Bahamas Early May, Is A Shorty Acceptable?

[ScubaDoo83]

Doing a liveaboard so space will be tight there as well as packing for the flight. I just happened upon a good deal on a shorty at a local shop and it would pack much lighter. Temps are listed to be between 77 and 80F.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Doing a liveaboard so space will be tight there as well as packing for the flight. I just happened upon a good deal on a shorty at a local shop and it would pack much lighter. Temps are listed to be between 77 and 80F.

Probably not. If you are going to do more than one dive per day, you will want to be warm. In addition, it is possible you could run into some cool, rainy weather, but still want to dive. my recommendation would be a full suit, 2 or 3 mm and a neoprene hood. I very much doubt you will be hot, but if you are, then the hood can be removed. A full suit provides sun and sting protection, getting hit by a man O war or some fire coral can mess up a few days of diving..

We offer a 2 mm suit - as well as some other options for warmer water. You can find cheaper one piece suits, but I doubt you will find one for a comparable price that has been constructed with the best neoprene avaialble - Yamamoto Rubber.. Strong and flexible - very comfortable.

Camo Spearfishing Wetsuit 1-piece Yamamoto 2mm | MAKO Spearguns

 

[ScubaDoo83]

Thanks for the response but truth be told, that advice seemed a bit slanted toward the sale. I'm very surprised at the suggestion of a hood in the Caribbean. However, I agree with the notion that a full suit is typically a more versatile and desirable choice for most diving. I'm just very excited at the prospect of a smaller item to pack.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Thanks for the response but truth be told, that advice seemed a bit slanted toward the sale. I'm very surprised at the suggestion of a hood in the Caribbean. However, I agree with the notion that a full suit is typically a more versatile and desirable choice for most diving. I'm just very excited at the prospect of a smaller item to pack.

We sell a whole range of exposure suits.. lycra pants and tops and hoods all the way to 7 mm freedive suits that some people have used under ice.

Water temperatures around 77 degrees that you mentioned are going to be quite chilling for most people. Of course a lot depends on the level of physical activity you engage in and also the diver's physical condition with respect to percentage of body fat as well as personal preference. Regardless of where you buy your exposure protection, make sure you have enough to feel comfortable for the whole trip.

A thin, well fitted hood is an inexpensive and easy means to increase your thermal protection and it takes up almost no room in your luggage. It also will have negligible effect on your buoyancy or lead requirements. They work well- even with a shorty.

The shorty might be fine for the later part of the season, when the water has warmed up a lot.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

You can disregard Mako's marketing, but his advice is very sound. On a liveaboard you will be doing 3-5 dives a day. With water temps in the 70s a shorty is not going to cut it over a week's time, and you are going to get cold. For the same reason, a hood is a very good idea as well.

You should pack a 3 mil and hood (hood could be 1.5 or 3 mil, I would go with 3). You will not regret it. Don't get cheap or overly concerned with weight. You want to be warm and comfortable, look forward to each dive, have better gas consumption, just a lot of good things come from being warm. The freedive suits from Mako are very nice and warm and flexible if you are interested. However, a 3 mil scuba-oriented fullsuit is a good option, as for me they are easier to doff and don (no lube required) and are more sturdy to resist abrasions from shoulder straps, bumps against the reef or around the boat, heavy gear rubbing, etc.

I am fit and not really a "cold" diver. But, if I was doing 30 dives over a week in high 70s water temps, I would take my 5 mil. Just sayin . . . I did a week liveaboard in July when the water temps were over 85-88. For that, I still took my 3 mil fullsuit and a light hood and I was glad I did after about the 8th dive.

 

[ScubaDoo83]

Damn it, I keep going back and forth on this. The recommendation is a shorty and I have seen many others in videos with shorties around the same timeframe. When I dive Florida I just took my 5 mil as it was all I had and outside of looking like a total dork to the locals it worked out just fine. I am not buying anything else so it will either be the shorty or the 5 mil. Donning and doffing isn't that big of a deal with the plastic bag trick.

Gah, I can't makeup my mind. If I do indeed end up bringing the 5 mil I will be upset I wasted money on a shorty I'll never use.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

No-brainer. Take the 5 mil and don't leave the hood behind. If 5 mil is too thick for a hood, then spend $30 for a 3 mil hood. There is a HUGE difference between one or two days of two-tank boat dives, where a shorty might work fine, and a liveaboard week of multiple dives. You just lose a lot of energy regulating your body temp, even in relatively warm water. You will have a net loss of energy every day, even eating well, and it will reach the point you are just cold, period, and nothing helps. You want to put that off as long as possible. You already know it works and the conditions in Florida this time of year are identical to those in the Bahamas (current temps in West Palm are 77-78), so use your experience as a guide.

If you take your 5 mil and get hot on your early dives, it is easy to flush water through your suit to cool it off. If you take a shorty and begin getting cold by the 3rd day, you are out of luck.

If you want a shorty anyway, for more normal trips, go ahead and get it. Take them both. Start with the shorty. After the first couple days, if the shorty stops cutting it, switch to the 5 mil. You willl be very glad you have it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Damn it, I keep going back and forth on this. The recommendation is a shorty and I have seen many others in videos with shorties around the same timeframe. When I dive Florida I just took my 5 mil as it was all I had and outside of looking like a total dork to the locals it worked out just fine. . . .

Pay no attention to the people in the videos. They are the dorks, not you. I suspect there are a number of factors at work, but for whatever reason, it seems the more diving one does, the more insulation they want. I don't laugh at the guy on the liveaboard with 1000 dives under his belt who brought a drysuit for 78F water.

 

[Aquavelvet]

The Bahamas are far enough out into the Atlantic that I wouldn't classify them as tropical. More like temperate, similar to Hawaii. A full length suit will be needed for multiple dives over several days. Since you already have a full length 5mm, that seems like an easy choice, and is common for Hawaiian diving as well.
Your shorty might work if you wore it over a full length fabric suit such as a Lavacore, Sharkskin or Fourth Element Thermocline. Layering is very effective with wetsuits.