drysuit in warm(ish) water

[CJM3]

I'm curious at what water temperature a neoprene drysuit becomes too warm. Can anyone say from personal experience? I'm considering buying one to replace a 5mm and semidry.

A perfect drysuit for me would reasonably comfortable without undergarments between 50'F and 70'F. Does neoprene fit the bill, or am I after something that doesn't exist?

I'm not interested in hearing about the buoyancy and insulation characteristics of trilam, thanks.

 

[tbone1004]

you'll want undergarments in the 50's and 60's just not a lot of them..... Not uncommon to see people without undergarments in neoprene suits in cave country which is right around 70.

I'd hold onto the 5mm though

which suits are you looking at?

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Dove in a drysuit three weeks ago with 21C (70F) water temp. Was wearing a very thin thermal in a 4mm compressed neoprene drysuit. I was very hot and perspiring. Switched to a wetsuit the next week.

 

[Stoo]

Why neoprene though? For warmer water like that, a shell suit is ideal.. vary the stuff under it as the temp varies... And way more comfy to dive in anyway.

EDIT: missed this..

I'm not interested in hearing about the buoyancy and insulation characteristics of trilam, thanks.

Can't say I understand your logic but ok.

 

[KeithG]

I have seen 1 dry suit in my life. On a LOB in T&C. A very thin British woman wore one all week. No under garments. Just a bathing suit. Water temps were 78+.

I have no idea of the suit material. This was about 15 years ago.

 

[tbone1004]

Why neoprene though? For warmer water like that, a shell suit is ideal.. vary the stuff under it as the temp varies... And way more comfy to dive in anyway.

EDIT: missed this..


Can't say I understand your logic but ok.

we'll have to agree to disagree. I've had 3 different shell suits over the last decade specifically for that temperature water and the next one is going to be a neoprene suit... they dive more like wetsuits and certainly aren't too warm for extended exposure in the 60's and low 70's

 

[CJM3]

I'd hold onto the 5mm though

which suits are you looking at?

Unfortunately, the 5mm is beyond dead. I haven't even made it to a short list in truth. I think I have decided that I want a neoprene suit on the basis of streamlined profile, having to own and care for fewer (if any) undergarments, and the fact that I cannot afford a trilam that I would want without cutting into the dive travel pretty substantially.

Dove in a drysuit three weeks ago with 21C (70F) water temp. Was wearing a very thin thermal in a 4mm compressed neoprene drysuit. I was very hot and perspiring. Switched to a wetsuit the next week.

This is quite helpful, thanks.

we'll have to agree to disagree. I've had 3 different shell suits over the last decade specifically for that temperature water and the next one is going to be a neoprene suit... they dive more like wetsuits and certainly aren't too warm for extended exposure in the 60's and low 70's

Do you currently dive with a neoprene suit? At what temperature do you opt for donning undergarments?

 

[CJM3]

Why neoprene though? For warmer water like that, a shell suit is ideal.. vary the stuff under it as the temp varies... And way more comfy to dive in anyway.

EDIT: missed this..


Can't say I understand your logic but ok.

In no particular order:

Can't afford/don't want to pay the premium for a trilam suit and all the undergarments for different conditions.
I will dive water colder than 50'F on only a handful of occasions, ever. I am generally not interested in bitter cold dives.
I am not concerned with the added weight of a neoprene suit, as I intend on using this solely for local diving. When I travel, I go to warm places and bring a 3mm or skin.
I do not find managing buoyancy changes associated with neoprene compression to be problematic, or even slightly bothersome.
I have no interest in diving dry in warm water, as nice as some may find it, I prefer to dive wet if the water is warm.

 

[tennjay]

I just bought a Pinnacle Black Ice, and I am down in the FL caves this week. I am wearing a T-shirt as an under garment along with light long John bottoms. If the flow is high going in, I get a little warm, but I have yet to get too warm. My longest dive so far has been 1.5 hours. I haven’t gotten cold either. The water temp is around 72.

My first dive in it was back home in 53 degree water. I wore 2 light Moreno wool shirts and 2 sets of long john bottoms. It was only a 25 minute dive, but my buddy got cold. I was cool but not cold.

 

[KevinNM]

I dove in Hawaii without a thermal layer on my top and just a thin base layer on my legs. (Low 70s) Was a little cold at 45 minutes. On the day I remembered the full base layer it was fine. At home it’s typically 62 and I use the base layer plus a 4th element arctic for 60 minutes. But that’s all shell. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a neoprene drysuit, they seem to mostly targeted at commercial divers.

I dive in the pool (which is like 80) with the arctic and once I’m in the water it’s fine. Getting changed sucks a lot, the room is hot and humid, but even 80 degree water sucks heat out of you.