For you New England divers

[Swamp_monster]

Hey there,
I am from Connecticut, but I live and dive in Florida. I have never dived in NE water and I have a wetsuit question. I am planning on diving this coming summer in Rhode Island and Mass area. I want to buy a wetsuit that will be suitable and for south Florida also. What I am thinking is buying a 5mm, 3mm gloves, 5/3 hood, and 5mm boots. This wetsuit would be adequate for Florida in the winter, and I am hoping NE in the summer. Kinda like a kill 2 birds with one stone type thing. I also have a 2mm vest I can wear over or under the 5mm wetsuit. I only plan on diving the NE waters during the summer. I know this is a question depending on the individual but I want to know what you guys dive with in the summer, and what you guys think about what I wrote above. To give you some idea of my temperature tolerance I dive in a rashguard here in the summer or just a vest. Right now the water is about 78-80ish and I am comfortable in a 2/1 shorty.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Yes we dive in 5 mill suits - that said it needs to be warm - not April temperatures. YMMV.

Have fun...

Depending on how long you have been in Florida it will not be too comfortable in the early summer season too... But that is something you will need to deal with up here... I have seen Fl divers with 5 mill suits while I was diving a bathing suit... Where you live for a while does play a role.

 

[Swamp_monster]

Yes we dive in 5 mill suits - that said it needs to be warm - not April temperatures. YMMV.

Have fun...

Depending on how long you have been in Florida it will not be too comfortable in the early summer season too... But that is something you will need to deal with up here... I have seen Fl divers with 5 mill suits while I was diving a bathing suit... Where you live for a while does play a role.

What are you using in terms of gloves, hood, boots...?

 

[NatureLVR]

I dive dry year round in MA (dry gloves and hood too) with at least 1 layer of wool underneath. I can't pull off a 5 mill. Too cold for me. Some of my friends will use a 7 mill in the summer and go dry in the winter. Personal preference sort of thing. It depends on tolerance, depth, pond vs. ocean

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

What are you using in terms of gloves, hood, boots...?

Me I dive dry - how deep you go depends on how cold you get. I don't want to limit myself...

My wife dives a 3 mill - no hood and no gloves - but I only let her go to the first thermocline... No deeper than 50 feet but in late June to early Oct that is enough...
I have friends that dive 5 mill and they dive 5 mill gloves boots and hood... Again they limit themselves to depth or season...

 

[Swamp_monster]

Me I dive dry - how deep you go depends on how cold you get. I don't want to limit myself...

My wife dives a 3 mill - no hood and no gloves - but I only let her go to the first thermocline... No deeper than 50 feet but in late June to early Oct that is enough...
I have friends that dive 5 mill and they dive 5 mill gloves boots and hood... Again they limit themselves to depth or season...

Thanks for the info... I might just decide to go with a 7/5 as a compromise. I will never get cold here in our "winter" water here in south Florida. Let's talk about this Thermocline though, are you tech diving? At what depth are you hitting a noticeable thermocline?

 

[tdallen]

Ocean surface temps can get up into the 60's or even low 70's in New England over the summer but temperature at depth will still be in the 50's, even 40's.

 

[Swamp_monster]

Ocean surface temps can get up into the 60's or even low 70's in New England over the summer but temperature at depth will still be in the 50's, even 40's.

Ehhhh, that's rough sounding. At what depth? Most of the dives I have looked at doing so far are around 30-60 feet. I am probably going to do mostly shore dives.

 

[icechip]

For most of the summer/fall I dive an old 7mm cheapo wet suit with a beanie instead of a hood. Late winter/early spring or late fall/early winter I use a SEAC Masterdry 7mm semi-dry with a detached hood. Occasionally work in wool socks, semi-dry gloves, and/or something underneath..all depending on conditions. All in all I get about 10-11 months of the year for a dive season.

 

[Parklander]

I dove NE out of NJ for 20 years before moving to FL -- so I thought this prospective might be helpful. I dive a 1 mil in FL for shallow dives during the warm months and a 3 mil for any other time and anything deeper than 100 fsw. I was never comfortable in anything but a dry suit in the NE except in shallow water during the mid-late Summer. That being said, you may want to wait on investing in a 5 mil wetsuit in an effort to find a solution for both locales. Rent first and see if you are happy. If you are going to do a lot of NE diving you may want to go with a dry suit and keep your wetsuit/bathing suit for the tropical stuff. Diving dry is nearly as valuable a skill/technology as Nitrox when you are diving in cool/cold waters, IMHO. Also, this will open up the opportunity to dive more months in the NE.