7mm wetsuit in Monterey

[dsafanda]

So if you can't - you'll be fine in a 7mm (although try to get the FJ).

Personally, I don't think a farmer john style suit is the way to go. I just bought a drysuit but I've done quite a few dives in Monterey wearing a wet suit. When I first started I rented farmer john style suits and was pretty miserable. That was until I bought a 7mm Excel wetsuit. It's one piece with a hood built in. Night and day difference. I've been quite warm on many Monterey dives. A one piece that fits like a glove with nice wrist and ankle seals is much preferable to a two piece farmer john. You want a very thin layer of body heated water surrounding you. A farmer john style has to many seams and gaps to accomplish this. Anyway, that's been my experience.

Check out the Xcel POLAR QUAD-DENSITY Hooded Fullsuit

Bare and Pinnacle make similar models

 

[zvinzonz]

I still use a 7mm wetsuit and a hooded vest when i dive in monterey. As far as getting cold it doesn't really bother me, but that just me. Everybody got a different level of tolerance to cold weather so my advice to you is to get what's best for you. If you're still diving comfortably with your 7mm wetsuit and cash is an issue then just settle with it for now. But if you're having discomfort using 7mm wetsuit and not enjoying the dive because of this then get a drysuit.

 

[RoyN]

Alright Minh is back! We'll be 2 diving Vietnamese buddies .

Sorry, had to get that out of my system.

 

[LG Diver]

Diving Monterey in a 7mm wetsuit can certainly be done year-round and many people do it. However, I think you can see based on the comments that it's a FAR more enjoyable (and arguably safer) experience in a drysuit. I went to a DS after about 20 dives and won't dive Monterey again wet. My wife is doing her OW cert in a couple of weeks, and I just bought her a DS so she'll be doing her DS cert during OW class. Yes, I know, I should get husband of the year for that (or at least a 21W remote-head Salvo light).

 

[sarita75]

I have dove in 7mm farmer johns, and drysuit (for some adv'd training). Regrettably, my drysuit leaked and it was a really cold second dive, and a bitterly cold ride back on the boat. I have never been so miserable.

Hopefully heading down this weekend to give a one-piece 7mm and hooded vest a shot, but it will be from the shore, which is drastically different from boat diving in terms of warmth and comfort.

 

[scubajunkee]

As with everyone else has said, you can dive in Monterey in a 7mm wetsuit. I started out with an O'Neil 7mm full suit with a 5mm hood vest and 6mm booties. You gotta make sure its a really good fitting suit. I dove for four years with an averages of 60 dives a year before I got my drysuit. It took me that long to save up for one. Now I dive at least 100 or more times a year with my drysuit, but I will still dive my wetsuit when I'm shallower than 50 feet or while freediving for abalone.

- Ericson

 

[tedshark]

I have dove Monterey with a Farmer John 7mm and a one piece 7mm and a drysuit and never had any problem with a wetsuit I own one of each and I wear them all depending on what I am doing tomorrow I will be freediving with the one piece 7mm

 

[RS]

You should be better off in a DS.

Some folks think it's not worth having a DS because you'll feel a squeeze and need more weight, they also think a wetsuit is best because it's cheap and streamlined.

I froze my butt off in my cheap (inexpensive, but good quality) streamlined wetsuit last weekend, while others on the boat had drysuits, and some of them leaked, but they still outperformed my wetsuit.

48 degrees.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

I use less weight with my drysuit than I did with my wetsuit.

 

[sarita75]

I honestly still believe that from where you are diving make a huge difference in what you wear. Boat diving means depth which requires more exposure protection. Shore diving is generally more shallow and requires less warmth - is this not really the case?