Florida springs - No wetsuit or 1mm skin

[H2Andy]

yes, i saw him do it... he did fine with just shorts and a t-shirt.

i use a 3 mil farmer john two-piece and a 3 mil chicken vest and hood, and i
do ok. if i don't use the hood, i freeze my butt off...

everyone is different, though... you need to try for yourself. i would bring MORE than
you think you need, that way you can just not wear what you don't end up needing

 

[CBulla]

That was Tao with the T-shirt on.. he was comfortable as well. It wouldn't hurt to definitely bring a little extra gear and give it a whirl with various combinations until you find out where your comfort zone is. I gave up my neoprene to my wife after having done a number of dives in similar temp water in weeks previous and found that I really didnt need the extra covering unless I was doing something where I spent time on or near the bottom.

Have fun diving there, we sure did!

 

[H2Andy]

lol, no, i know the difference between you and Tao... i really did think you had
a t-shirt on...

oh well... my mistake!

 

[CBulla]

I must be that well tanned from my weeks of diving leading up to last weekend for the effect to have been that strong! no worries mon!

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

We had planned to do a little gulf dive at one point, however the seas were too high so we opted for Vortex Springs ~ 68º. I only brought a 0.5mm diveskin with me, expecting to be in 80º water. After 30min or so at the bottom it got rather chilly, but I wouldn't say unbearable.

There are usually tons of kids swimming and snorkelling around in the water above without any problem. I used to play in springs quite a bit when I was younger as well. Course, things are quite a bit different at depth...

Wear your 1mm skin and the 3mm shorty over it, if you already have them and don't want to purchase yet another suit.

 

[ReefGuy]

At 72 degrees, CBulla wears his swimsuit, and I wear my 3mil john/jacket and hood. We're built similarly, except I'm a lot taller, so it takes a lot more beer to keep up.

It depends on you and your tolerance for cold.

 

[The Wanderer]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try out a 3mm at Crystal River in a couple of weeks.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I wear my dry suite in the Florida springs.

 

[AevnsGrandpa]

I dove Ginnie in December of last year and I wore my 5-4-3 wet suit and I felt fine. The water was refreshing. I didn't wear a hood and my ears and face were somewhat cold.

Jeff

 

[SubMariner]

Do any of you dive the Florida springs without a wetsuit, or maybe with only a 0.5 - 1 mm skin? Or perhaps a 3 mm shortie?

I am a big guy and kinda hard to fit with an off-the-rack wetsuit and as a new diver I don't really want to buy a whole closetfull of wet suits.

What is your experience in the springs and/or what have you seen other big guys wearing? :06:

Edit: My main problem with buying a wetsuit is my large ex-football player type shoulders that are hard to fit with the off-the rack wetsuits. Too tight... too tight.... won't zip up.

Pearce wears his DUI 350TLS trilam drysuit in the Springs. Anything less and you run the risk of hypothermia with prolonged or repeated exposure.

Sure, it's about 77F at the surface, but go down 10' and it's not that warm. (At the entrance to the caves at about 60' it's DEFINITELY colder.)

You might want to consider saving up some pennies for a custom trilam. Pearce has the same problem when it comes to fit (he used to play semi-pro football in TGWN). Basically, he went with a trilam because you can vary the undergarments to wear it in a very wide range of temps.

Bonne chance,