I live in Florida, the southern half, way down south where bananas grow. But even here, we almost get frost. And when the temps dip into the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s, water temps drop FAST. Since I get into swimming pools for my work, I have had to face getting into water that was in the 40’s and 50’s in wintertime.
I am often asked the same three questions, regarding diving in pools in winter.
“It’s Florida, how cold can it be?”
Water temps in the 50’s and 60′ s are very common here every year. Some years they even get into the 40’s which tens to cause large fish kills in our local waterways.
“Don’t you have a wetsuit”
Yes, but it only adds a layer of insulation, I’m still wet.
“What about a dry suit?”
I have a couple of those, also, and wearing one is like getting vacuum sealed into a oversized pair of “footy pajamas”, and gets very tight in certain areas that should be so constricted.
I’m always looking for options to make my time underwater less brutal, and with this particular product, I’ve found a definite winner.
The thing I fight the most is hypothermia
See it here:
They get to a maximum temperature of 130F (54C). The process is theoretically repeatable indefinitely. That’s efficient!
A word of caution, they can get hot enough to cause minor redness if held against bare skin, or even thin layers of clothes. I usually put them under my wetsuit but over my rash guard (swim shirt), and many times I have some lingering redness that last several hours. It isn’t painful, just letting you know. I’ll take that redness, as it keeps me much warmer while diving.
And for my long time readers, you know I have an obsession with lionfish…check this out:
(From acuspear.com)
One more reason for me to have these!
The come in a variety of sizes and colors, with the larger one lasting longer, some up to three hours! Check the website, they regularly have specials. My first order was for some printed over-runs that I saved me about $2 each. My mishandling them ended their lives over the summer.
By mishandling, I mean improper storage. These should be stored in their liquid form, otherwise they tend to off gas excess moisture, leaving air pockets in them, and throwing off the sodium acetate to water ratio, and they never re-liquify. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Simply recharging them via boiling until the crystals dissolve, then storing them, they should last up to a decade, from what I’m seeing in mine. The colors do tend to fade, but the effectiveness does not.
So go check them out at hotsnapz.com, and tell them FloridaHillbilly sent you. They make great stocking stuffers, and are rather inexpensive when you consider you only have to buy them once, and they are good for hundreds, if not thousands of uses, far better than the one-shot hand warmers that cost around a buck a piece.
Prices range from around $3 up to $30.00, depending on sizes and amounts you order.
Be sure to check out their buy one, get one offers, as well as their combo packs.
$5.99 Flat Rate Shipping and free shipping is offered of orders over $50.00
A definite must have!
Peace,
db
Notes:
Hotsnapz.com
Note: This product was purchased by me personally. No payment was made by the company, other than to state my order was received and the tracking info on the shipment. This is an unbiased, unpaid opinion. MY opinion.
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