wetsuit question

[koozemani]

Is there a difference between wetsuits marketed for scuba diving as opposed to those marketed for surfing?

I only ask because there's a great deal for a 3/2 full suit on whiskeymilitia. It says it's intended for surfing, but is there really a difference?

Forgive my ignorance in advance

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

I'm not a wetsuit manufacturer, nor do I play one on television. But in my experience, the ability of a surfing wetsuit to bounce back after being compressed at depth isn't that good - especially once you rack up a few dives with it. A while back, my SO had a 3 mm O'Neill wetsuit, which I'm sure is awesome for surfing, but not for diving: after 100 deep-ish dives with it, it provided the same level of thermal protection as a dive skin. That's my very limited experience on the topic - take it for what it's worth!

 

[koozemani]

good to know.

 

[scubafied]

I've been looking into this same thing recently. Did some searching on the board and from the discussions there it sounds like the biggest differences between the 2 are open-cell neoprene (more air= not great for compression but better for mobility) or closed cell neoprene (less air=better compression characteristics for diving).

On the other hand a lot of the dive suits now feature really stretchable materials that are probably more comparable to the open cell but are usually lined with something for better warmth. The other big side of the argument is that surf wetsuits are more durable as far as wear and tear and they use things like blind-stitching and seam welding for less water penetration and less skin irritation.

I think I've decided to go the surf route but have a couple of thin dive layering options available if needed.

 

[fire_diver]

I think you have that last part backwards. High quality scuba wetsuits use blind stitching. A scuba wetsuit would see WAY more use and wear than a surfing suit would see and would have to be more robust.

 

[cmburch]

Many wetsuit manufacturers will have a warning about the surf wetsuit or freedive wetsuit and related gloves, socks, booties, hoods are not recommended for SCUBA. Contact the manufacturer. In general, an open cell wetsuit will not handle the repeated constant compression in SCUBA diving. So a 7mm open cell freedive wetsuit could quickly become a permanently compressed 5mm if used for SCUBA diving.

 

[lmorin]

Closed cell foam should compress more than open cell foam because the latter becomes infiltrated with whatever medium surrounds it, be it air or water. In the water, open cell foam would act as a sponge and become filled with water. The structural rubber should not compress much at all. I doubt any wetsuit is made soley of open cell foam rubber because of durability issues and because water can flow fairly freely in and out of the open cell foam, it will not be as good an underwater insulator as closed cell foam.

From Wikipedia:

Open cell structured foams contain pores that are connected to each other and form an interconnected network which is relatively soft. Open cell foams will fill with whatever they are surrounded with. If filled with air this could be a relatively good insulator, but if the open cells fill with water, insulation properties would be reduced. Foam rubber is a type of open cell foam.

Closed cell foams do not have interconnected pores. Normally the closed cell foams have higher compressive strength due to their structures. However, closed cell foams are also generally denser, require more material, and consequentially are more expensive to produce. The closed cells can be filled with a specialized gas to provide improved insulation. The closed cell structure foams have higher dimensional stability, low moisture absorption coefficients and higher strength compared to open cell structured foams.

 

[seaducer]

Lots of good technical stuff above. I dive a surfers 3/2 full and a shorty because they are soooo much cheaper. I use these suits in warm waters and compression is not much of an issue for me with them either.

I would not use a surfers 5mm and up, but the thinner suits I have no worries using. If the water is cold enough to be dangerous I use what is designed for what I am doing.

 

[cmburch]

Surf and freedive wetsuits are usually warmer than SCUBA wetsuits with less flushing of water through suit.

Best to discuss specific applications with manufacturer.

 

[Shftrdog]

You really don't want to use a wet suit unless its a SCUBA wet suit becasue of the pressure. A surfing wet suit is not made for going under water and being compressed, so after just a few dives it will loose most if not all of its termal protection.