Diving Cold Water - Hood/Suit Combo?

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Thanks for the help everyone. I've decided to go with the Bare Arctic 7mm fullsuit and the Arctic 7mm vest. Those, combined with my 3mm Bare Velocity fullsuit gives me a nice range of coverage from 3mm to 10mm to 14mm. Now off to buy the suits, new boots and gloves!
If my wife only knew how much this costs....
 
Sounds like you have similiar conditions to here in coastal MA. Temp was low 50's last weekend at depth.

I found that with just my full 7mm wetsuit and regular hood (and boots/gloves) I would start to get cold on my back from the water creeping into the zipper even with the neoprene flap that sits under the zipper for extra insulation.

Last week I added a 3mm hooded vest from Pinnacle and it works wonders for keeping my back nice and warm! I felt fabulous all day long underwater.

I think 14mm of torso coverage is a bit overkill. And I can't think of an occasion where you'd wear a 3mm fullsuit with 7mm vest as your extremities would feel the cold a lot more, and if its warm enough so they don't get cold, then you probably won't need the 7mm vest either. However, if its comfortable to you while diving, then go nuts! :)
 
Here in Southern Japan, the water temps are regularly in the 50's peaking in the mid 60's during the summer. I was diving a 6.5 two-piece farmer john and vest with a 5 mil hood when the temps were 46-53. Since then I have been diving with an XS Scuba 6.5 full and a 5 mil, hooded core and perfectly comfortable. Not to mention much happier since I was able to shed 6 pounds from my intergrated BC. Woo hoo!

It really is a matter of preference though. One's tolerance to cold can vary widely from person to person so before I commited to a purchase, I would rent gear until I found a setup that worked for me. For instance, I have a friend that dives with us regularly and that sissy still insists on wearing his air-hog of a drysuit.
 
Was at Haigh quarry last week,ater temp was 65deg at around 25-30',I have a two piece 7mm farmer john suit and though it keeps me nice and toastie I hate having to have all the weight(30lbs). 26 lbs would have been ok but added a few extra to make up for low tank volume at end of dive.Also we did shore entries and had to walk about 20-30yds and the extra weight,oh well needless to say couldn't wait to get into the water.Have fun,dive safe.
Lanny
 
Scuba Diving Magazine recently did a review of 7mm wetsuits and I just ordered their top pick which was the Akona 7mm full. I've got Deep See 5mm boots/gloves/hood to wear with it. I've been told it will be enough to keep me warm where I'm doing my AOW next weekend. The water is supposed to be as low as 50* below 60'.
 
The "chicken" vest...is that the hooded vests that stop at your waist that you don't step into? I'm assuming you put that one on first, then your fullsuit, right?

Also, what kind of weight adjustments can I expect. I've only dove in SW (18lbs w/ 3mm fullsuit), and now I'll be diving FW with alot more suit. I'm guessing here, but I'm thinking that going FW from SW, and the increased suit, they should offset each other pretty well...so I'm going to guess around 20lbs? Plus, I've lost (as of today)10lbs (and shrinking daily).

Ugh...I thought this was supposed to be fun!
 
TJcop:
The "chicken" vest...is that the hooded vests that stop at your waist that you don't step into? I'm assuming you put that one on first, then your fullsuit, right?

Also, what kind of weight adjustments can I expect. I've only dove in SW (18lbs w/ 3mm fullsuit), and now I'll be diving FW with alot more suit. I'm guessing here, but I'm thinking that going FW from SW, and the increased suit, they should offset each other pretty well...so I'm going to guess around 20lbs? Plus, I've lost (as of today)10lbs (and shrinking daily).

Ugh...I thought this was supposed to be fun!
Click to expand...


SW is more bouyant than fresh. I dive with 8lbs in FW with my 3/2 fullsuit. I move up to about 16 for my 7mm full with a hood. I don't remember the calcs that are supposed to convert from fresh to salt, but I THINK that you need about 30% more when you switch from FW to SW. So that you be about 24 lbs in SW for your 3mm.

Just remember, it's always easier to leave weights on the boat/shore than to not have enough.

FD
 
FireDiver: Thanks for the input, but maybe I wasn't clear. In SW I use 18lbs, and I know FW would require less. But, since I'm increasing my bouyancy with additional neoprene, I'm guessing that I'll actually have to add a little weight. Who knows...I guess I'll have to WEIGHT and see! Ha....oh man, that was a good one...
 
TJcop:
The "chicken" vest...is that the hooded vests that stop at your waist that you don't step into? I'm assuming you put that one on first, then your fullsuit, right?
Click to expand...
The Arctic with hoded chicken vest is wat I'm just transitioning to for ocean dives. It's great in the 60s. OK down into the mid 50s and will be OK for brief forrays into the upper 40s. YMMV
TJcop:
Also, what kind of weight adjustments can I expect. I've only dove in SW (18lbs w/ 3mm fullsuit), and now I'll be diving FW with alot more suit. I'm guessing here, but I'm thinking that going FW from SW, and the increased suit, they should offset each other pretty well...so I'm going to guess around 20lbs? Plus, I've lost (as of today)10lbs (and shrinking daily).

Ugh...I thought this was supposed to be fun!
Click to expand...

More or less...
FWIW I did a fresh water buoyancy test of my Bare chicken vest and the 7mm hooded step in. The results were 3.5 & 10.5 pounds. a 7 pound delta.

Going to fresh water represents a 6-8 pounds swing for most divers. From your picture I suspect you are closer to the 6 pound range. The heavier neoprene will probably require a bit more than 6 pounds of lead but it's not going to be anything troublesome.

In the ocean, with the Arctic and 7mm step-in (XL) diving an E7-80 I wear 26 pounds. I'm 205 LB. Again that's me, YMMV.

Pete
 
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