Looking for wet suit advice for Cozumel

[BrewingDiver]

When we've gone in April, my wife and I were very comfortable diving every day in full 3 mm. As DD said above, you will also be protected from stings. It seems like we've seen more of the floating ones in April when surfacing than in other months.

 

[DandyDon]

The hydroids I get without a wetsuit were all attached and on the bottom near a picture I was taking. Not that it doesn't happen, I guess but it is seems rare to find them floating.

Yeah, floating. No one is supposed to touch anything. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

My daughter, her mom, my grandson, and our first exchange student took a cruise there once (I was invited before the Ex but I hated the idea too much: drive all the way across Texas, stand in a big line to get on a nice hotel that could sink or just lose power in the middle of nowhere for days, be locked up on board for two days until arriving at a port with no diving, then finally a few hours the next day in Coz, then locked up for two days getting back, a long line to escape the barge, then drive all the way across Texas again! ) and they didn't listen to my warnings well. She let the boys snorkel without vests, then later had lunch at Villablanca's dock, with the boys exploring the beach. My grandson picked up a pretty red worm he found under a rock - very briefly!

The other thing is that a shorty is not the best choice for a drift diving destination like Cozumel. Exposed elbows and knees can take quite a beating!

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I have been twice to Cozumel, once in November-December and the second time in late March a few years later. I dived in a Cressi 2.5mm shorty on both occasions but while I was comfortable throughout the first time, I changed to a 5mm full suit midway through the March trip (and promptly managed to lose that suit somehow at the end of the trip).

I hope that saved you a lot on luggage fees.

 

[DjDiverDan]

As others have said, that's a tough question to answer since there is so much variation in susceptibilty to cold. Also, how much diving you are going to do plays a part - 3 or 4 dives every day for 5 or more days in a row is going to require greater protection due to cumulative loss of body heat. I just got back (last Wednesday from a week in Cozumel, in which I did only the 2-tank morning dives for days 1 and 2, 2-tank morning plus a night dive on Day 3, took a day off, then 2-tank morning dives on days 5 and 6. I was comfortable in just my fleece-lined 0.5 mil neoprene full-body Henderson. If I was going to dive more than 3 days in a row, or more dives in a day, I would step up to a 2 mil wetsuit, or a 3 mil shorty over my Henderson. FWIW, I carry a lot of my own insulation with me, and I grew up in Wisconsin where we thought nothing of jumping into a 68 degree lake, so I'm probably less susceptible to cold than most. There were two guys diving in our group that dove morning dives 5 days in a row in just swimsuit and teeshirt; I have done that before, and was fine for 2 days, but by the third day I was shivering. Most of the women in our group used 2 mil wetsuits, a couple used 3 mil plus a hood.

I do recommend full body protection, even if it is just skins. Hydroids can be an issue if you get close to the reef or the sandy bottom, and, while I saw no jellies at all on my recent trip, I have seen small thimble jellies on other trips, including several trips in March of years past when there were a lot of them on certain dives. These are not the dangerous box jellies of Northern Australia, but ALL jellies are venomous to some degree, and I wouldn't want to swim through a mess of them without body protection.

 

[jbark]

here is my take: I would contact the dive operator and find out what rental options they have for wetsuits. I think i would need my 3 mm full and my skin so if the op has shorties, or light weight hooded vests, i could easily add a layer if I need more, or for later in the week if the chill was building. I would take a 3 mm hood, or buy a beanie also since I tend to get cold if my head gets cold (in water or out, a hazard of low follicle count ).

If you will have to go shopping for a wetsuit then I would go with a 3 mm shorty provided the dive op can supply a full to layer over. I got nice shortie on amazon last year for < $50.

have fun!
Jerry

 

[ggunn]

If you dive shorties only, you'll be more exposed to the floating hydroids. A mix of benadryl & hydrocortisone creams seems to work well.

I go to Cozumel in late April or early May. I dive with a 3 mil shorty over a skin and it works for me.

 

[Divegoose]

On my first trip to Cozumel I wore a 3 mm shorty. I found that I was getting cool to cold on the 2nd dive.

On subsequent trips I have worn a full 3mm suit. Keeps me much warmer than the shorty. A 5 mm
may be a bit warm.

If you are going to rent on site, try the shorty, and if it doesn't keep you warm enough change to
full suit.

I dive in the cold waters of Vancouver Island, and wear nothing but a dry suit all year round.
I like being warm and dry.



Divegoose

 

[DandyDon]

I used to know a woman who wore a dry suit to dive Coz in August.

If you dive shorties only, you'll be more exposed to the floating hydroids. A mix of benadryl & hydrocortisone creams seems to work well.

I go to Cozumel in late April or early May. I dive with a 3 mil shorty over a skin and it works for me.

Yeah, skins protect from a lot even tho they don't keep you warm. A skin makes a jumpsuit easier to get on and off too.

 

[JFS]

I wore my BARE Nex Gen drysuit the other day as I get cold with extended times in the water, other than that I normally wear a 5mm full suit with hooded vest in the cooler months and a shorty in the summer. To each is there own as I know people that just wear a rash guard and they seem happy with that.

 

[DandyDon]

I wore my BARE Nex Gen drysuit the other day as I get cold with extended times in the water, other than that I normally wear a 5mm full suit with hooded vest in the cooler months and a shorty in the summer. To each is there own as I know people that just wear a rash guard and they seem happy with that.

And some people just wear old walking shorts & tees...

The hydroids I get without a wetsuit were all attached and on the bottom near a picture I was taking. Not that it doesn't happen, I guess but it is seems rare to find them floating.

 

[Connorc]

I wear a 3 mm full wetsuit for winter diving in Cozumel. A 3 mm shorty might be fine for the spring.