7mm suit in Fla

[Stu S.]

You are moving to a great diving location. Our springs are 72 degrees, and the ocean may get a little colder. My daughter and I use 3mm suits. A hood makes a big difference on colder days. Between dives is when folks get cold fast. Consider bringing a windbreaker. Keep that shorty. Some divers use one under a 3mm suit. You may also find the shorty is all you need in July.

This is what works for us. You will find all the neoprene stuff easily availible and priced right when you get here.

Welcome to Florida!

 

[down4fun]

I just dove yesterday in Jupiter and wore a 6mm farmer jane with a 6mm step in jacket. Truth is I was cold half way into the second dive. Cold enough to call the dive. Temps and depth were as follows: dive 1 78', 66F; dive 2 72' 69F. Now the previous weekend I dove the same wetsuit in Ft. Lauderdale, however I was diving doubles in saltwater for the first time and temp for both dives was 71F. The task load was great enough that I never got cold. So besides being a self proclaimed WWW, a lot depends on the dive, how great is the dive itself, and I doing a lot of work or just drifting along. If it were me I would still purchase her the 7mm.

Of course the bottom line is that everyone is different. So you will just have to figure out what you are comfortable in.

Welcome to Florida. It's a great backyard.

 

[Padipro]

When you first start diving down here you'll wonder why all us weeny Floridiots wear any more then a bathing suit in such warm water. Then as the years pass you'll start getting acustomed to the warmer water and find that you too are getting a little cold in the winter. In no time at all you'll find your self diving in that 7 mil and thinking about buying a drysuit before next winter.

When I first moved to Florida I divied all winter in a one piece 3mil. The next year I was layering a 3 mil shorty under the one piece 3 mil. The next year I added a hood, then it was a 5 mil semidry with a hooded vest and then last year I moved the the full dry suit. People laugh at me when I start getting suited up on the boat but after that first long deep dive in 70 degree water wearing only their 3 mil suit they usually stop laughing.

Bring the suits with you. You may not need them the first year but you'll wish you had them next winter if you don't. Most of the year you'll do just fine in your 3mil, maybe a hood as it starts cooling off but in the dead of the Florida winter a 7 mil isn't out of the question water temps can get down to the upper 60's.

 

[HowardE]

When you first start diving down here you'll wonder why all us weeny Floridiots wear any more then a bathing suit in such warm water. Then as the years pass you'll start getting acustomed to the warmer water and find that you too are getting a little cold in the winter. In no time at all you'll find your self diving in that 7 mil and thinking about buying a drysuit before next winter.

When I first moved to Florida I divied all winter in a one piece 3mil. The next year I was layering a 3 mil shorty under the one piece 3 mil. The next year I added a hood, then it was a 5 mil semidry with a hooded vest and then last year I moved the the full dry suit. People laugh at me when I start getting suited up on the boat but after that first long deep dive in 70 degree water wearing only their 3 mil suit they usually stop laughing.

Bring the suits with you. You may not need them the first year but you'll wish you had them next winter if you don't. Most of the year you'll do just fine in your 3mil, maybe a hood as it starts cooling off but in the dead of the Florida winter a 7 mil isn't out of the question water temps can get down to the upper 60's.

Yeah.... This is my 3rd winter diving in FL...

First Winter - Didn't dive as much - 3mm farmer john under 3mm shorty
Second Winter - dived more, but only like 16-20 dives all winter - midwinter went to a 7mm suit
third winter - 7mm added hood... By January, bought drysuit. 30 dives so far in 2006.

 

[Tom Winters]

What kills me is being on a dive boat in the winter and just trying to stay alive wearing every possible item of clothing that I own between dives and wondering how upset the captain will be if I build a small fire on an unoccupied part of the dive benches, and then there's some people from Michigan or Canada diving in shorties and complaining about get overheated on the dive.

 

[Padipro]

I think I was on that boat that day Tom.

It's all relitive to what you're used to I guess.

 

[mgersch@cox.net]

Definately keep your 7mm. I have a 2 piece 7mm suit. It is really too much for most days in the Springs. Usually (ofr the Springs) I wear a 3mm full suit and wear the 7mm jacket over it. This keeps me nice and toasty when everyone else is cold. If I just wear the 3mm I will get cold.

I just was diving this AM. It was in the upper 30s low 40s this AM!! Boy was I glad that I had the FULL 7mm suit.

 

[daniel f aleman]

...and wondering how upset the captain will be if I build a small fire on an unoccupied part of the dive benches...

Yep.

Wind-chill is brutal. And once your core body temperature drops... it's hard to get it back. While DMing in the Northern Bahamian winters our boat would carry cheap sleeping bags for divers to slip into at SI - man, what a difference on that second dive.