I dive a White's Fusion; it was not a custom fit but rather a used off the rack. I'm a hard fit, so the suit in many ways is too large for me, but if fits my fat a$$ which is the important part. Said a$$ is getting smaller, which is one area this suit works well -- it'll remain functional while I shrink much longer than more form fitting type suits would. I have no other health issues period, much less any that affect circulation. The feet are too large; I've found that snugging the heel into the back of the attached feet and gently folding the excess over the toe and under the ball of the foot provides more "loft" and warmth than jamming the toes into the front of the foot and gathering the rest up at the heel.
Obvious, synthetic socks work better than cotton, and I tend to wear "puffy" synthetic socks in there, but this weekend I had to call the dive due to my feet being frozen. (Max 62fsw, Avg 38fsw, Time 53, Temp 48F.) I'm noticing that even a small amt of weight loss is having significant effects in my cold tolerance. I was only slightly cool elsewhere (which is normal... it's cold water for goodness' sake). I top it with a pair of rock boots that are very thin and flexible at the top, with a nice solid sole. Kinda like a pair of black Chuck Taylors (they they aren't, they're inexpensive import rock boots).
So juggling economy with performance, what's the best thing to do here? A new suit is not an option now -- I need to know what I can jam onto my feet and into the drysuit feet that'll maximize my warmth. I know wool socks, but what wool socks? There's a big dif between a pair of woman's dress wool socks and hikers, and everyone makes a pair claiming to be THE warmest. And should I do Lycra socks next to skin, then wool -- or vice versa?
And can I totally cheat and use the little heating packs? (I oogled Bdub's heated vest, and maybe... someday... but right now the only problem at hand is my feet. hahaha!)
To illustrate how cold tolerant I used to be (55 lbs ago), I have worn a pair of thin spandex warm water gloves for all of my dives here in the PNW. My hands were never the deciding factor for warmth. They were often MORE warm than the rest of me. Until this weekend. I graduated up to a pair of 3 mm gloves. Toasty.
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Thanks in advance!
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