What's your minimum temperature to comfortably swim? (sunshine, moving, winter)

[Adi from the Brunswicks]

Am I the only one able to tolerate water temperatures in the 50's F for over half an hour . Why are all you cold hardy folks wimping on this thread. Now come on, man up and take a chill plunge .

[tom77falcons]

Around here in summer I prefer air temp around 80F or above, and water temp of 73F and above. The thing I have noticed about air temp though is that in winter if visiting a place like FL I can swim easily in 75F air with 73F water. I think I build up cold tolerance to air living in this cold winter climate.

[Mac15]

Originally Posted by alex985

Yeah but I don't think many people go to the UK to go swimming. Which is a good thing, it's already cool enough you don't need to go swimming to be comfortable.

We go swimming in the summer. Its called the beach.

[Mac15]

Originally Posted by tom77falcons

Around here in summer I prefer air temp around 80F or above, and water temp of 73F and above. The thing I have noticed about air temp though is that in winter if visiting a place like FL I can swim easily in 75F air with 73F water. I think I build up cold tolerance to air living in this cold winter climate.

I don't think so

[arctic_gardener]

If you swim off the coast of Kuwait in July and August, you can easily get heatstroke. Water temperatures are in the mid-30s C (mid 90s F) and air temperatures over the water are around 40 C (104 F). Perhaps I should start a thread on the "maximum comfortable" swimming temperature

[ilovemycomputer90]

Air temp above 85 F, water temp at least 70 F. I can tolerate lower, especially if it's humid, but would rather not. I'm not a big fan of swimming anyway. Only do it because it's a readily available option and good exercise.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by arctic_gardener

If you swim off the coast of Kuwait in July and August, you can easily get heatstroke. Water temperatures are in the mid-30s C (mid 90s F) and air temperatures over the water are around 40 C (104 F). Perhaps I should start a thread on the "maximum comfortable" swimming temperature

Because the air is dry, as long as you did strokes where your arms got wind exposure, you would not get heatstroke. Also, a quick getting out of the water would quickly cool you with the very dry air, then back to the water.

I swam in Death Valley in the summer, 120 degree temps and 95 degree pool, I did not get heatstroke and I did laps too. It still felt cool getting out of the water, because the water would evaporate immediately. However, after 1 minute you'd start to get hot again because you'd be dry, so back to the water... Rinse and repeat...

[Mac15]

Originally Posted by arctic_gardener

If you swim off the coast of Kuwait in July and August, you can easily get heatstroke. Water temperatures are in the mid-30s C (mid 90s F) and air temperatures over the water are around 40 C (104 F). Perhaps I should start a thread on the "maximum comfortable" swimming temperature

I can't even imagine what that would feel like.

[snj90]

Originally Posted by arctic_gardener

If you swim off the coast of Kuwait in July and August, you can easily get heatstroke. Water temperatures are in the mid-30s C (mid 90s F) and air temperatures over the water are around 40 C (104 F). Perhaps I should start a thread on the "maximum comfortable" swimming temperature

That sounds fun, actually. I have never once in my life gone swimming and found the water too warm. Not even tropical waters in summer. That seems almost like being in a hot tub, and I like hot tubs.

[arctic_gardener]

You would probably enjoy swimming there in October (or further south, Dubai in November) when the air temperatures are much cooler but the water is still in the high 20s or low 30s C. The contrast really does make it feel like a hot tub.