Wetsuit divers only!

[alphonsis]

With a semi-dry, would you still layer a vest on top of it, or perhaps a torso warmer?

 

[wdunne311]

I dive the Xcel POLAR Tri-Density Semi-dry(9/7/6, 9 in the chest and then 7 in the arms and 6 in the legs if I'm not mistaken). I stay pretty warm for most of my dives. After 19 dives with it, I only get a little cold on a second dive of the day in less than 50 degree water (mostly off Carmel or down deep). The semi-dry is definitely a misnomer since I always get water in my suit, but I typically don't get as much as a regular wetsuit. I mostly get water in the zipper area across the chest (that then seeps down lower) and around the arms and legs, which then tends to congregate in my boots. You can definitely tell when you don't have the zipper closed all the way as you feel the water rushing in from the side. However, the suit is not cheap. I'd recommend it , if you have the extra money.

 

[jvevea]

You left out the option of no hood. Hate 'em; won't use 'em. I dive with a 7-mil one piece, no hood, and am fine down to about 46 degrees as long as it's not more than two dives.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I've been through many off the rack wetsuits and even dove dry for a while but now am back in a custom wetsuit.
I think a custom wetsuit is the ultimate solution.
I got one made from a place called M&B wetsuits in Long Beach, Ca. The suit I got is a bit much for even the North Coast unless you're a commercial urchin diver. It's 1/2" thick (13mm) made out of Rubatex G-231 neoprene, which was USA made and is no longer available. I could dive in the low 40's or even the high 30's in this suit if I wanted. The only reason I got this suit was because it was the last of that type of material available forever and I wanted to be part of history, plus you never know, I may start urchin diving some day.
The cut of the suit is a top and bottom farmer john style old school beaver tail with stainless clasps, attached hood, 3/4 zip up the front, with kevlar on the elbows and knees. The general cut patterns for this suit are the same ones that the company used back in the 60's and haven't changed. This is about the best combo I've found for a wetsuit. The attached hood makes a huge difference to prevent leakage. Another feature that helps with warmth is to get a suit that has a slick smooth skin on the inside. This removes a layer of nylon inside the suit that can hold cold water and gets the gas cells in the neoprene closer to your skin making heat retention more efficient.

Those one peice suits with the attached hoods that so many people use have that annoying zipper across the chest that I never liked.
In Fact, most high quality freediving suits are modelled after the beaver tail suits for good reason; because they are the warmest combo developed so far with the least amount of neoprene.

Almost all off the rack suits I've seen lately are being made out of the super stretchy soft stuff that feels great in the store and is widely used because almost any body type can be compensated for, but if part of the suit is overstretched to compensate for a large area on a person that also means that the material is thinned out in that one area reducing the thickness and effectiveness of the thermal layer. Not only that, most of the super soft stretchy stuff flattens out to nothing within a few atmospheres of pressure rendering it useless when you need it most. This is why I say to go with a custom wetsuit that is made for your exact measurements, plus the fact that you can get it made out of really high grade commercial quality material that will withstand the rigors of compression and wear & tear.

I have another M&B on order with the exact same cut as the last one but made out of straight 7mm this time. This should be perfect.

 

[mobeeno]

If it were me, I would forego the attached hood and get an otter-bay hood. 12mm of warm neoprene goodness.

Without a steel backplate wont that effect ones trim?

 

[Shasta_man]

No hood?!

Ice cream headache everywhere?

That's pretty crazy. A friend forgot his recently and we called him "Popsicle" for the day.

What about a Hyperstretch style hood? Normal wetsuit hoods suck, pulling your hair out. Hyperstretch slides on like a glove. No binding.

 

[Shoreliner11]

I currently use a bare arctic 7mm full with a arctic 7mm hooded vest. Mobiliy is pretty good though and the core stays warm for a long time. Coldest dive I dove was last winter at 46 degrees for and 75min. My body was warm, though I didn't have enough muscle dexterity left to get my fins off

Aaron

 

[Goose75]

I'd vote for a detatched hood purely because I had bad luck finding a rack suit with attached hood that fits in the chest and the head. My wife has the same problem.

 

[MN Lakeman]

O'Neill "J" suit - A one piece 7mm jump suit w/ integrated 5mm vest & hood. Tricky to get into, but it fits me like it was custom tailored. I dive Lake Superior down to mid 40's very comfortably. Keeping the water exchange down to me is the key, & so having an integrated hood is the most important component of cold water diving. Same applies when doing multiple dives in the tropics (like a liveaboard). I don a 3mm hooded vest under my 3mm to keep the late-in-the-day chill down, caused by water exchange.

 

[Peter_C]

"The best way to save money on a wetsuit is to purchase a drysuit." With that said...if you want a good wetsuit, have http://otterbaysuits.com/ build you a suit. As said above they build the best hoods especially for drysuits. Four of us were standing around chatting and all of us Otter Bay hoods.

On a horrible dive boat, the Monterey Express (They sounded the recall siren, because the captain wanted to go and drink beer), we did see an Otter Bay suit with a custom pocket sewn in for shears. The pocket was dang cool