Drysuit recommendations for Florida?

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SubNeo

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Messages
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Location
USA
# of dives
25 - 49
I see some of the local shops beginning to offer drysuit courses, and I'm trying to figure out if this is something I should consider.

I am a Florida native through and through, the jacket comes out at anything below 70 and I start layering around 50 degrees outside. I somehow have a feeling that come December when we actually get some cold weather, I'll be freezing alive both in the water and getting out 0_0

It's my first winter as a scuba diver and I wanted to ask for advice. I'll be diving BHB in a week or two in 60 degree air, so I'll have a much more concrete opinion then. I dive right now with a 1mm under layer for chafing prevention and a 3mm wetsuit. So far I've been ok and haven't gotten cold yet in the ocean waters.

Do people use drysuits in Florida (is it a rarity)?Can a 7 mm wetsuit work (altho that also would be expensive)? I'm not looking to spend a fortune again, the equipment was rough already! What do other people do here in the sunshine state?
 
Exposure protection is about your personal cold tolerances.

Personally a 7mm would be way to warm for me anytime down there but I'm a New England diver.

If you want to go dry for that warm I would go with a trilaminate and adjust undergarments as needed.

Can you rent a 7mm and a drysuit to try first?

Note inexpensive and drysuit don't go together, with the price of the suit and then undergarments your likely looking close to 2k on the low end.
 
Hi @SubNeo

I've been diving year round in Boynton Beach, West Palm, and Jupiter since 2009, 1200 dives. I dive a 3, 5, and 7 mm full suit, with or without a 5/3 mm hooded vest every year. The water temperature generally varies from the upper 60s or low 70s to the mid 80s. I see very few to no divers diving drysuits. Staying warm during SIs is another question. I have a really great boat coat from TruWest that always keeps me very warm. There are many reputable brands for boat coats. Come prepared, enjoy yourself.
 
Exposure protection is about your personal cold tolerances.

Personally a 7mm would be way to warm for me anytime down there but I'm a New England diver.

If you want to go dry for that warm I would go with a trilaminate and adjust undergarments as needed.

Can you rent a 7mm and a drysuit to try first?

Note inexpensive and drysuit don't go together, with the price of the suit and then undergarments your likely looking close to 2k on the low end.
Geez 2,000 for a suit?! Seems a little overkill 0_0

For that kind of money I'd be best just sucking up the cold lmao
 
Hi @SubNeo

I've been diving year round in Boynton Beach, West Palm, and Jupiter since 2009, 1200 dives. I dive a 3, 5, and 7 mm full suit, with or without a 5/3 mm hooded vest every year. The water temperature generally varies from the upper 60s or low 70s to the mid 80s. I see very few to no divers diving drysuits. Staying warm during SIs is another question. I have a really great boat coat from TruWest that always keeps me very warm. There are many reputable brands for boat coats. Come prepared, enjoy yourself.
I'm just entering the work force, so I've been diving almost exclusively off shorelines. Altho I could imagine being freezing cold on a boat deck during an SI would be miserable.
 
Geez 2,000 for a suit?! Seems a little overkill 0_0

For that kind of money I'd be best just sucking up the cold lmao

You have no idea what drysuits cost. My made to measure DUI FLX Extreme was $4100 a year a ago. But I only dive cold water.

A good 7mm might run $500
 
You have no idea what drysuits cost. My made to measure DUI FLX Extreme was $4100 a year a ago. But I only dive cold water.

A good 7mm might run $500
Orrrrr you can get a made to measure seaskin delivered for a grand, or if you’re a male L or XL or equivalent you could get this 7mm Deep 6 Wetsuit and have one of the better 7mm suits on the market.

In short, it depends on short and long term goals. Yes, there is significant drysuit use in FL. It is less common off of boats in S FL.
 
I am a snowbird diving a little South each winter, mostly in the Pompano Beach area. I am probably in the mid range of people for cold sensitivity. For recreational diving, I always use a 5mm wetsuit. I sometimes wear a hood. I am never cold.

I use a drysuit with medium undergarments for technical dives, both because the dives are longer and because I like the redundant buoyancy for my heavy tanks. That is common. I almost never see a drysuit for NDL dives.

I have friends who are more cold sensitive than I who use 7mm suits.
 
You have no idea what drysuits cost. My made to measure DUI FLX Extreme was $4100 a year a ago. But I only dive cold water.

A good 7mm might run $500
A used drysuit can be much less. I got my first one with light undergarments for $100 and had to replace a neck seal. I got my second one for $650 with two sets of undergarments. This one has rings for the wrist and neck seal and came with an extra neck seal.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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