Red Sea Exposure Suit April

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Smelly G

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25
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Location
Alberta
# of dives
100 - 199
Hello,

I am going to the Red Sea in the first week of April and I am conflicted about what exposure suit to bring.

I will be going on the Blue O Two liveaboard on the Simply the best itinerary. It leaves and returns to Port Hurghada and travels south.

What would people recommend a dry suit, a 5mm wet or other thickness wet suit? If dry, what undergarments would you wear? I have never done a liveaboard before so I am having trouble figuring out what to bring.

Thank you!
 
I've done three dives a day, five days running, on more than one occasion in the Red Sea in April, and felt overdressed in a 5mm shorty. All being well I'll be in Sharm this Easter, and I'll be taking a 3mm shorty.

That said, on those past trips some others were in a full 5mm throughout, although I can't recall many dry suits at that time of year other than on the occasional dive master.

If you're not sure, it's probably better to err on the side of caution.
 
The only good suit is a drysuit

My gf gets cold in a 7mm after a few dives, she has to use gloves and a hood to avoid it.
A shorty in April can be ok for a few shore dives but most people will freeze on a LOB like that.
 
I was there last year in mid-March with a 5mm and was cold all week. I wish I had at least taken a hooded vest, if not a 7mm.
 
I was there last year in mid-March with a 5mm and was cold all week. I wish I had at least taken a hooded vest, if not a 7mm.
Having been in February too, I can well believe that! By mid/late April it's usually warmed up considerably, but mid-March is still a whole lot closer to winter.
 
Have a look at the temperatures listed here for several years and for the most relevant locations on the Red Sea https://seatemperature.info/march/red-sea-water-temperature.html

The values in Celsius are an average for the whole month (checked their values for January and they listed 23 Celsius for Sharm while me and everyone else I spoke to in Sharm during the last 2 years were getting 24 Celsius on our dive computers in early Jan) but even so the values for March appear to be a consistent 1 degree lower then in January.

This being said, less then two weeks ago I was diving in Sharm in a 3mm shorty with 5mm hood and boots (no problem 2 dives per day over a few days in a row) but the weather was good, sunny and with little to no wind.

If the data listed here for April is correct https://seatemperature.info/april/red-sea-water-temperature.html you can expect slightly lower water temperatures during the first week of April (compared to late December- early Jan) but much higher air temperatures then in January. 30 degrees Celsius and blazing sun are quite common, particularly since you'll be going South from Hurghada.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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