Bonaire-Late March-Wetsuit??

[DiveMaven]

It really depends on the person, how rested you are, how much you have eaten, how much you move around, etc

If you kick a lot you might be warner than most. If you kick less or hover while taking video or photos you might be cooler than most.

GREAT point, and another thing to add into the equation when figuring out what suit to wear. My husband is a photographer so I tend to spend a lot of time "zen diving", where I hover near him and either zone out and relax, or watch a small patch of reef looking for tiny creatures....which then he'll move over and photograph. Since I barely move during a dive my air consumption is fantastic, but I also tend to get much colder.

Think you've just convinced me to take my 5mm this year, thanks.

 

[Waterskier1]

It is clearly a personal thing. I wear the same worn out 2mm shorty in Jan, Mar and Oct. I do 4-6 dives a day, at least one of those being a predawn or night dive. I have never felt cool, or warm. To be honest, I don't notice the temp, so it must be right for me. Last Oct, one diver wore a 3 mm the first day, and was sweating, so bought a rash guard and just wore that and his swim shorts the rest of the week. I personally can't tell the difference between 70 and 80 degrees, but I certainly can't imagine wearing a 5 mm there. As far as the dry suit, I guess with a thin layer under it might be ok under water, but it gonna be really hot kitting up! When taking tech classes, you wear your dry suit in the pool for training, and it is tolerable - but why be "tolerable" in when vacation diving. If you are using a rebreather, and plan to spend hours underwater, then maybe. The surface temp will likely be in the upper 80s to low 90s, so it's easy to warm up on the SI if you do get a bit chilled. YMMV.

 

[Diver DennisP]

I have a full 3 mil and a 7 mil. I am hopeing not to take the 7, but for a night dive or early am dive it might be worth it. Worst case is it stays in the bag for a week. I need to invest in a hood anyways for diving around here, might just do a beanie and bring it along.

Dennis

 

[ncchuck]

I really like these wetsuit discussions. Everyone on every forum is exactly the same.

There is only one answer:

It all depends.

The best anyone can do is research average temps for that time of year and pray that the averages hold. The rest depends upon you. Everyone is different as you can tell from the very wide opinions on this forum. My best suggestion after 20 years of diving - layer as needed. Thin hoods do wonders for most people including protecting us older hair challenged folks from sunburn.

 

[pdive]

I am a skinny guy who gets cold easily. Both times I have been to Bonaire I have worn a full 3mm and been very comfortable. I decided to lean toward being too warm with a full suit rather than wearing a shorty. The nice thing is the couple of times I was too warm I just dove with the full suit unzipped and it was perfect. Easier to cool down than warm up.
I wear a doo-rag, I supposed it provided some warmth but it was actually to keep my head from getting sun burned (bald too!)

 

[Boat Chick]

GREAT point, and another thing to add into the equation when figuring out what suit to wear. My husband is a photographer so I tend to spend a lot of time "zen diving", where I hover near him and either zone out and relax, or watch a small patch of reef looking for tiny creatures....which then he'll move over and photograph. Since I barely move during a dive my air consumption is fantastic, but I also tend to get much colder.

Think you've just convinced me to take my 5mm this year, thanks.

Glad to see another Zen Diver ;-) May be why I get colder too, don't move a lot and it's nice to have 80-90 minutes dives

Beanie - also used for "hair control" lol! check these out, they are fun. I got the shrek and the cat
Accessories

On the dry suit, I would imagine it was a tropical dry suit? I can't imagine diving in my Bare Trilam on Bonaire! I'd die of heat stroke for sure regardless of what I wore underneath!

 

[jkling17]

LOL Way too fun - those are great beanies! Thanks for sharing!

 

[chauncy19]

Love the Beanies too. Use to dive Bonaire in my light weight Lycra skin. I am guessing the various times I was there water temps 78-81.Last year I bought a bare 3/2 suit and a heavy weight skin. Last march used and loved the Bare. this past summer used the "heavy" weight skin. Both were great. don't know how I did it before--maybe AGE--getting old though I don't think of it till I look in the mirror LOL
use the doo-rag think for my growing bald spot but might just buy one of those beanie's.

 

[Natch]

I just got back from Bonaire last night. For what its worth, my Suunto comp. had the water temp at either 81 or 82 degrees for every dive I did last week. I wore a 2mm shorty and did 18 dives, and was fine. My wife wore a full 3mm suit and did 12 dives and was cold, so she got a beenie and wore that as well for the last two days, and was fine with that. So, as posted already, it really depends on the person.