Yet another Wetsuit Thickness question

[kathydee]

My first 200 dives were in water warmer than 80F. When switching to local cold water diving, I struggled with which wetsuit to purchase and am very thankful that I decided to purchase a wetsuit that could be returned.

A 12 minute plunge in a 7mm into 46F water was plenty. I returned the wetsuit, purchased a drysuit, suffered the learning curb and have not looked back ;-).

 

[JaneMitchell]

Gotta say I'm a a cold fish...shivered through one winter here in Melbourne Australia in a 7 mm wetsuit with vest at 11 degrees celsius (not sure what that is in farenheit). Bought a drysuit on a payment plan and I've never looked back. Now I wear the drysuit 9 months of the year

If you know you're going to keep diving and you love it ... invest in a drysuit - it will make your diving so much more comfortable and you'll enjoy it so much more if you're not concentrating on how cold you are!

I didn't believe it until I tried it ... now I sometimes get called soft but I'm out diving more than I would be otherwise

 

[scribetree]

Different strokes for different folks. IMHO, cold is the one and only drawback to a wetsuit. And since I run hot I've been just fine diving Monterey for the last four years in a 7mm Henderson Hyperstretch with 7mm hooded vest. I also like getting wet when I dive. It makes me feel more connected to the environment.

I tried a drysuit once. Hated it. Unless I was diving ice or technical, I wouldn't dive one if you gave it to me. It was like watching TV in a very uncomfortable chair. I know I'm in the extreme minority here, but just so you know, there are no absolutes with this kind of thing. Trust your own instinct. Try wet (at least 14mm at the core). If you can't stand the cold, switch to dry. Do what feels good to you.

 

[Guy Alcala]

Different strokes for different folks. IMHO, cold is the one and only drawback to a wetsuit. And since I run hot I've been just fine diving Monterey for the last four years in a 7mm Henderson Hyperstretch with 7mm hooded vest. I also like getting wet when I dive. It makes me feel more connected to the environment.

I tried a drysuit once. Hated it. Unless I was diving ice or technical, I wouldn't dive one if you gave it to me. It was like watching TV in a very uncomfortable chair. I know I'm in the extreme minority here, but just so you know, there are no absolutes with this kind of thing. Trust your own instinct. Try wet (at least 14mm at the core). If you can't stand the cold, switch to dry. Do what feels good to you.

What you're doing is a lot of it. If you're a serious photographer barely moving, you'll be an icecube in short order if wet. OTOH, I've dived in Tahoe and other mountain lakes in 40 deg. water wearing just a 7/5mm 1-piece, 6/3 hood, 5mm gloves and 6.5mm boots, and not been _too_ cold. But there's so little to see in mountain lakes that I swim fast almost the whole time, and I usually plan on a single dive so starting out chilled isn't an issue.

I too prefer to use a wetsuit when possible for the reasons you state, but as I've gotten to be a better diver (and dive deeper) I waste less energy with extraneous movement, so I'm not creating as much heat. For me, a drysuit wins in Monterey on both general comfort and safety grounds unless: it's late summer/early fall when the temps are up; I'm shore diving and not going deep; the sun is shining with little wind and I don't plan on more than 2 (exceptionally 3) dives a day.

Guy

 

[KevinG58]

I think age figures into the equation as well.

I am not as cold tolerant as I was 10 years ago when I could flounder around all day, a couple of 80+ foot dives and a shallower dive and be relatively confortable with the chill.

Now... I am moving on up to a drysuit for Xmas

Maybe less movement and getting into photography also factor in.

 

[Ouvea]

It depends on how your body tolerates cold. If you get cold easily, I doubt that you will be able to perform multiple dives using a wetsuit. I'm 5'5 and weight around 125lbs. I can drain my tank on the first dive but I always come back with nearly half a tank on the second dive.

Switched to a dry-suit (I should have done this years ago) and can now dive twice comfortably. If you plan on doing three to four dives in a day, you will need a dry-suit. With a dry-suit, you'll be warmer under water but you'll warm much faster topside, as you can easily wear something warm and dry.

 

[dannobee]

Claude brings up a very good point regarding being "cold." When I was wearing a wetsuit in Monterey, my idea of being "cold" was hypothermic and a cold core that took hours to rectify. With a drysuit my idea of "cold" is analogous to putting on a light sweater or one more layer of clothing.

I lasted about 100 dives in a wetsuit. The thing that sealed the deal for me was riding back from Carmel after doing two dives in sub 50 degree water. The cold air temperature and evaporative cooling from 20+ kt wind blowing over my wetsuit left me shivering uncontrollably.

Now even when on vacation, if the water temps are below about 75 degrees, I'll bring my drysuit and thinner underwear.

 

[scribetree]

Interesting how many people talk of cold that you can't even shake on the surface. Between dives, if I'm not already too HOT in my wetsuit, I drop it and throw on a shirt and jacket. If it's taking you hours to warm up your core again you probably really are in danger of hypothermia and you almost certainly are diving the wrong wetsuit.

Of course I get cold diving wet, but, as one instructor I know who also favors a wetsuit in Monterey put it, "I've never been $2,000 cold." I'm 5' 10" 180 lbs, so claude, I can understand not being able to handle it at 5' 5" 125. But this talk of diving dry in practically tropical temperatures (@ 75), sounds crazy to me. Then again, I was certified in Oregon and my first dives in the wild were in 43 degree water...in a wet suit. Now that was friggin cold, but frankly everything since has felt manageable by comparison.

 

[dannobee]

Consider this an invitation; you're more than welcome to join us for a few dives in Carmel in your wetsuit off of one of the boats that I usually dive off of. Then you can experience first hand what we're talking about. Maybe we are all just a bunch of wimpy wusses who should be diving exclusively in South Florida in the summer, but somehow I doubt it.

I'll likely be diving both days next weekend, and if the seas are decent, we'll be going south both days.

Interesting how many people talk of cold that you can't even shake on the surface. Between dives, if I'm not already too HOT in my wetsuit, I drop it and throw on a shirt and jacket. If it's taking you hours to warm up your core again you probably really are in danger of hypothermia and you almost certainly are diving the wrong wetsuit.

Of course I get cold diving wet, but, as one instructor I know who also favors a wetsuit in Monterey put it, "I've never been $2,000 cold." I'm 5' 10" 180 lbs, so claude, I can understand not being able to handle it at 5' 5" 125. But this talk of diving dry in practically tropical temperatures (@ 75), sounds crazy to me. Then again, I was certified in Oregon and my first dives in the wild were in 43 degree water...in a wet suit. Now that was friggin cold, but frankly everything since has felt manageable by comparison.

 

[andrewy]

i'll side with Dan here, although i like diving wet because i feel "connected" with water this way., however in When in Rome..i meant in Monterey... If you want to really enjoy it, we dive dry..

I think being "too hot" is a sign of poor conditioning for diving i.e. hi blood pressure.
At least thats how i first felt. I was diving monastery in 4mm crushed neoprene without undergarments and felt pretty warm (i bet i would freeze to death now.
Once you do it often enough your body stops pumping adrenaline and blood., and LP80 lasts you 60 minutes , and that when cold kicks in.

Wet suit is great for 30 minutes < 60feet dive. but we normally do 90minute dives to rec limits... i get a bit cold myself even in 400G undies now. Do take Dannobee on his offer to dive the boat though , i miss it myself.