First trip to Sharm

[Bluebabe]

Looking for advice: my hubby and I going to Sharm for 5 days diving in Feb. We are relatively novice divers, just wondering what mm wetsuit to take - I very much feel the cold. Also what kind of layers will we need for the boat? Really not sure what to expect temp wise? Any advice appreciated, thank you.

 

[TheCoolBeans]

If you absolutely HAVE to wear a wetsuit it would have to be at least a 5mm semi dry with a good hood, gloves and boots.

If it’s one or two dives every couple of days you won’t get too cold but if you are planning to do 5days/10dives you are going to feel the cold so much it might make you miserable.

I dive Egypt every Jan/Feb and I’m in a drysuit with leggings/thin skiwear style top underneath and I’m considered one of the more hardy ones of our group for the cold factor.

Take a drysuit if you can it will transform your experience if doing multiple days of diving.

Who you diving with ?

 

[Bluebabe]

If you absolutely HAVE to wear a wetsuit it would have to be at least a 5mm semi dry with a good hood, gloves and boots.































If it’s one or two dives every couple of days you won’t get too cold but if you are planning to do 5days/10dives you are going to feel the cold so much it might make you miserable.































I dive Egypt every Jan/Feb and I’m in a drysuit with leggings/thin skiwear style top underneath and I’m considered one of the more hardy ones of our group for the cold factor.































Take a drysuit if you can it will transform your experience if doing multiple days of diving.































Who you diving with ?







If you absolutely HAVE to wear a wetsuit it would have to be at least a 5mm semi dry with a good hood, gloves and boots.







If it’s one or two dives every couple of days you won’t get too cold but if you are planning to do 5days/10dives you are going to feel the cold so much it might make you miserable.







I dive Egypt every Jan/Feb and I’m in a drysuit with leggings/thin skiwear style top underneath and I’m considered one of the more hardy ones of our group for the cold factor.







Take a drysuit if you can it will transform your experience if doing multiple days of diving.







Who you diving with ?

 

[Bluebabe]

Oh goodness, I wasn't expecting to wear a drysuit!! We have 5 days diving booked with Elite diving.

 

[Searcaigh]

Welcome to ScubaBoard.

Northern Red Sea is relatively cold at this time of year and I second @SammyW 's opinion a it's best dived in a drysuit.

That said a 5mm semi dry may suffice if not doing too many dives.

Ask Elite diving what the current water temperatures are, I'd hazard a guess at around 20-23C.

 

[Cheizz]

I did some dives in 18-20 C waters (Mediterranean) in a 5mm wetsuit (2 dives a day) without any problems. I am not someone who gets cold easily, though. Today, the water temperature in Shram is around 23 C (Sharm el-Sheikh Water Temperature | Egypt | Sea Temperatures). So I think a 5mm suit could be just fine.

Note: In the Netherlands, I dive in a drysuit regularly in waters below 10 C in temperature. So 18-20 C is warm for what I am used to. Could be different for others of course.

 

[CamC]

Been a few times in February, always dived in a 5mm wetsuit (not semi-dry) no hood, no gloves, no layers.

The picture is 7th Feb 2015, water temp 23C; that trip was 5 days, 15 dives, most of us in wetsuits throughout. You appear to be from pretty much the same latitude (I'm in the Isle of Man) so you might be lucky - but far better to err on the side of caution with a hood and some other layers, just in case. I found I got far colder on the boat in between dives - it can be pretty windy at that time of year.