Best quality tropical wetsuit - which brand?

[Damselfish]

As you might gather from the differing opinions, you simply have to find out the water temp for the time of year in a given place and know your own comfort level to decide what you need. People that live in colder places or dive colder waters will typically want less than people who live warm places. I've dove in the FL Keys in a t-shirt or lycra skin for multiple days when local divers were complaining of freezing in their 5mm.

If money's no object, you can always get a wardrobe. While it's true you can use something thicker and let water in to cool off once you're in the water, keep in mind you'll also be hotter gearing up. Personally, I dive in warm water to get away from wetsuits as much as possible, and I wouldn't want to use a 3mm where a 1mm or less would do. And I opt for a thinner fullsuit instead of a thicker shorty - you lose some heat from your legs too, and there's alot to be said for covering up against stinging critters, random bumps, and even sun and wierd tan lines. Quality suits are nice but with the .5-1mm suits I don't think brand and fancy neoprene is as important. Beanie type hoods (cap with a chin strap) are good for some extra warmth without being constricting or taking much space.

I used to prefer front zip because rear zip looked inconvienient, but then I got a rear zip suit and found it wasn't a problem at all.

 

[Bob3]

Hey, why just one suit?
How about a Lycra skin, 0.5mm 1-piece & a 3mm 1-piece, add a hooded vest & you'll be well dressed for any water temps from the mid to low 70ºs on up past 85ºf.
You'll probably do OK with most off the rack suits, as the thinner material has a whole lot more stretch to it allowing a good fit.
The suits take up little room too.
Some of the cheaper brands like Scuba Max will out wear the expensive suits, so let fit be your guide rather than label.

 

[bobert]

I think the best advise you have recieved is that it is a individual matter. It depends on the exact location and temp as well as your cold tolerance. I personaly live in Miami and mostly dive in the Keys. By the way the ocean temp today is just about 76, while this time last year I saw one reading in the Keys as low as 62. Just returned from a cruise where I dove in Cozumel and Grand Caymen where the temps were 79 and 81 respectively. I took both a .5mm Scubapro full suit and an Oneil 3mm full suit with me but only used the .5mm suit. Personaly I rarely use the 3mm unless it gets pretty close to the 70 degree mark or lower. I find the .5mm suit much much more comfortable to dive in and therefor do not use the 3mm suit unless I really am cold on a dive. By the way on a dive in marginal "tropical " weather I find the surface interval time to be much colder than the time spent in the water and your wet suit will be of no value there in fact it may make you colder, I always think about taking it off for the SI, but then I think about having to take it off and putting it back on and I change my mind back.

 

[reubencahn]

Allthese responses show how personal it is. I live in S. Florida. In the summer, when the water is 80 to 84 degrees I wear a 3 mil suit. I'm never too hot, especially on multiple dives. Below 80, I add a beanie. Below 75, I go to the 5mil and a little colder add a hood. It's all very individual. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with a 3 mil suit, but that's just me. On quality, I can vouch for Wetwear/Aquatic wetsuits. I have one of their custom 5 mil suits with the long rescue diver zippers. It is very nice. Though I do have to say, I'm not sure if I'll spend the money on a custom when replacing my 3 mil. The more flexible material is more forgiving. If I do, the only reason will be the quality of the neoprene. Wetwear uses Rubatex which is very good and doesn't compress to .5 mil at 90 feet.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

several come to mind like the henderson Hyperstretch suit, but a suit that I have seen and like allot is a suit made by excell westsuits and have lifetime warritys.

 

[Tollie]

I have a 3mil Henderson Hyperstretch and I love it… really comfortable and actually with a bit less thermal protection than the Gold Core (Henderson). I’m also a cold water DUI diver and one thing to watch is the weighting both for salt water if you are a fresh water diver at home… and for the wet suit thickness. You need less weight for a 1mil than a 3mil. New wetsuits take a bit more weight than does one that has plenty of dives on it. So you may find that after 20 dives or so you will find yourself shedding weight. So please do consider the wet suit “new equipment” and do a buoyancy check before you push it. Have fun… the tropics are a great way to extend your diving.

 

[bertschb]

OK, based on the advice here and from others at home I bought the Henderson 3mm Titanium Hyperstretch full suit yesterday.

Next question:
How much weight do I drop going from my DUI dry suit to this 3mm suit all other things being equal. In other words, I'll be using all the same gear, diving salt water, etc. Just the suit is different.

 

[ABQdiver]

I have also just returned from the Western Caribbean area, dove Cayman, Roatan and Cozumel. I took a Bare 3/2 jumpsuit and on two of the dives (the overcast, windy ones) I was getting a bit cold after the second dive. It is certainly a individual issue. I made the note to myself to bring a 3mm beanie for dives next time that went beyond the two tank duration.

I really like the Henderson Gold core suits, I have a 5mm for those 70° waters and it slides on "really" easy. My Bare has a silvery lining in it and the donning and doffing is pretty easy as well.

 

[Tollie]

Good move… on the Henderson you should enjoy it. As for weighting… it all depends… on your dry suit undergarments… if the suit is a shell. The real answer is that you need to do on your first dive boyency check. For me diving a 2 piece henderson from a dry suite I drop about 6 lbs.

 

[bertschb]

Opps! Forgot to mention that my suit is a DUI CLX 50/50. Crushed neoprene on the bottom, Cordura on top so it's half a shell suit. I wear a DUI Polartec Powerstretch undergarment as well as a 300g vest (the water in the PNW is about 50 degrees).