Exposure protection – around Oahu in February

[SouthSideScubaSteve]

Ok, so my daughter wants to dive while we are in Oahu in early February and being the good father that I am I guess I will have to take her diving at least a couple of times …. (I am sooo glad it occurred to me to get her certified when I was )

The problem is she doesn’t have her own wetsuit. So my choices are, take our chances with being able to rent a suit from the ops we choose to dive with, or buy her her own before we leave. If we decide to buy something, can see 2 routes to go: Either buy her a 3mm full suit (that will basically be only useful once, maybe twice a year when we go on warm-water vacations); or buy her a 7mm Long Sleeve Shorty (top ½ of a 2pc Farmer Jane) to dive with on the trip and then I can buy her the matching bottom later so she can dive I the local quarries in the summer….

My questions are: Will she slow cook in a 7mil shorty & more importantly is having her legs exposed a concern. i.e. are jellyfish or other stinging/venomous sea life frequently encountered??

Thanks
SSSSteve

 

[DiveWestOahu]

i personally would go for the full cover up,,,, you can always add another 3 mm layer on top for cold cold stuff and or hood... hope you have a great trip here... enjoy

 

[Scuba_HI]

Aloha Steve
Today we were doing a 3 tank dive and was with a girl from CA, she was in a 3mm shorty and said she was fine until the safety stops she was a little cold. I have seen tourist wearing 5mm here and roasting in the sun too. Just rent one there is lots of places that rent wetsuits, I will PM you.
As far as jellies the south shore only gets Box Jellies 8 days after the full moon and it lasts for about 2 days. If she touches urchins they will puncher wetsuits and gloves, just don't touch and you will be fine, they normally don't hurt but will have to be pulled out of your skin. I kneed one on a night dive on xmas and my wife put her hand on one today.

 

[kanonfodr]

I'm a cold weenie and I did just fine last night on a 3 tank night dive in a 3mil. I wasn't the happiest diver in the group, but I have long since decided that the only way for me to be super comfortable is going drysuit.

BTW, I know people who are just fine around here in shorties and 1mils. It's mostly personal preference but most people dive 3mil here, it seems to be the standard. Have seen a few 5/4s tho...

Peace,
Greg

 

[ChimChim75]

Since you say the 3mm will be only a 1 time use, I'd say go with the 7mm. Several of my buddies use 7mm in the winter here, so she'll only fry topside.

Otherwise, rent if she's a common size. Think it is around $15 a day to rent, so maybe a cheap end of year clearance wetsuit would be ok too if you think of it that way. Or Craigslist?

 

[scubadada]

The water will be in the low-mid 70s, to me that's pretty chilly for a couple or 4 dives in a day. I would be wearing a full 5mm with a hood or hooded vest, that's what I've worn in Oahu at that time of year. Like most sports, enjoying scuba includes being comfortable while participating. Personally, I would not skimp on the exposure protection and take a chance to ruining the experience. If I were you, I'd be looking for a bargain full 5mm, just sayin.

Good diving, Craig

 

[Busdiver]

Pick her up a 7mm. She will be happy the whole time in the water. If she gets warm she can add water or you can unzip the back to allow water to circulate. Better to try to cool off then try to heat up. Also, you live in Chicago. Take her out diving the Lakes. We have the greatest wreck diving in the world (the Great Lakes Region).

 

[Acanthurus]

I dove in Kona in Feb last year wearing a 2/3 suit plus a borrowed hood and I was not warm although did do 2 dives per day and did not have to end the dives early - ran out of air before I became too cold but then I was relatively new to diving ( and still am).

Enjoy!!

 

[kanonfodr]

<snip> Think it is around $15 a day to rent

That's another option. If you plan to do all your diving through one operator, I'm sure you could cut a deal with them for free wetsuit rental if you're diving like mad with them. If nothing else, rent the wetsuit for a few days, it's between 10 and 15 bux a day for most operations around here for rentals.

Peace,
Greg

 

[scubamickey]

Hi Steve, I just got back from Hawaii. In fact, I was on the 3 tank dive that Scuba_HI mentioned. I wear a full 5mm with a 3mm vest and I get chillyy after about 2 straight days of 4 dives a day. The first dive of the day which is to around 100 feet I am normally very comfortable and then progressively get colder. But that's because I barely move in the water and only use my feet for propulsion. What I see time and time again is that new divers or divers that use their hands a lot to control their bouyancy, don't get cold because they are constantly in motion. If your daughter is one of these divers, I would say that she will be fine with a rental 3mm. If she gets cold then the next day she can rent a 5mm. She will absolutely not cook in the sun.
You are not in your wetsuit on the surface that long and in the water even a 7mm will not make her hot.

Good diving!