men and women and cold water

[lph]

How's that for a catchy title?

I just bought a drysuit for kayaking (Ursuit Multipurpose, thin and superlightweight) and with it there was a small brochure showing some results from a couple of immersion tests wearing these suits in very cold water for up to 6 hours (!) . Granted the sample was small - 3 men and 3 women in the first test, 5 men and 4 women in the second, but still the graphs showing the fall in their individual body temperatures were really interesting. The women all started out with slightly higher body temps, but their core temps sank significantly less than the men's did, with one guys temperature sinking like a rock. He obviously had to pull out of the test halfway because he was dangerously close to hypothermia.

I have no idea what kind of fitness level or body fat percentage these people had, but it reminded me of a reality show here in Norway where at some point the 8 contestants had to swim as far as they could across a glacier lake, with water temps just above freezing. Every single woman outswam every single man, with even the skinniest and most unfit woman lasting longer in the water than both the chubbiest guy with considerable body fat, and the strongest, fittest one, a former professional soccer player.

And I remember reading somewhere that the only athletic endeavour where women consistently outperform men is long-distance swimming, like across the English Channel.

Maybe this is old news to all of you OW swimmers, but I found this fascinating. Is it just higher body fat, or is it better distributed, protecting the inner organs from cold, or is it something else again?

[PamNY]

When I was scuba diving, I heard it was body fat. But that's just chatter - not scientifically verified. I'd love to know more. And I got really cold.

[colby]

Interesting, and a good question. There was a recent episode of Mythbusters that tested mens vs. womens tolerance for pain, but the way they tested it was placing their arms in a bucket of cold water with ice and measuring how long they could take it. Women did have a higher tolerance for pain, and yelling curse words increased tolerance for pain generally. It wasn't whole-body submersion, though, so might not lead to the same conclusion.

[sarahkonamojo]

I have read that at ultra-distance running women also out perform men.

[DebW]

Were the people wearing just the thin dry suit in cold water? Don't you usually wear fleece layers under the dry suit depending on water temperature?

[lph]

The brochure was for several types of drysuit, all more "working suits" than paddling suits. As I recall the one test was with people wearing regular clothes underneath, the second was with them wearing Ursuits own fleece liner suit underneath.

I get warm very fast when paddling, so I've worn this suit with just a wicking layer underneath.

[staceysue]

So . . . if any of us is ever being chased by a man who can run faster than us, all we have to do is jump in an icy lake to escape!

[artifactos]

So . . . if any of us is ever being chased by a man who can run faster than us, all we have to do is jump in an icy lake to escape!

I'm glad there is a way to apply this knowledge when I'm not out kayaking.

[Tuckervill]

I thought this thread would be about "shrinkage".