First suit

[badger70]

I am a recently certified diver and am looking to buy my first wet suit. I live in Colorado, USA. I plan to dive mostly in fairly warm places (Cozumel, Philipines, Thailand, and occassionally when I can afford it, Hawaii, Tahiti). Closer to home I plan do some diving in Southern California and South Florida (Key West etc.)- (how warm are these?) What thickness for a wet suit would people recomend? What are pros and cons of different brands?

Even closer to home I may do some lake diving in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. These places, I imagine, are a lot colder (with the exception of hot spring dives), even in summer, and may require more than my warm water suit, but I can only afford one at this point. Perhaps a thickness that will allow me to do these without being too cold but not over heat in the warm places.

I would appreciate any recommendations.

 

[Baachus]

You'll probably need more than one to fill those requirements. In Colorado, most people wear a 7mil in the summer.

You might try layering the suits however.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Depending on your comfort level, even "warm" water, say 85 degrees, is still nearly 14 degrees lower than your body temp. I dive "warm" water with a 1mm diveskin. I recommend (despite all the hype you see about shorties and diving "nearly" naked) a full suit including full length arms and legs, it provides slightly more warmth but more important exposure protection from marine life. It's so flexible and comfortable you really forget you have anything but a bathing suit on underneath. Many of the locals in these warm water destinations dive 3mm or in some cases 5mm wetsuits, after 20 years of local diving they get cold very fast in 80 degree water, though for us mostly cold water divers, we can't understand it. Even found one guy in a drysuit in 82 degree water! When I started talking around about this, quite a few people told me it's definitely not unheard of.

If you find yourself chilled easily, you will not "overheat" in a 3mm and I recommend one for your warm water excursions.

 

[spectrum]

Welcome to ScubaBoard and to the sport.

I agree with Baachus, you will need several suits. Some layering components may be common but I don't see you layering all over. With those locales and seasonal varraitions you are coverng nearly the full spectrum.

I'm sure you're reeling from sticker shock at this point as you consider other gear purchases. If you haven't learned this already lake diving can be very cold. Unlike the mild summer topwater you may have swam in there are thermoclines (layers) of water that will probably take you well down into the 40s as you reach depth. I may be wrong about your lakes in question but in general this is the case. Tropical ocean water on the other hand will have some differences with depth but is usally not as dramatrically stratified due in part to the constant mixing of tides, storms, etc.

Brands are not your most important criteria. I happen to be partial to Bare. I like the designs of their products, they have a huge selection of sizes and are a great value. The most important criteria of a wetsuit is fit, it must fit like a second skin, you must have full range of motion, and it must not modify your breathing. To attain this fit you need to try and buy locally unless you're feeling lucky. There are some internet merchants you can find here on the board (Divetank and Scubatoys come to mind) that can take some of the pain out of the process but if you miss on the first shot it can still get time consuming. Having multiple suits sent to try is also an option if your credit card can float the process. Be sure to understand who is paying to ship each step of the way.

So what do you buy?
I'd get a 3mm fullsuit, this should not cost you too much more than $100. This will cover you in the tropics day on night as long as the water is.... tropical. Some dives may be conmfortable in your trunks but some full body protection is aways advisable for stings and scrape protection.

For the warmest dives a dive skin would be nice but that's not in your budget yet.

Second would be a 7mm full suit, this will be for your cooler water dives. Something like a Bare Arctic is a good value.

Third (or maybe second depending on your exact needs) would be a hoodded chicken vest. The Bare version is 3mm on your torso and 7mm on the hood. You can wear this with either suit as a layering item. In both cases it will mute your zipper seepage and it will do a real nice job of sealing your neck opening. Some brands do this with a 5mm hood and that's fine too. Wear it underneath the fullsuit.

Lastly if you are to cold with the 7mm and chiken vest would be a 7mm hooded step-in, this will get you to the max in common 7mm gear. At this point a drysuit is also a valid consideration.

You will of course need gloves, preferably 3 and 5 mm. As well as cold water booties, make sure you fins are compatible. In time you may desire a 5mm suit, a beabie and a bibbed hood.

It sounds like a lot but if you get it slowly as the seasons and trips come along it can be managed. Well cared for each item should provide joy for 100s of dives.

Closing sugesstuions: in wetsuit it's all about fit (repeat 3 times)
Spend some real time reading back posts in the forum to get a broad context of exposure protection options.

Have fun,
Pete

 

[avpro4]

I would agree with others that it's better to be too warm in a wet suit than not warm enough. It's easy enough to unzip a little, or remove your hood.

I'm a newbie also, still renting 7mm FJ's when I dive in Lake Michigan or midwest quarries. Last September I had a buddy in a class who'd bought a 4/3 jumpsuit thinking it would be a good compromise between midwest cold water and tropical warm. After a day of quarry diving while waiting for the sun to set to qualify the last dive as a night dive he was shivering and complaining about the cold, while the rest of us were squatting in the shallows, enjoying the warmth of the sun's last rays on a day that had been 82 degrees.

So I intend to buy a 7mm jumpsuit with a removable hood, as a compromise of warmth vs. buoyancy, because I hate to be cold, and he looked miserable. On a recent dive in Dos Ojos (Mexico) I rented a 5mm jumpsuit in Akumal and was very comfortable all day in the 72 degree cenote water.

Question: Has anyone experience with Triple-L wetsuits? I'm really tempted by their low prices and would love to hear from anyone who's bought from them on-line.

 

[spectrum]

Question: Has anyone experience with Triple-L wetsuits? I'm really tempted by their low prices and would love to hear from anyone who's bought from them on-line.

There was more tripple L action a year ago. Lot of suit for the money but I think they did a price hike and became less attractive. Still competitive but now real money.

I have seen some posts from folks who have had them side by side with other brands mentioning lesser quality zippers and such.

I've never met one.

Pete

 

[Divedoggie]

A 3mm full suit and a separate 5mm hooded vest or hooded overshorty, would give you a lot of flexibility. The 3mm full suit would be used in almost all of your warm water diving destinations. The added hooded vest would be effective in 60 to 75 degree water.
If you plan on diving in Colorado and New Mexico, and pretty much anywhere on the west coast, then a drysuit would be best. You can save up for that in the future.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

A 3mm full suit and a separate 5mm hooded vest or hooded overshorty, would give you a lot of flexibility. The 3mm full suit would be used in almost all of your warm water diving destinations. The added hooded vest would be effective in 60 to 75 degree water.
If you plan on diving in Colorado and New Mexico, and pretty much anywhere on the west coast, then a drysuit would be best. You can save up for that in the future.

Exactly what I do

 

[AC Boy]

I am a recently certified diver and am looking to buy my first wet suit. I live in Colorado, USA. I plan to dive mostly in fairly warm places (Cozumel, Philipines, Thailand, and occassionally when I can afford it, Hawaii, Tahiti). Closer to home I plan do some diving in Southern California and South Florida (Key West etc.)- (how warm are these?) What thickness for a wet suit would people recomend? What are pros and cons of different brands?

Even closer to home I may do some lake diving in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. These places, I imagine, are a lot colder (with the exception of hot spring dives), even in summer, and may require more than my warm water suit, but I can only afford one at this point. Perhaps a thickness that will allow me to do these without being too cold but not over heat in the warm places.

I would appreciate any recommendations.

Hi badger70,

Welcome to the board!

I've been diving in waters around Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia where it's usually 26-30C. Even then, a 3mm full suit's not sufficient to keep me warm in these waters, and I usually start to shiver by the 2nd / 3rd dive (A DM once told me how afraid he was for my camera when he saw me shivering! LOL!) I've recently gotten myself a better fitting 3mm full suit, and an additional 2.5mm hooded vest. I reckon that will keep me fairly toasty in these waters.

That said, if you're not a wuss like me in the water, a 3mm full suit will usually do just fine in these waters.