7mm suit in 80 degree water

[k374]

Does anyone here wear or knows someone who wears a 7mm suit in 80 degree water? I wore a 7mm in 73 degree water last month and it was perfect, I get cold very easily... i'm wondering if there is anyone else who prefers an unusually thick wetsuit for the temp...

 

[diver 85]

I would think that would be a little overkill??..---@ least for me it would be....Example:last week in CZM, water temp of 79, I wore skins under my 2mm shortie with a 2 mm hooded vest in between....but always remember, to each his own....

EDIT: all dives were 1hr 15+ minutes long except for Maracaibo which was only 58 minutes(dove with 120 steels)

 

[StreetDoctor]

in 80 degree water I'm wearing nothing but swimming trunks, even with hour + bottom times. To each their own though I guess...

 

[Mortis65]

In 81 degree water I was wearing my 3mm shorty, after about 3 weeks of two dives per day I was getting a touch chilled when I did an evening swim. Never got chilled enough to use my 7mm vest at any point.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I've heard that some Cozumel DMs wear 7mm wetsuits.

If you spend enough time in 80°F water, you're going to get cold. 5 hour-long dives per day just might do it. When I'm drift-diving in Cozumel, I know that I do very little kicking; I just hover and go with the flow. It's surprisingly easy to get cold.

Exposure protection is very much an individual thing. I wear my drysuit year-round here in San Diego...with the exception of a handful of dives in the middle of summer.

 

[a22shady]

I dive in my Drysuit all the time. Its personal preference differnct people get colder quicker then others. How ever you feel comfortable

 

[Divedoggie]

My wife uses a 7mm and wears a beanie in 80 degree water and still gets cold by the end of a 60 -70 minute dive. Use whatever environmental protection you personally need to make yourself comfortable. It doesn't matter what anyone else uses.

 

[Stu S.]

80 degree water usually means warm air temperature. A 7mm suit on a 80+ degree day can roast a diver that does much activity on the surface.

 

[liuk3]

My wife wore a 7mm wetsuit while diving in 80F degree water in Cozumel during the winter. Windy surface conditions left everyone else cold except for her. I was diving in a 3mm wetsuit as was everyone else.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

80 degree water usually means warm air temperature. A 7mm suit on a 80+ degree day can roast a diver that does much activity on the surface.

I think that warm topside air temperature could very easily be handled. A diver wearing a 7mm wetsuit in Cozumel can simply take off the wetsuit during the surface interval. While in the water, divers spend very little time at the surface due to the ever-present current.

You make a good point, though. Divers opting for a thick wetsuit in those conditions should be very efficient about getting their gear on and getting into the water quickly. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility.