Debate with me: dry suit vs wet suit for cold water jobs in the PNW?

I've been diving commercial in Puget Sound for about 7 years now. Back when I started, I used a thick 7mm wet suit with a hood and gloves for winter work on pier inspections. It worked okay but I was ALWAYS cold after 45 minutes and had to take long breaks. Then about 3 years ago I switched to a dry suit with a wool base layer and it changed my whole game. I can stay down for 2 hours easy now and I don't shake like crazy when I come up. But here's the thing - my buddy Dave still swears by his wet suit for the same work because he says dry suits are too bulky and slow him down on ladder climbs. He does the same jobs I do near Edmonds and says he's fine as long as he keeps moving. So what's your take - are dry suits the only way for cold water or is Dave onto something with the old school approach? Has anyone else dealt with deciding between comfort and mobility on a real job site?

3 comments

3 Comments

carter.joseph1mo ago

My first winter in the Sound I was in a 7mm wet suit like you and I remember my hands being so numb I couldn't feel the rope I was trying to tie off. Switched to a dry suit after that season and never looked back. Dave might be moving fast on the ladder but wait until he has to hold still for 20 minutes on a current line inspection, that wet suit stops working fast. I get the mobility complaint though, I took a good few spills on deck before I got used to the extra bulk. But for me comfort wins every time when I'm trying to focus on the job and not shivering.

ray_williams1mo ago

Yeah, have you tried putting hand warmers in your dry suit chest pocket or taping them to your wrists? That and a cheap pair of neoprene gloves under my dry suit gloves saved me from the worst of it.

phoenix_bailey1mo ago

Nah, I gotta push back on this one. Look, I ran wet suits for five years in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and I know exactly what you mean about the cold, but Dave has a real point about mobility. On a bad day in a dry suit I've nearly slipped off a barnacle-covered ladder because I couldn't feel the rungs through all that neoprene and my leg movement was so restricted. There was one time I had to do a quick emergency valve shutdown on a structure near Port Townsend and I couldn't get my leg high enough to reach the step, ended up having to swim back to the boat and grab a different tool. I think a lot of guys switch to dry suits and forget that being fast and agile can be just as important as being warm, especially on jobs where you're scrambling around underwater structures. Plus a good 7mm with a proper hood and a thick vest underneath can keep you warm for an hour if you're moving steady, which is plenty for most inspection dives.