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It all depends on what your comfort level is and how long your going to stay down. I did my Ice dive cert. in a 7mm farmer.
wrap duct tape around all inlets and fill your wetsuit with the warm water just before entry.
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Agojo - 1/11/2013 7:00 PM 
I’ve done 50 degrees for 40 minutes in a 6.5mm farmer john with a 7/5mm hood, 7mm non-zip boots and that is max I would want to do. Most important was the 7mm non-zip boots and the 7/5 hood. If you plan to do 36 a lot get a dry suit (DUI TLS 350 in nice).
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Although you can make those cold water dives with a 7mm suit, they tend to be heavy and bulky and difficult to move around in. I would suggest a good Dry Suit as they are less cumbersome, don’t weigh anywhere near as much as a wet suit, albeit you may have to put on a few more pounds of weight to your belt but it is still better than a wet suit.
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42 f for 26 min was the coldest I’ve done. Warm enough for a short dive, eat a good meal and bring hot soup in a thermos. Then get a dry suit.
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I can’t add to the 7mm in near freezing evaluation, but I can tell you at our dive last month Brad brought a large orange igloo drink dispenser full of hot water and a small pot for a ladle. That was a great way to wash the salt off as well as the chill.
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Greg - 1/12/2013 11:48 AM
I dove 47 degree water in a 7mm farmer john and felt fine for a 45 minute dive. I wore a hood, gloves and boots also. I’m sure I could have dove a little colder water, but 37 is really pushing it.
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30 degree ice dive in 7mm was my norm 20 years ago.... Now it is 60+ in a 3/2 or bathing suit else I am in a drysuit!
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lerpy - 1/12/2013 7:22 PM
Here in Ontario going in in 40 degree water is pretty normal and I use a 7mm. The coldest I have gone in I saw 39 degrees and it was chilling but I was about 30 minutes. I know some that will still use a 7mm down to mid 30’s. When it starts getting chilly we usualy bring a thermos of warm/hot water to pour in the suite before jumping in and this helps with the shock of hitting the cold water and slows the cooling down.
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Greg - 1/12/2013 8:59 PM
Be sure to get your face wet with the cold water before you start to descend. It’s better to feel the shock above water than to get water in your mask and get shocked when you’re underwater already.
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Thats good advice from Greg above^. Cold water is my backyard. I dive the monterey bay in a 7mm suit. The average temp is 50 with a low temp of 47. I normally get cold after about 40 min. At 50 Min. its time to get out. However, after a half hour or so of SIT I am good to go back for a second dive : )
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It’s iffy. I dove in 48 degree water with a suit like that and I consider myself to be a wuss. I also had to wear about 40lbs of weight to get down in the salt water.
More importantly, if the water is that cold, I’m sure the air temperature will be chilly as well. I was diving at the Farralons near San Francisco and they had deckhands on the boat to help us out of our wetsuits, wrap us in warm, dry blankets and give us hot soup as soon as we surfaced. I highly recommend you bring along a non-diving friend to help you out of your wetsuit as a good cold wind can be nearly crippling.
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I would never pay anybody to dive in that cold of water. You have to want to or the mental part has already defeated you.
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Did an ice dive once in a 2 piece 1/4" (7mil) wet suit, once was enough!
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36 deg in a 7mm sure sounds cold to me. Coldest i did with a 7mm was 48 deg for 45 min and I was cold when I got out.
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How deep are you going to dive cold water in a wet suit. It makes a big difference. I’ll let you figure that one out yourself. Also youe nor going to be enjoying a 2nd dive that day at best anyways. Diving cold water increases your chances of a DCS hit. The best thing about diving cold water in a wetsuit is when you warm yourself up with that urge to go.
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I dive the northeast, quarry and Atlantic Ocean off the Jersey shore.
I can tell you, for me it;s not much fun in a 7mm one piece suit below 55%
With a farmer you would be at 14mm at your core so it might be a bit more bearable.
If I wanted to extend my off shore season I would move to a dry suit.
But I would rather dive and hunt wet when conditions allow.
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I have a 7mm (one piece) with 5mm boots/hood/gloves and routinely dive low 40’s (40-45) throughout the winter months here in TN in our quarries and springs. Of course I’m used to it (or as used to it as you can get) because the water doesn’t warm up a whole lot down deep even in the summer.
I’m sure 36 will be chilly, but as others stated if you can put some warm water in your wetsuit right before you dive it will certainly help. I am too lazy to bring warm water to remote quarries with me, but did my New Years day dive at Mermet Springs, IL and they have showers onsite so I took advantage of it there.
Ultimately you’ll decide what is right for you. A lot of divers refuse to ever dive during the colder months and/or colder water. For some of the rest of us we want to be in the water as much as possible and giving up 4-6 months of diving from October to March or having to wait to travel to warm water environments just doesn’t work.
BTW, as used to diving cold water as I am, I am also budgeting for a dry suit and will probably pick one up in the next year or two. If you’re going to be doing a lot of cold water diving it will be a good investment for you.
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