Cold Water Experiment

I've been experimenting with cold water survival for the past few years. This year, I wore exactly what I expect to wear during my NFCT trip...long johns, shorty wetsuit, and fleece jacket. I think a coat might be too bulky so I'm planning on just wearing layers. I found that without a coat, cold water was circulating around my body much more than expected. I became chilled after only a few minutes. I stayed in for 25 minutes so that I could see how well I could function out of the water.

I experienced a tingling in my hands after about 20 minutes, and my left arm did not seem to function very well after about 23 minutes. My legs and feet were also numb, but functioning. I would have been able to build a fire if needed after getting out, but my body was so chilled that I did not feel like I was warming up very much once out of the water. The space blanket did seem to help, but maybe it was mostly because it is a good wind break. I suppose that I would either have had to build a fire to dry off and warm up or start walking in order to warm. With a wetsuit and polypropylene long johns, I think I might be able to stay warm even while wet, but I'm not entirely sure. My body was very chilled, and it could have been a dangerous situation if I could not warm quickly.

The water temperature when I start my trip should be around 55F, which was the temperature of the water during my recon trip in the middle of May 2011. At that temperature, I expect to be able to stay in the water almost indefinitely while wearing a wetsuit. I have a dry suit that I bought many years ago to kayak in the ice of Lake Erie that I would like to try sometime soon. I've never used it in frozen water so I do not know how well it will perform. I think it will be too bulky and uncomfortable to wear long on a wilderness kayak trip, however. I would just like to do a comparison with the wetsuit.

In conclusion, I would not like to have to survive in 32F water for very long. I was very cold, and it would have taken a very long time to warm up after getting out. I would have needed much of my gear after getting out too in order to get warm. Could I have walked 10 miles after getting out yesterday? Maybe. It would have been very uncomfortable though. It's easy to think through these scenarios while in a warm house, but it's entirely different to think through them while submerged in freezing water. I need to do this experiment again when the water temperature is about 50F.

My neice, Nichole, has been swimming with my on the first day of each year since she was about 4 years old.