How many wetsuits do you have?

[Biotech Diver]

excellent point, well said. re-reading my post, I didn't intend the "I'm a tough guy" vibe, I was just relaying what I do. Agree 100% there's no evading thermodynamics! I'm still pretty young (in my 40s) and I already feel my tolerance slipping. +1 for shelving the ego and doing what's comfortable and safe!

Oh I hope you didn’t think I was implying that because that’s not at all what I was thinking. If it weren’t for the jellyfish stings and fire coral rashes I would be more inclined to just wear shorts. It’s nice to drop a couple of pounds of weights, but again it’s less of a safety risk to wear a wetsuit.

 

[tbone1004]

3mm shorty-or at least it used to be 3mm. Helps cut the chill if I'm doing cool dives *70's*, or short exposures in the 60's with warm surface temps
3mm steamer-preferred wetsuit, good to 70f for about 2 hours, preferably with a hood
7mm steamer-don't like it, but it's a necessary evil for teaching
6.5mm semi-dry-same as above
hooded vest-makes the 3mm steamer comparable to the 7mm. I accept colder limbs for more flexibility
Drysuit

 

[JMBL]

excellent point, well said. re-reading my post, I didn't intend the "I'm a tough guy" vibe, I was just relaying what I do. Agree 100% there's no evading thermodynamics! I'm still pretty young (in my 40s) and I already feel my tolerance slipping. +1 for shelving the ego and doing what's comfortable and safe!

You're a wise man ! No need to play the prima dona once we're over 40, I'll be 50 next year, with 3 decades of diving. Being cold is no longer an option, when I started I was a student, so buying an heavier wetsuit was just a dream. But nowadays, I just quote my favourite line from 'Lethal weapon' : I'm too old for this s... !

 

[Biotech Diver]

I’ve experienced diuresis while diving even when I didn’t feel cold. It’s the body’s way of saying you need to stop the heat loss before I stop you!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I used to have ten,
now I have four, not including a hooded vest.
I also have parts of other suits stored like a vintage 1/4” Rubatex G-231 jacket but no bottoms for it, another suit that got too stiff but I use neoprene from it for other things.
So, four “operational” suits.

 

[KDAD]

One. A 3mm which I will use down to 70 deg or even lower, depending on the dive. Otherwise, I dive dry. As much as I love the water, diving dry is nice.

 

[Swedinsidemount]

Thus far, I haven't invested in a wetsuit. My reluctance is that I dive in cold water where I live and also travel to tropical climates, wearing very different rental suits in each case.

How many wetsuits do you own? How do you determine which wetsuits to purchase to minimize the number that you own but still be able to dive everywhere you would like to?

I have 5 . One 1mm, one 3mm, 2 shorties 4mm, and a 7mm padded with hood and i use ffm with that and semi dry gloves. Honestly the 5mm i used to have is the best of both worlds.

 

[broncobowsher]

3mm shorty, Bahamas one trip.
3mm full. The warm water go to. Protection when doing wrecks.
5mm full. My old go to suit. The one I used for everything when I only had one. With hooded vest, interlocked gloves and boots to limit water flow (near semi-dry) I could keep up with a typical 7mm in soCal. And was comfy all the way up to not needing anything.
Drysuit. Not a wetsuit. Took over the 5mm. More cold water.

Which leaves 2 suits I use. 3mm full in warm locations. And a drysuit for anything cold.
But I can't knock that 5mm, it got a LOT of use when it was the only one. Probably half wore out now, lots of use.

 

[scuba2you]

That still fits? Maybe one...

 

[TrimixToo]

None. But I have three dry suits.