Diving and the cold

This weekend after a long and dry winter I have managed to get a dive in, and even though I enjoyed it I am now suffering its consequences by having a sore throat. Despite the fact that diving in Gibraltar can be practiced all year round I think I am starting to get old and I should start looking into getting warmer equipment to avoid this from happening again.

I have always had a dilemma when it comes to diving in the winter, and it is: To use a dry suit or not?

Those of you who are not divers might be thinking what is a dry suit and why not just wear a wetsuit but there is a big difference between the two. The wetsuit is the standard kit that most divers would use around here as it is quite warm in the summer and also sometimes in the winter and really does what it says on the tin (you are going to get wet).

On the other hand a dry suit is the ideal piece of equipment for cold water diving but it works a bit different to the wetsuit. For starters it keeps you dry when you are diving. But it also keeps you much warmer in the water than a wetsuit does. You are not only kept dry whilst you are in the water, but you also wear a thin woolly undersuit to keep you warm as the dry suit itself does not give you a lot of protection against the cold.

Now the reason I have not bought one before really is the price as it is quite expensive. Then you also need to buy the undersuit that goes with it so this means even more money. The other reason is that I don’t know how to use one as I have never used one before but that can be solved if I get one with a little help from Google.

The cold I am suffering from now has helped me to finally make a decision. I have decided to get a dry suit as I am getting older and also I am starting to feel the cold on a dive more often. Hopefully I will find one soon.