help buying a wetsuit

[Mikko Ilari Laakkonen]

The best way to save money on a thicker wetsuit is to buy a drysuit. Thick wetsuits are uncomfortable and just PITA. Either you give up diving in colder conditions or move along to drysuit.

For me any dive that requires more exposure protection than my 3/2mm wettie will be done dry.

- Mikko Laakkonen -

I love diving and teaching others to dive.

 

[rongoodman]

Drysuit.

 

[Instructor_Tom]

If your are considering the Henderson aqua lock, look at the henderson 8mil thremoprene. It has an integrated hood and the same aqua lock wrist and ankle cuffs. My only warning is that it is really floaty. Mine takes nearly 35lb to sink.

If you are in constant cool water i would recommend a serious look at a lightly used dry suit or a very good deal on a new one. also highly recommend 4th element for an undergarment.




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[Burgo]

Scubapro Nova Scotia semi-dry. 'Nuff said.

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[ASert]

ok so it sounds like i should probably go with a 5m ( i have 0 body fat) and a dry suit

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If you want to do cold water in a wetsuit you should look into a custom.
There are a number of suit builders in the US that can make you a great cold water suit out of 9mm or 10mm.
There are even suits made out of 12mm for the commercial abalone harvesters.
The nice thing about custom is you have your pick of what type material they use, spongy, dense, or in between.
The dense Yamamoto which is actually medium softness is great for suits in the 9 mil range.
Anything thicker than 9mm needs to be broken in and they're not for the weak and frail.
It can be a bear to break one in and get used to it, but if you're a die hard wetsuit diver like I am then you deal with it.
After a while the suit fits you like a second skin and you don't pay any mind to it.

If you decide to go that way get a 2 piece beaver tail w/ attached hood and 3/4 zip up the front. These are by far the warmest and are the prefered cut of commercial divers that are in cold water for hours on end.
I have a 1/2" commercial wetsuit and I can dive in mid 40's water no problem, don't even feel it.
I've dove with drysuit divers that get a chill and I'm boiling when we get out.

 

[Jeff Scott]

If that's how you want to go. Remember the thing is that you dress for the temperature at the depth you are planning to dive. I know people who dive 7mm Aqua Locs in the dead of the summer for a 55 degree bottom temp and the time they are spending at depth. But either way if you get cold the way you say you do I would still recommend a semi dry as far as a wet suit....they make them in 3 and 5 mm as well. Thing is though that they are twice the cost of a regular wetsuit and you can't pee in them or you won't want to anyhow. If I'm not mistaken, as far as the Aqua Locs they all cost the same regardless of thickness...that's why I recommended the 7mm. Most bang for your buck and you shouldn't get cold.

I mistakenly gave you bad advice as far as the pricing. I said they were all the same price and this is untrue. I looked it up on several sites and there seems to be about a $50 price difference between the suits. I am sorry but I was misinformed and don't mean to give bad advice.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I got a custom-fit wetsuit from Aquaflite Wetsuits - Custom Wetsuits. It's a 7mm semi-dry full suit w/ a 7mm sleeveless hooded jacket--so it's two piece. It's 14mm of wetsuit over the core w/ an integrated hood. It was a little over $350 w/ the custom fitting and shipping, but the prices and sizes are on the website so you can see if you fit one of their standard sizes. I got a custom because most standard sizes are way to big in the gut for me (divers not being know for their trim physiques).

I live in Arizona. Fresh water diving in the winter the temps are 52 degrees, and this keeps me warm. In the summer time I just wear the 7mm and leave it unzipped. I'm about 12% body fat. Have dove this in the 50 degree waters of So Cal and it worked well.

Like most others said, a drysuit is going to be best for North East diving, but this wet suit combo is about 1/4 or 1/5 the cost.

 

[fjpatrum]

ASert, getting rid of the squeeze around your crotch takes a couple of dives to get used to but you can get there. I'd definitely recommend a dry suit, as one skinny guy to another.

I get cold easily. I have I think 8 or 9 wetsuits ranging from a 2.5mm spring suit (long sleeves, short legs) to a 7 mm step in jacket. When I'm diving wet, I layer as necessary. A hooded vest works wonders for adding warmth without a lot of extra buoyancy to worry about. For your area I'd definitely say at least a good 5mm but more likely a 7mm for wet and a dry suit of some kind.


Look for used dry suits too, as you can often get great deals. I bought my TLS350 (DUI) for $200 on Craigslist. After half a dozen dives I spent another $400 putting new silicone neck and wrist "zip seals" (my skinny wrists allowed too much leakage with the latex seals) and I'm still more than $2000 less than retail for the suit. Likely you won't find a deal quite as good as that but $500 for a used dry suit is fairly common to see.


EDIT: To give some concept of my exposure protection, I'm 6'1, 170 and have between 2-5% body fat, depending upon my exercise regime of the day. In the freshwater quarry here, when diving wet, I wear ~14mm on my core. A 4/3 full suit or a 5mm full suit, with a 5/3 hooded vest (3 on the chest), with a 7mm step in jacket over top of all that. That keeps me toasty in temps down to about 50 degrees for a couple of short dives. It keeps me tolerably warm down to about 45 for a couple of shorter dives. It keeps me almost warm lower than 45 for 1 short dive and just plain cold for a second dive.

I wear at least a 4/3 full suit in anything below 80 degrees. In warmer water than that, I start going down to a 3mm or the shorty. I tried the 2.5mm spring suit with the hooded vest at Rainbow river in FL but found I was too cold. The water there is, I believe, 76* year round.

 

[TravisD]

Go dry. Aside from keeping your body warm, it gives you the option of dry gloves too - and warm dry hands are awesome. Also, not having to slither back into a cold wet suit for dive #2 is a huge bonus. My Fusion is comfy enough where if the air temp isn't too out of sync with the undies I'm using, it's comfortable enough to keep on in-between dives.

(Yes, you can probably use some of the dry gloves that have their own seals with a wetsuit, but I don't really see the point... plus you don't have any way to equalize them.)