>>In addition to weight - that is, the insulative properties, when
>>choosing what thermal protection to use, it's important to consider
>>how well the material will protect you in the event of a flood.
>>
>>
>
>Never mind the FLOOD part.
>
>I don't know if you ever did any ICE diving in New Hampshire.  Do
>you think the 'cave cut' drysuit unilaterally promoted by JimG is
>suitable for YOURSELF (not the thinnest person I know on earth),
>if you do an ice dive in New Hampshire?  :-)
>
Bob,  you are totally misinterpreting what "cave cut" means.  Like Jim
originally said (which
was worded so well, I'll quote it AGAIN here)...

Quote

"Cave cut"  is just a name that is associated with a particular way of
tailoring the suit.  It is
intended to give the greatest range of motion with the least excess
internal suit volume. It is the
way that ALL drysuits should be cut for EVERYONE. There is no real
reason for anyone NOT
to want it - it is the cut that provides the best overall fit.

Unquote

That means Bob, that, for thin people the suit will be cut thin.  For
those who aren't so thin,
it will be cut accordingly.  But, no matter WHAT build you are, you
won't have EXCESS
suit material that will cause extra drag, get caught/snagged on
things/etc.  This is also a good
thing when you're wreck diving, not just cave diving!

>>Of course, you will still have that initial thermal shock if you flood
>>
>>
>since
>
>
>>your body will have to heat up the cold water that entered the suit,
>>but eventually you will stabilize.
>>
>>
>
>Errrr ... you are not gonna heat up any 'ice water' if the suit
>leaked.  :-))  You climb out of that damned hole (no more than
>100 ft away) right away to keep from getting hypothermia!  :-))
>
Well, Bob, ice diving isn't the ONLY cold water diving that's done.  And
yes, in the past,
people have flooded suits on dives during which they had required deco
stops.  On
dives like that they can't just "climb out of that damned hole".

>It's another case of VERY Cold Water diving that's unfamiliar
>to the Southern preachers in the WKPP caves (of 60F ??).
>
I've done a number of dives here in water temps ranging from the mid
70's down
to the low 40's (I might have some in the 30's but not recently).

I have used a wide range of suits.  I've done 7 dives over a 2 days
period in
51 degree water (people in drysuits were not doing all the dives) and
used a 3mm
jump suit (one piece).  I've even done a dive in 53 degree water in one
of the original
SSA Suits (The Vega for anyone who remembers it).

Now that I have a dry suit, it's FAR easier to just adjust the amount of
undergarment
that I'm using, it's less of a PITA to put on/take off, and, it makes
diving a lot more
enjoyable.  And, I have found that I typically wear approximately the
same amount
of lead using my drysuit as I did previously with my 3 mm suit (within
2-3 lbs).

Carl