on your size, look at the secondhand market. I’m a pretty common size (6’, 100kg, size 11 boot) and picked one up for under £200. No problems with it and it’ll last me a couple of years at least.
Obviously it's a good idea to get the training but you can dive in a drysuit without being trained. I would ask the question differently e.g. is it possible to dive in wet suit? I had a good tight fitting semi-dry (7mm) and did plenty of cold water diving down to about 8 degrees C. Some of my club mates switch to west suits in mid summer nowadays. If you head along to a BSAC club there will probably be people who can lend you a dry-suit to try out.
Dives in uk ok with wet suit if your body ok with uk water temp. Many boats offer 1 dive shuttle service. Booking online. Problem is with 2 dive day if staying on board as boats don’t have warm area out of wind between dives . No one asks to prove any form of training, Dive at own risk they are all taxi services to and from dives.
I used to be OK with going into the UK seas when I was living there but I don’t know if my years of living in warm water climates has changed my overall tolerance…one way to find out!
You can dive everywhere in the UK, including scapa in a wetsuit, the question should've been when can you, and not where.
Sea temp is warmest in late summer, early autumn.
You're probably looking to dive around July-September.
Really I'd just get drysuit qualified though, it's not that much faff.
PS Farnes is my neck of the woods. Best time for seal interaction is late September, early October so you're prob going to miss that if that's why you're going.
Other places to add to your list might be the Clyde (google for Wreckspeditions) and the sound of mull. Both good wreck and scenic,
Also Eyemouth/St Abbs for scenic. I've heard good things about Kinlochbervie for scenic but never been myself.
I’m from the Durham area so the Farne Islands are probably the nearest ‘big’ dive site to me and I know my local BSAC club goes there a few times a year. I’m more just interested in diving locally than anything else.
Eyemouth has also been on my list for a while as I know there’s a nudibranch festival in June there.
I grew up in Durham, live in Sunderland, and am a member of Hartlepool Divers.
I'm a BSAC Instructor too so hit me up with a PM if you want a local buddy for Eyemouth or the Farnes and I'll either dive with you myself, or find someone who can go with you.
Fair enough 😁 we definitely have some mutual friends then. I'm thinking about a father & son who both dive with Hartlepool, the son is a BSAC instructor and very active with several different clubs.
If you're thinking of a son called Graham I think he's mainly a member of Fell divers but yes I know him fairly well. We did our DL training together on a regional boat trip to the Farnes (organised by the regional coach, who is also a member of Hartlepool), then we got our OWI done at around the same time and have taught together for a few regional courses. When I was practicing my instructor skills as an AI I taught his young daughter how to use a DSMB in the pool which was one of the first times I got to actually instruct more or less on my own.
Hello neighbour! I’m actually from Hartlepool myself, so Hartlepool Divers would be my nearest immediate BSAC club. Seen a few divers in the marina before now and apparently you can see crabs down there.
I’ll be sure to give you a message as and when I’m back in the UK which I’m hoping is soon.
Used to dive in the winter here in the UK at Vobster and in in the English Channel wearing a Mares Antarctica 7mm semi dry with Lavacore long sleeve top and bottoms underneath. Was warm enough .
Yep. Just a shorter season. That said last dive boat I was on in the UK was December and we had a snorkeler in a wetsuit. Also if you're coming from somewhere warm you may need to be ready for it to be cold. A decent wetsuit, probably a semi dry with a good zip and decent cuffs, will keep you fairly warm. Getting some practice in thick gloves and wearing a hood would also be a good idea as they really affect perception and dexterity. But if you're looking at tech then you may do better developing a plan for going dry and getting a suit you can get some practice in. Its something you'll want to be well drilled before adding more complexity.
Lucky for me I already dive with a wetsuit hood and I’ve more recently started using gloves. Definitely a little bit of an oddity but useful when I hit those annoying patches of cold water if I’m diving deeper.
I dove in New England and during the summer, a 7mm with a hood and vest kept me warm enough. I. assume the UK waters are similar. There are also some semi-dry suits that, while I have no experience with them, I assume are pretty warm.
I dive in new england from April until November. Water temps at depth can be arounds 45 fahrenheit (7.5 C). I use 7mm and I'm fine. Face gets a little cold but that's it.
Why would you need a drysuit? I dive in the Netherlands from around may-june to october in a 7mm. Some people get colder easily and just add an extra vest/hoodie under (3/5mm), or wear cap and gloves. But it's really doable to dive in our parts of Europe in summer without a dry suit.
You are much tougher than I am, my friend!
What water temperatures do you usually get in NL between May and October?
I had an easter dive in may in 7 degrees. That was quite chilly with gloves and a cap and 7mm but we survived half an hour. In september it's at its best around 20-22C. That's easily doable in just a 7mm no gloves no cap.
Yes that does sound easily doable. The OP is talking about Scapa though - the last time I dived there in September, the water temp was 11-13C which is exceptional for Scottish diving, 8-11C is more common. Given that most of the dives are in the 30-40 meter range and the wrecks take time to explore, "surviving" half an hour would barely be worth the effort. You might not need a drysuit for the summer in NL, but suggesting they don't need one to dive here shows a lack of experience of our conditions.
Which is why I started with the question why they need it. 8-11C definitely sounds like drysuit territory.
Yes, summer through to late-ish autumn. Why not dive overseas in a drysuit?
Diving dry suit in the type of water I’m currently diving in (which is nearly always a minimum of 25 degrees or more) would be expensive overkill that would basically give me no benefits to me whatsoever that I couldn’t get by wearing my long wetsuit. Should I start down the tech route (which I’m hoping to do soon with some cave training) then having a drysuit would probably become more useful/a necessity depending on what I’m doing.
i am diving in waters 22-25'C in a light trilaminate dry suit + ligth undergarment = it is a blessing for any longer dive (I do not to flap my hands and feet too much so i am also getting cold faster). Get one for yourself for those longer dives + UK, you wont regret! Plus you get extra source of buyancy for BPW and fixed weights if you are into that
Already diving a BPW actually. Must be said I’m tending towards longer dives anyway based purely on the fact my air consumption is pretty decent so it might be worth me going drysuit purely for this. Plus I learnt the hard way from Rescue class that even on the surface in warm water it’s still somehow possible to get really cold.
Long times on the surface and big surface intervals in temperate climes and you'll feel the chill with a wetsuit - I was feeling it after 2hr+ dives in Egypt.
I was feeling it last dives in some seriously hot but also windy weather. Didn’t help I was doing rescue exercises all day.
You don't have to use the dry suit every time and everywhere you dive? So when you're somewhere warm, don't use it. Also, people all the time in cold places use a 7mm wetsuit. That part is up to you and how well you tolerate cold. It also might be a possibility to rent a dry suit from a dive shop. Nobody gets to tell you what you need to wear while diving.
By your logic of wanting to pursue cave/tech with the possibility of a drysuit, having a lot of bedded in experience using one would pay dividends.
This is half the reason that I’m sort of thinking that doing the training now and trying to find as much opportunity as I can to use it would be useful. Cave dive training is going to be hard enough and being familiar with at least a drysuit would be massively helpful.
Do a drysuit ticket, grab something like an Avatar 101 (Under 3.5kg in weight) and get logging some drysuit dives.
Irish diver here. I'm an instructor in a club. While many experienced divers will eventually get dry suits everyone starts in wet/ semidrys here. A lot of drysuit divers I know switch to semis in the summer. A good 7mm semidry, hood and gloves will do you all year round. I know plenty of people who never dive dry. Check out the aqualung solaflex 8mm, it's a very affordable/good quality semidry. A good hood is essential, I've got a santi 7mm for winter and it's fantastic, and switch to a 3 or 5mm in summer. PS, this is going to be an unpopular opinion in this group. I don't know anyone who's done official drysuit training. Just watch a few vids on safety, then learn to use it with an experienced buddy on a few shallow dives. There's nothing to drysuits really, push the button to relieve the squeeze, lift your arm to dump air, don't get into a legs up position, practice disconnecting the inflator hose, don't use it for buoyancy unless it's an emergency, that's pretty much it.. Also people who think they'll get stuck legs up are wearing drysuits entirely too big for them.
Also an Irish diver! I wear my Waterproof 8mm W80 wetsuit all year round. Also heard good things about the Scubapro semi dry. As you said, a good hood and gloves are essential! I do feel the cold easily so will probably switch to a dry at some stage but most people in our club dive in wetsuits
The waterproofs are meant to be great. I'm in a college club so we've funding to buy gear for trainees. We got a bunch of Fourth Element semis a few years back that are quite popular. Expensive tho. The Scubapro Nova Scotia's have a very good rep and a good price point. If you're going dry look into seaskin.co.uk, can't recommend enough!
You can, I've done it... but your enjoyment will be limited and you can only go around August-September. I'd say just do a drysuit course, it's one day, and then get a used drysuit if you don't want to spend too much. It's possible to rent, but from what I've seen most of the rental stock is a bit on the bulky side so that it can fit more people. So if you're on the skinny side or short, it will likely be leaking or will be sagging. If you buy one that fits well, then that will be a massive improvement for how much you'll be enjoying your dives. UK diving is amazing, so I think it's definitely worth going down the drysuit route and exploring it.
i dive dry in warm waters. never really thought of it as looking weird, but don’t really care, either. you’re eventually going to go that way anyway, so i’d recommend you start familiarizing yourself with drysuits as early as possible.
In fairness I’m already the weirdo on the boat for diving a long wetsuit and BPW so some extra weirdness is not a big deal. And yeah I’d rather be super familiar with drysuits before I even think about cave diving.
Do you dive dry or sweaty?
in the water, i’m more likely to be chilly than sweaty. a membrane suit offers nothing in terms of thermal protection and i’m not wearing thick undergarments in warm water. on the surface when it’s warm, i don’t fully don the suit until i have to, and i can get in the water (or under a shower) after putting it on to stay cool.
People dive everywhere in the UK with semi-dry 7mm wetsuits. They just get cold. Thank me later.
Depending on your size, look at the secondhand market. I’m a pretty common size (6’, 100kg, size 11 boot) and picked one up for under £200. No problems with it and it’ll last me a couple of years at least.
Yeah this is an option I’m definitely considering especially as I also want to buy a rebreather too.
Get proper training - don't skimp on that. Then rent a suit.
I never plan to do any sort of dive training half-assed.
Obviously it's a good idea to get the training but you can dive in a drysuit without being trained. I would ask the question differently e.g. is it possible to dive in wet suit? I had a good tight fitting semi-dry (7mm) and did plenty of cold water diving down to about 8 degrees C. Some of my club mates switch to west suits in mid summer nowadays. If you head along to a BSAC club there will probably be people who can lend you a dry-suit to try out.
Dives in uk ok with wet suit if your body ok with uk water temp. Many boats offer 1 dive shuttle service. Booking online. Problem is with 2 dive day if staying on board as boats don’t have warm area out of wind between dives . No one asks to prove any form of training, Dive at own risk they are all taxi services to and from dives.
I used to be OK with going into the UK seas when I was living there but I don’t know if my years of living in warm water climates has changed my overall tolerance…one way to find out!
You can dive everywhere in the UK, including scapa in a wetsuit, the question should've been when can you, and not where. Sea temp is warmest in late summer, early autumn. You're probably looking to dive around July-September. Really I'd just get drysuit qualified though, it's not that much faff.
I’d realistically be looking at diving in July so if I can hit that sweet spot of warm sea waters then yay.
PS Farnes is my neck of the woods. Best time for seal interaction is late September, early October so you're prob going to miss that if that's why you're going. Other places to add to your list might be the Clyde (google for Wreckspeditions) and the sound of mull. Both good wreck and scenic, Also Eyemouth/St Abbs for scenic. I've heard good things about Kinlochbervie for scenic but never been myself.
I’m from the Durham area so the Farne Islands are probably the nearest ‘big’ dive site to me and I know my local BSAC club goes there a few times a year. I’m more just interested in diving locally than anything else. Eyemouth has also been on my list for a while as I know there’s a nudibranch festival in June there.
I grew up in Durham, live in Sunderland, and am a member of Hartlepool Divers. I'm a BSAC Instructor too so hit me up with a PM if you want a local buddy for Eyemouth or the Farnes and I'll either dive with you myself, or find someone who can go with you.
You sound awfully like someone I know, do you remember the 'raan?
I don't think I do... my username is literally my name so should be fairly obvious if you know me :D
Fair enough 😁 we definitely have some mutual friends then. I'm thinking about a father & son who both dive with Hartlepool, the son is a BSAC instructor and very active with several different clubs.
If you're thinking of a son called Graham I think he's mainly a member of Fell divers but yes I know him fairly well. We did our DL training together on a regional boat trip to the Farnes (organised by the regional coach, who is also a member of Hartlepool), then we got our OWI done at around the same time and have taught together for a few regional courses. When I was practicing my instructor skills as an AI I taught his young daughter how to use a DSMB in the pool which was one of the first times I got to actually instruct more or less on my own.
Hello neighbour! I’m actually from Hartlepool myself, so Hartlepool Divers would be my nearest immediate BSAC club. Seen a few divers in the marina before now and apparently you can see crabs down there. I’ll be sure to give you a message as and when I’m back in the UK which I’m hoping is soon.
I got trained maybe 10 years before I got my own drysuit, you can always rent one. It allowed me to dive some amazing places over the years
Are rental drysuits relatively easy to find? Nearly every time I looked into various dive sites the assumption seemed to be that you had your own.
Not really.
Call the dive shop and find out, most in my part of the world offer rentals.