Alternative to Hooded Vest?

[RyanRX7]

Hello Folks

Have a quick question:

I've spent a good amount of time finding a full 7mm suit and separate hood (for my big head) that fit me well and am not sure where to go from here. I would like to be able to add additional warmth to my suit if needed, but I'm trying to avoid a hooded vest (due all the time invested in finding a hood that I like and fits me well). What other options do I have available to me? I noticed that I can get a vest alone (but max I've been able to find is 3mm), and I'd like to have sleeveless in order to keep my current arm mobility.

Am I asking too much?


Thanks

 

[Lorenzoid]

Hello Folks

Have a quick question:

I've spent a good amount of time finding a full 7mm suit and separate hood (for my big head) that fit me well and am not sure where to go from here. I would like to be able to add additional warmth to my suit if needed, but I'm trying to avoid a hooded vest (due all the time invested in finding a hood that I like and fits me well). What other options do I have available to me? I noticed that I can get a vest alone (but max I've been able to find is 3mm), and I'd like to have sleeveless in order to keep my current arm mobility.

If you're already looking at a 7 mm suit plus a 3mm vest, that's a lot of neoprene. Since vests are typically worn under another suit, I can understand why 5 mm (non-hooded) vests are not common. I have heard of people wearing as much as 14 mm of neoprene, but that sounds crazy to me. Talk about the Michelin Man! It seems to me that when a 7 mm suit plus 3 mm vest just isn't enough to keep one comfortable, the next logical step would be a drysuit.

 

[tbone1004]

Realistically drysuit is the next step....

You can go back to the mfg of your hood and evaluate hooded vests, you can look at just the tops of farmer johns to go over your current suit, which if it fits you well is probably the best choice anyway. You need to evaluate how much lead that will add, how much buoyancy that can cause you to lose, how deep you're planning on going, and whether that is a safe equipment configuration. The answer to those questions will all point to a drysuit.

 

[Colliam7]

Besides a drysuit (which I would also recommend) you can look at heated vests (Heated Wetsuit Review: Quiksilver Cypher Vs. Thermalution Heated Undersuit Vs. RipCurl H-Bomb Vest), as well as non-hooded neoprene vests (do a Google search on 'neoprene scuba vest' and you will see several pop up).

 

[parzdiver]

There is also the semi-dry option. It will keep you warmer than a wet suit. I know some people that swear by them.

 

[fjpatrum]

When I was diving wet in cold water, I wore a 5/3 hooded vest, a 4/3 or 5 mm full suit and a 7mm step in jacket. Michelin Man is an understatement. I wasn't crazy cold but I certainly wasn't comfortable trying to bend my arms or dealing with suit compression etc. I also couldn't stay down as long as I do diving dry and I was much more tired after a day of diving.

As one of those folks who has done the 14mm+ on my core in cold water, I highly recommend the used dry suit option. Reasonable deals aren't too hard to find. I've seen a bunch of suits in the $500-$800 range, which isn't super cheap but is getting somewhat within the realm of reasonable for the budget conscious cold water diver.

If that isn't an option, a 3mm or 5mm vest (hoodless) is the only other option that's easy, in my opinion.

I haven't found semi-dry suits to be cost effective compared to dry suits, but that's an opinion others don't seem to share. They're just as cumbersome as layers of wetsuit, from what I've seen, though I suspect they don't have quite the buoyancy swing as multiple layers of wetsuit have. (I've never worn one due to the cost-effective opinion I hold.)

 

[ajduplessis]

Are you cold in the 7mm and hoodie? How much more warmth do you need? Some folks use lavacore underneath their wetsuits with good results. IMO if you require a lot more warmth a drysuit will be the right option, but at $$$$$. Layers and layers of neoprene is not the solution.

 

[elgoog]

As others have already stated, a drysuit that fits you really well is what you'll eventually end up wanting for your local diving. But, for me, it was really hard to justify such an expensive purchase early in my diving career - I wanted to make sure I would end up diving enough locally to justify getting one. I assume you're in a similar position right now.
I'm also going to assume that you don't want to spend a lot of money at this time. Here are my opinions on the options, other than drysuit, from worst to best, based on about 30 dives in NorCal in water temps ranging from 42F to 58F (wifebuddy has the same number in similar conditions and her feedback is included below as well).
- Multiple layers of wetsuits = Too much lead needed, buoyancy changes due to compression will play havoc with your control during the dive, not comfortable, eventually you'll get cold
- Semi dry wetsuits = Less lead than the above, warmer, buoyancy changes with depth are still ridiculous, even more uncomfortable on land than layered wetsuits, absolute nightmare to get on and off, eventually you'll still get cold, even more tiring at the end of the day than layered wetsuits
- Hooded vest = Ignoring since you already have a hood you like and this sounds like not a workable option
- Vest = If you already have a 7mm wetsuit that fits you well, it's most likely that you'll have to get a vest that you wear over this wetsuit. This will preclude wearing it on its own if you go somewhere warmer since it will be too big to be useful without your 7mm under it.
- Lavacore base layer = Get this for now. Thin enough to not impact wetsuit fit and doesn't need more lead. For me, it was a noticeable increase in warmth without adding any restrictions in movement. Also, makes getting the thick wetsuit on and off a helluva lot easier. Additionally, if you travel someplace warm, you can wear this layer in place of a lycra diveskin and be a little more comfortable on repetitive dives. I've dived this way in 85F water in the tropics and it felt great.

It might also be a good idea to start looking at renting drysuits (depending on your LDS, they may require you to have the drysuit C-card). You will get a better idea of what stock size works best for you and then you can start looking at the used market to buy one. Another thing to keep in mind is that even for a new drysuit from your LDS, you'll most likely pay well below the MSRP - in our case, it was low enough that getting a used drysuit and spending some money on fixing it up didn't make sense. We're getting measured for new drysuits this week ...

 

[Aquavelvet]

+1 for the Lavacore (or Sharkskin) base layer if you're not ready for a drysuit yet. It makes a surprising difference in warmth without adding buoyancy. There are several options from full suit to vest, depending on how much more warmth you need. They also make great tropical suits by themselves.


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[Lorenzoid]

To me, a Lavacore feels like it adds the equivalent insulation of about 2 mm of neoprene (but without neoprene's undesirable buoyancy). In other words, it is not THAT warm. A Lavacore vest isn't as warm as a 3 mm neoprene vest. I doubt a Lavacore is going to solve the OP's problem.