Question Advice on wetsuit thickness

[Soloist]

It appears you are not really looking for advice, but affirmation. Go for it! You do you! Oh, how much do you have invested in your flight and liveaboard trip? I've learned the hard way it's better to have it and not need it, than not have it and wish you did.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Sure, I suppose I am. I specifically asked for advice from people who run warm, and got the opposite mostly.

Worst case, it's colder than expected and is 20 degrees or something, and I rent a 5mm on the boat.

 

[johndiver999]

Sure, I suppose I am. I specifically asked for advice from people who run warm, and got the opposite mostly.

Worst case, it's colder than expected and is 20 degrees or something, and I rent a 5mm on the boat.

Worst case? And the rental suit is hard and stiff and leaks bad and does not fit well and is uncomfortable.
Your intent is not to feel restricted by a suit, but you are willing to go with an unknown rental?

I probably own at least 10 wetsuits. To me, thermal comfort is a huge issue. I have suits for all kinds of temperatures and conditions and they last a long time because each individual suit does not get used all that often,

At the very least, I would buy an inexpensive 3 mm suit (that is on the big side) and a hood and sell the thing for 35 cents on the dollar after the trip. At least you will know that you will be comfortable for the trip and you have a suit that fits. A new stretchy 3 mm suit is not difficult to get into, does not have that much buoyancy and is cheap insurance on an expensive trip.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

IWorst case? And the rental suit is hard and stiff and leaks bad and does not fit well and is uncomfortable.
Your intent is not to feel restricted by a suit, but you are willing to go with an unknown rental?

I probably own at least 10 wetsuits. To me, thermal comfort is a huge issue. I have suits for all kinds of temperatures and conditions and they last a long time because each individual suit does not get used all that often,

At the very least, I would buy an inexpensive 3 mm suit (that is on the big side) and a hood and sell the thing for 35 cents on the dollar after the trip. At least you will know that you will be comfortable for the trip and you have a suit that fits. A new stretchy 3 mm suit is not difficult to get into, does not have that much buoyancy and is cheap insurance on an expensive trip.

Can't imagine going from sharkskin + vest to 3mm is going to make any noticable difference, especially a cheap 3mm.

If I'm going to buy anything it would be a nice 5mm suit, but seems like an unnecessary $600 to spend on the 5-10% chance the water is much colder than historic tenps for December.

I do appreciate everyone's input though, and I'm not trying to be dismissive. I just see people here in the Philippines wearing 5mm and 7mm suits when the water is 26C. To me that would be extremely uncomfortable and I'd spend the whole dive trying to flush in cold water.

 

[davehicks]

I have been to Socorro 4 times and yet to see someone in a Sharkskin. But I have seen many people renting better suits than they brought on the boat after the first day.

I do run warm, and suggest a 5mm. A new 3mm with a 5mm hooded vest will likely do the job paired with good 5mm booties.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I have been to Socorro 4 times and yet to see someone in a Sharkskin. But I have seen many people renting better suits than they brought on the boat after the first day.

I do run warm, and suggest a 5mm. A new 3mm with a 5mm hooded vest will likely do the job paired with good 5mm booties.

Thanks this is helpful. I have 5mm booties already. I wouldn't buy a 3mm suit as that is close enough to my sharkskin to be redundant.

Will consider a 5mm suit.

 

[happy-diver]

Most people going diving, would lower their gear to each other down a bluestone wall, then climb
down a drain then gear up on a ledge into about two feet water cess and oil at the start of the pier

I would get geared up at the back of my ute and walk to a spot about eight metres from them then
put my fins on and do the 3 metre jump to the water, then swim care freely away without surfacing

Until the end of my dive

Some realised the jump was achievable so did it, but none swam care freely away without surfacing

Some kept clambering down the wall into the cess

 

[34109411]

Hi, looking for some input from other individuals. I realize this has been discussed at length, but most of the time the responses seem to skew heavily towards people who run cold and say things like "I always use a 7mm if the water is under 25C" (maybe a slight exaggeration, but this is the impression I get), which is wild to me.

For some background, I currently live in the Philippines and most of my diving is done here. The only exposure gear I own is a sharkskin titanium jacket + pants + hood. This is about the equivalent of a 2mm neoprene suit in my understanding. The water gets down to about 23-24C at the coldest here, I have never felt cold using what I have now. The hood is basiaclly to prevent my ears from slapping during backrolls, and to contain my hair. If it's over 28C I'm probably wearing board shorts and a rashguard. I run warm in general.

I'm planning on heading to Socorro in December, with expected temps from 73-80F (22-26C). My searches on what people wear in Socorro turn up primarily advise for a full 7mm or 5mm. Am I crazy to think I'm fine with what I have currently, or maybe getting an additional sharkskin vest to put under/over my jacket if I feel chilly? Any others who run warm and have done 3-4 dives a day in 22-25C water want to chime in?

22-25 celcius?? i am boiling and will not even have a wetsuit on !

 

[stuartv]

I run warm.

When I started diving, I was all about having a 3mm wetsuit and some Lavacore and then wearing just Lavacore when it was warm, just the 3mm when it was a little cooler, then layering them when it was even cooler.

Now, I have evolved from that. I have a 1.5mm Neoskin for warm water and a 5mm wetsuit for cooler and I just wear one or the other. It's way more comfortable and convenient than layering to be warm. (for even colder, I switch to a drysuit)

I did a week on a Red Sea liveaboard at the beginning of March. The water was consistently around 22C.

Before I went, I debated on what suit to take. People kept telling me it was freezing cold over there.

I dived the whole week in my 5mm with a hood. The hood was partly for warmth and partly to protect my head from cuts as we did a number of wreck penetrations. I could have been comfortable in a 3mm, I think, but might have started to get cold by the end of the week. I would definitely have gotten cold by the end if I only used a Sharkskin/Lavacore suit.

In the 5mm, I never, ever felt too warm. And that is my real measure these days. It used to be "will I be warm enough?" I would only wear enough thickness to not be cold. Nowadays, my measure is "will I be too hot?" Now, I wear as much as I can comfortably wear without being too hot. That ensures I am very comfy in the water - which, in general, is also beneficial in reducing the chance of DCS. I use my 5mm for almost all my non-drysuit diving, because I only occasionally get to dive where a 5mm would actually be too warm.

If properly stored, a good quality 5mm wetsuit will last you for many years, if you are only using it occasionally. I would consider it an investment and buy one, personally.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Sounds like I should probably just buy a 5mm even if it gets little use in the foreseeable future after Socorro. I agree that I don't think I would ever buy a 7mm wetsuit. I'm pretty confident the 5mm would take me as low as 17-18C without issue, and past that point it's either a dry suit or I'm not bothering to dive at those temps.

I'm still going to try at least one dive in my sharkskin to see how it feels compared to the 23-24C water I've experienced here in PH.