Warming up after a cold dive
So I'm located in Alaska, and mostly dive very cold, glacier fed rivers and ocean that's between 40-45 F. I'm planning to return to a place where I've dove in the past, but you have to go in the winter when it's cold so that the glacier sediment clears up and you can actually have some visibility.
When I've gone in the past, I had a friend's house to crash at and take a hot shower to stave off the hypothermia. He moved, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. I'm honestly very broke, and can't really afford to rent an AirBnb or anything like that, so planning on ferrying to the spot, hitch hiking to the river, and tent camping for a weekend to dive all day as much as I can. The water temp will be around 38 F, and the air temps will be around freezing (last time I went there was over a foot of snow).
I'm trying to figure out a way to warm up after I get out of the water. Usually I dive for around 2-2.5 hours in these conditions, then need to get out as I'm starting to shiver uncontrollably. I mostly stay in shallow water, and don't push my breath holds in these conditions, so no need to worry about dying while diving, but I am worried about being able to get warm after. For reference I dive with a 8/7/6MM Hollis Neotek V2 wetsuit.
A couple of options I've considered:
- Getting a hot tent with a wood stove or propane stove - Strongly considering but honestly pretty expensive and not sure how it would go with a cheap one. Also, will add lots of weight and gear to carry as well
- Battery powered heated clothes - I don't know anyone that has ever actually used this stuff so no idea if it works well or not but I've seen them advertised
- Making myself a thermal wrap - Basically reflective emergency blanket inside my warmest sleeping bag and wool clothes in my tent - just not sure if it will suffice depending on how cold I will get, specially with such cold outside temps in a tent
- Portable sauna tent - I know they exist but haven't taken the time to research cost and details
So, does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Anyone else dive in remote cold water?