Giving the 7mm wetsuit a little trim

[WestCoastDivr]

I've done 8 dives in puget sound when the water temp was 47-48 in my 7mm suit and a hood that doesn't even tuck into the wetsuit. I'm always cold at the end of a 40 minute dive but I've never had to come up due to excessive cold. I know I'm not helping with your question at all, just wanted to let you know that there are other crazies in mid 40s water in wetsuits


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[Tony387]

I agree with the last poster. It just depends on how you respond to the cold. I dove all winter in a 5mm in temps as low as 44, with hood/gloves of course. My dive time was limited to about 30 minutes or so, but completely doable.

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[buddhasummer]

I agree with the last poster. It just depends on how you respond to the cold. I dove all winter in a 5mm in temps as low as 44, with hood/gloves of course. My dive time was limited to about 30 minutes or so, but completely doable.

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Absolutely, I'd go into cardiac arrest wearing a wetsuit in water in the 40s. I wear a full 5mm in the tropics with gloves, boots and often hood and I'm comfortable. I wear a two piece FJ with hood in water temps of around 75-78 and am comfortable. I tried a 3mm last year in Thailand and was uncomfortably cold by day 2. Once the temp drops to around 70 I'm in a drysuit.

 

[FinnMom]

Many things that seem uncomfortable out of the water or in a pool will never be noticed when you are underwater. I suspect the neck will be a non-issue underwater and I would hate to have you decrease warmth on your neck or increasre the rate at which fresh, colder water flushes into yor suit. I suggest you wear the suit underwater a few times before you use the scissors.
If 7mm isn't enough insulation, try adding a 5mm shorty/hooded shorty over the suit. I have dove water that temp in a 7mm suit and it was fine underwater - getting dressed/undressed and sitting out a surface interval was the painful part. I always just had trouble keepng my hands warm - 3-finger gloves are significantly warmer!

 

[drbill]

I'm generally pretty cold tolerant, but I don't think I've experienced water temps below 47 F when diving wet and those were pretty chilly in my 7mm with hooded vest. I've done many dives with a minimum temp of 50 F and that seemed noticeably warmer!

 

[scubastingray]

I think you'd probably be fine cutting the wetsuit, but take it slow and be more conservative at first.

When you look at the jackets in FJ setups, they have a dip in the front of the neck too. Without a hood this causes issue as you can get a lot of water exchange there. With a hood, it seals against the hood and does fine.

 

[Stoo]

I'd just suggest making that trim in stages... Trim a bit, then try the suit. Repeat if necessary. Once it's cut, it's cut!

Also, remember that new suits tend to be pretty stiff. You might very well find that after a few dives, it's limbered up some. Henderson's are known for their good stretch.

I picked up a new 3mm this winter for a trip and ran it through the washing machine a couple of times to limber it up a bit. Don't put it in the dryer, but a good wash tends to soften the material a bit.

 

[drbill]

Whatever you do, don't buy one of the "self-trimming" wetsuits like I did:

 

[ams511]

Is that what is meant by a rear dump?

 

[Timmyjoe]

View attachment 183589

Shark do that?