I took this suit for it's first 2 dives today. Went to the quarry where I did my OW and AOW dives. Dive buddy for the day was my instructor/LDS owner who was getting in some CCR time so he can be an instructor.
This quarry is cold. I was expecting the dives to be in the 50's. I was wrong which you will see.
I set up my gear and again the suit is so easy to get on. Mistake I made on the first dive, not putting on your hood before you put on any part of the suit over your head. On my second dive I put the hood on first. Worked very well with the longer style hoods. However I want to use the Pinnacle ME7 dry sut hood after today. I put the legs over my dive boots. Next time I think I'll put the inner part in my boot and the neoprene over the boot. Got everything on and got in the water. At the surface I was good. Temps were in the mid 50's. Felt very warm and comfortable. Last time at Dutch Springs it was 72 above and 52 below the thermocline and I was very uncomfortable in my 4/3 suit at 52 degrees. Started off the dive doing great. We set off to find the 6x6 army truck which was in the pit somewhere around 80 feet. We did not find but I found that 46 degrees was a bit too cold for me. I tolerated it ok and finished what turned out to be a one hour dive. This was repeated almost to the exact second on the second dive. However the 46 degree water took it's toll on me and I did not do a second dive. Overall the is is a really nice suit. I am hoping I can get my boots zipped with the inner leg seal tucked in my dive boot. Thicker boots and hood and dry suit gloves would have made for a better experience. The suit is very warm in water in the 50's. I definitely noticed hitting the thermocline and did not enjoy it. However 46 degrees is cold. My dive buddy was getting cold in his dry suit. I got a killer headache from the day and my neck was a little sore from looking forward in the cold water. Hoping to dive it again next month and maybe have a better hood for more warmth. This is a great suit for it's purpose. I'm not sure any wet suit will keep you warm below 50 degrees that well. I would think that this suit and a core or torso warmer will allow you to get into the 40's and be ok. I'm thinking I'll get the ME7 hood and boots for a better experience get some dry gloves too. If you are diving in the 50 or 60 degree water, this will be a great wet suit.
This quarry is cold. I was expecting the dives to be in the 50's. I was wrong which you will see.
I set up my gear and again the suit is so easy to get on. Mistake I made on the first dive, not putting on your hood before you put on any part of the suit over your head. On my second dive I put the hood on first. Worked very well with the longer style hoods. However I want to use the Pinnacle ME7 dry sut hood after today. I put the legs over my dive boots. Next time I think I'll put the inner part in my boot and the neoprene over the boot. Got everything on and got in the water. At the surface I was good. Temps were in the mid 50's. Felt very warm and comfortable. Last time at Dutch Springs it was 72 above and 52 below the thermocline and I was very uncomfortable in my 4/3 suit at 52 degrees. Started off the dive doing great. We set off to find the 6x6 army truck which was in the pit somewhere around 80 feet. We did not find but I found that 46 degrees was a bit too cold for me. I tolerated it ok and finished what turned out to be a one hour dive. This was repeated almost to the exact second on the second dive. However the 46 degree water took it's toll on me and I did not do a second dive. Overall the is is a really nice suit. I am hoping I can get my boots zipped with the inner leg seal tucked in my dive boot. Thicker boots and hood and dry suit gloves would have made for a better experience. The suit is very warm in water in the 50's. I definitely noticed hitting the thermocline and did not enjoy it. However 46 degrees is cold. My dive buddy was getting cold in his dry suit. I got a killer headache from the day and my neck was a little sore from looking forward in the cold water. Hoping to dive it again next month and maybe have a better hood for more warmth. This is a great suit for it's purpose. I'm not sure any wet suit will keep you warm below 50 degrees that well. I would think that this suit and a core or torso warmer will allow you to get into the 40's and be ok. I'm thinking I'll get the ME7 hood and boots for a better experience get some dry gloves too. If you are diving in the 50 or 60 degree water, this will be a great wet suit.
