Full wet suit or hooded vest?

[Ghanguss]

Ive been too warm in 27-28 deg water.
I had a 3mm long sleeve, short leg surfing wetsuit on a liveaboard. My mask would fog constantly and I was uncomforable, especially while finning heavily.

A 3mm full suit sounds about right, but Id consider a 2/3mm hood as backup rather than a 5mm full suit.

This gives alot of options
1. top
2. top with hood
3. 3mm
4. 3mm with hood.

 

[ptyx]

I have a 5mm shorty and a 2.5mm full suit.

The full suit is warmer and offers more abrasion protection. Good for wrecks, night dives or dives with rough entry/exit.

The shorty is easier to put on and still allows me to feel the water. Unless I'm cold/tired from previous dives, it has my preference.

Both are much warmer than no suit at all.

In tropical waters, unless I know I'll be cold I prefer to dive without a hood - so no integrated hood for me.

 

[jbb]

My wife and I are considering a liveaboard in Sept/Oct - and I was wondering the same..... I dive a 3MM pretty much exclusively (tropics) and so dos she; however, even after 2 dives she has a tendancy to become alittle chilled towards the end of the dive. Same concern, with 4-5 dives a day would she not be better off with a 5MM full suit , as opposed to her 3MM with a Hooded Vest for the later dives??

My though process was If she dove the 3MM in the am, then the 5MM in the aft/Night dives wouldnt it keep her warmer??

Any help....thoughts......shes not a big fan of wearing the hoods (although i think it would help her)....

I'd wear the same outfit the whole day depending on how many dives you will do. Full 5mm suit or 3mm w/vest-hood for 3-4 dive days and lighter for 2 dive days. Once you are chilled you aren't going to warm up. I think I tollerate the hotter temps in the tropics because I usually do at least 3-4 dives a day.

I go to the Philippines with about 82 deg water. My last trip was a 3mm with my cold water hood - comfortable. Previous trips were with a 5/4mm Bare full suit - nice and comfortable until it got more compressed after 100 dives when a 5mm shorty had more bouyancy and decided to retire the suit.

I agree with DiveJunkie - I take photos and like to float around looking for critters so there isn't much calorie burning going on even at 6ft and 210lbs.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

I had a similar situation with a liveaboard in the Bahamas. In 2008 I did a week with Blackbeards out of Freeport on the Pirate's Lady. It was OCT and I wore a 3/2 full, and put on a hood most of the time. With 3 to 4 dives a day I was chilled and even passed on a couple of dives because of it. Last NOV I did the same trip with 5/4 full and wore the hood all the time. It was a much better trip and I didn't miss a dive. Saw a 9 foot Hammerhead at 70 feet and was within 15 feet of it. Glad I didn't miss a dive because that would have been the one!!!!!

 

[ptyx]

I'd wear the same outfit the whole day

Actually, that's a good argument for buying both: you'll have the option to use a dry and warm suit instead of the one still dripping from the previous dive.

 

[grouchyturtle]

I used to dive a 2mm shorty in warm water. SO easy to get in and out of, but...

After swimming through a jelly fish mine field to get back to a boat a few years back, I'll never dive a shorty again.

Keep in mind the type of suit makes a difference too. MY 3mm gold core feels just as warm as my 7mm hyperstretch did.

 

[tmp]

Betty - what kind of hood did you buy??