7mm Wetsuit In A Indoor Pool?

[gcarter]

Depends where you are. Diving in the St Lawrence, a 7mm fullsuit and a 7mm hooded vest are a good all season combination, using both spring / fall and just the fullsuit in the summer. I rarely use the farmer any more, with the fullsuit / hooded vest I can make a dive time decision whether or not I need the extra warmth. With the john, I have to use what I brought.

 

[Fogest]

Depends where you are. Diving in the St Lawrence, a 7mm fullsuit and a 7mm hooded vest are a good all season combination, using both spring / fall and just the fullsuit in the summer. I rarely use the farmer any more, with the fullsuit / hooded vest I can make a dive time decision whether or not I need the extra warmth. With the john, I have to use what I brought.

I'll be diving more South. I see you are in Ottawa. I am in the Waterloo region area near Toronto. I will be diving at areas around Toronto.

Maybe I just don't know the scuba terms yet or maybe this is something I'm too young to get but what is a farmer suit?

 

[gcarter]

I'll be diving more South. I see you are in Ottawa. I am in the Waterloo region area near Toronto. I will be diving at areas around Toronto.

Maybe I just don't know the scuba terms yet or maybe this is something I'm too young to get but what is a farmer suit?

A farmer john is like coveralls, and you have an oversuit / second layer that goes with it:

 

[gcarter]

Basically you need to wear both pieces. With a full suit you can layer it with a similar but sleeveless hooded vest, giving you options.

 

[Fogest]

Basically you need to wear both pieces. With a full suit you can layer it with a similar but sleeveless hooded vest, giving you options.

Ah okay, that makes a lot of sense. I do remember now my instructors briefly mentioning that some people wear a second layer, and I guess this is what they were referring to.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm not going to say anything about warmth, because that is entirely individual, and had been beaten to death on Scubaboard. I would assume your shop provides shorties, or whatever for the pool sessions, and wetsuits for the OW checkout dives (if not, screw-'em). I bought my 7 mil farmer john wetsuit right after certification. It will suffice one way or another for dives within a wide range of temperatures (recent thread). I had no problem using the shop stuff for both the pool and ocean checkouts. Of course, it was about 10-20 post cert. dives when I was really "dialed in" as they say on my buoyancy. I wouldn't mess with buying your own wetsuit for the pool when a shorty will do, and is less to deal with, especially weight-wise. There is enough to deal with learning all the skills first. IMO buoyancy/trim isn't rocket science once you're weighted properly, and all that means is a proper weight check. Others may disagree.

Use the shop stuff for the course. As a fellow Canadian I would suggest to (maybe) go for a farmer john after the course. Drysuit if you intend to dive for more than 20 minutes at a time in January in say, Lake Ontario. Then find out what your cold tolerance is for higher temps. should you go South. But everyone's different, so ignore any wetsuit/temperature suggestions that profess to be exact for everyone. I just today did a 15 min. dive followed by a 40 min. one in 66F here in Mississippi in my shorty and could've gone on forever (well, not forever). Some would say that's like the North Pole.

 

[Fogest]

I'm not going to say anything about warmth, because that is entirely individual, and had been beaten to death on Scubaboard. I would assume your shop provides shorties, or whatever for the pool sessions, and wetsuits for the OW checkout dives (if not, screw-'em). I bought my 7 mil farmer john wetsuit right after certification. It will suffice one way or another for dives within a wide range of temperatures (recent thread). I had no problem using the shop stuff for both the pool and ocean checkouts. Of course, it was about 10-20 post cert. dives when I was really "dialed in" as they say on my buoyancy. I wouldn't mess with buying your own wetsuit for the pool when a shorty will do, and is less to deal with, especially weight-wise. There is enough to deal with learning all the skills first. IMO buoyancy/trim isn't rocket science once you're weighted properly, and all that means is a proper weight check. Others may disagree.

Sounds like some solid advice. I actually am diving with a club, not a dive shop and they do not sell anything and are not affiliated with any shops. So there is nothing that is provided to me accept the scuba equipment during the pool sessions. During the open water checkout weekend we go out and rent/buy our own gear to use for the weekend. The pool isn't really cold or anything so if I'm not going to get a 7mm wetsuit to use in it I don't think I'll get a shorty as I've had no problem just using a normal swimsuit.

 

[TMHeimer]

Sorry, I always assume shop. So, the club has an instructor who teaches the course--interesting. Well then, I would still advise the farmer john, and buy it now--so you don't have to spend 1/4 the cost of a good used one to rent one. I have at times used only the top to my farmer john if water temps. are 60+F (16+C) and adjusted my trim. But again, that's just me.

 

[Fogest]

Sorry, I always assume shop. So, the club has an instructor who teaches the course--interesting. Well then, I would still advise the farmer john, and buy it now--so you don't have to spend 1/4 the cost of a good used one to rent one. I have at times used only the top to my farmer john if water temps. are 60+F (16+C) and adjusted my trim. But again, that's just me.

Yes, the club has many people who are certified instructors. Some with ACUC and some with PADI. They teach at the club as they just enjoy teaching new people how to dive. It is totally non for profit and they are not paid.

So is the farmer john just like a shorty than or is it different in nature?

 

[Neilwood]

Yes, the club has many people who are certified instructors. Some with ACUC and some with PADI. They teach at the club as they just enjoy teaching new people how to dive. It is totally non for profit and they are not paid.

So is the farmer john just like a shorty than or is it different in nature?

The farmer john comprises 2 parts:
1) A shorty/ long sleeve top (sometimes hooded)
2) Dungaree type legs/torso.

If you need the legs for warmth, you need to 2 parts but if you go for warmer waters, you might be able to just use the shorty/top.

Personally I went for a 7mm wetsuit with an over jacket. Normally I will only need the 7mm but if conditions get cold I can ramp up the insulation with the jacket making it a 13m body with 7mm legs and arms. For details see these links - wetsuit and jacket