3mm, 5mm or 7mm Hooded Vest?

[MentalMarine]

Hey,
I am going to be diving my 7mm F/J Wetsuit since I am too poor to get a drysuit just yet. I wanted to get a hooded vest that would keep my core a little warmer. Does anyone have a suggestion of thickness? Would a 7mm just be to much with the already 14mm from the F/J? The water should be mid 40's but not below 40 hopefully. I dove a "drysuit" and I say that in quotations because It was a wetsuit by the end of the dive. Turns out it had a lot of leaks. I wasnt to bad the water was 38 degrees and the dive lasted around 45 minutes. Taking that into consideration what do you recommend?
Thanks!

 

[DiverBizz]

I don't dive in the 40's but I do dive in the mid 50's. I have a 7mm, wear a full body liner 1mm, and use my hooded vest and can do 3 dives without calling the last dive do to a cold body temp. Wish I could afford a Drysuit.

 

[mikeguerrero]

I dive a 7mil fullsuit, 7mil hooded vest, 3 mil heated torso. I can do three dives ending the last one just a tad cold but not uncomfortable. I dive Monterey 49 degrees...

It's better to buy several layers and then wear what you want, mix and match is what I do if the temps raise.

Hope this helps....

 

[spectrum]

if you already have the 14mm on your core than something like a hooded Bare thermal skin will be a good item. While it won't add a lot of rubber to your core it will do a great job at minimizing neck opening leakage and that is a huge help. This would be 3mm on your core and a 7mm hood.

Pete

 

[v--Locke--v]

i have a pinnacle polar suit and thus i would consider getting a 3mm hooded vest cause the polar already has an integrated hood, but if your suit doesn't already have a hood you prolly would want to go with a 7mm. Pick and choose the layers to best suit your conditions.

 

[saltwater taffy]

I would suggest that you get a hooded vest that you can wear under your existing suit in the Gold Core material. This material must come in contact with your skin to give you the full benefit of the material. A 3mm in the cold core material would be about like wearing a 5mm over your suit. Many companies carry this material but of course, it goes by another name.
Good luck to you!
Cheers,
SWT

 

[Aspendiver]

Layering is great- just be careful to put the loosest layers on top so you're not compressing the inner layers and/or limiting circulation- you could end up colder than if you weren't layering...