There are different types of wet-suits, some which are designed especially for cold water use. Hot water systems that provide a steady flow of warm water into a wet-suit are even better - but we will address that topic below. They pour the hot water into their suits just before re-entering the water to help bring up their body temperature.

Some wet-suit divers lessen the pain of cold water shock by having a hot tub of water on the bank. This “cold water shock” has an accumulative affect on the body and even the toughest people often find ourselves going “one, two, three” on the bank and have trouble making our bodies jump back into the water. This happens again every time you re-enter the water after knocking out a plug-up in the jet tube or every time you take a break. In really cold water, the main problem with a wet-suit is that initial frigid shock which shocks your body as the initial cold water rushes into your suit when you first enter the water. Your body-heat then warms the water up, insulating you from the colder water that remains outside the suit. Wet-suits are designed to allow water to get inside the suit. The key to successful cold water dredging is having the proper equipment - particularly those items needed to keep your body from getting too cold and uncomfortable. This can often be the case when you are dredging in cold water.

Can you recall ever standing alongside an unheated swimming pool or just next to the water’s edge on the beach, trying intently to muster the nerve to jump into the cold water? Perhaps you even tried to build up to the big leap by counting, “One, two, three.jump!” - only to find yourself still standing at the edge of the water after the countdown and feeling like your body is not quite under your control.

Homemade hand dredge