How thick for Caribbean...

[spectrum]

Thank you for your replies!

I'm going to go with a 5mil. It really seems to vary from person to person and I seem to get cold very easily - and we'll be doing multiple dives daily for 10 days... Better a bit warm gearing up than uncomfortable/unsafe in the dive!

Steph

That sounds like good logic.

Give some consideration to taking a break in the middle of that stretch. 10 days of intensive vacation diving can take a toll in ways other than thermal. A day away from compressed gas in the middle would do a lot for safety.

Pete

 

[Noboundaries]

I love the layered approach because I can dive comfortably two or three times in a day in pretty much anything from 45*F on up. I have a polyolefin dive skin that is the equivalent of 1-1.5mm insulation, a 3mm FWS, a 3mm shortie, 5mm booties, 2mm and 7mm hoods, 1mm and 5mm gloves, and a 7mm FWS. I charted out what combinations to wear based upon my experience in temps ranging from 45*F to 84*F, anticipated water temps and expected consecutive days of diving (oh no, I'm not analytical or anything).

For anything under 50*F I wear the skin, the 7mm, the shortie over, and the thick hood/gloves. Below 45*F, I stay the h$%# out of the water because I'm not ready to buy a drysuit.

For anything over 84*F I just wear the skin.

Any combination in between has its own 3-5 degree range.

If diving two or more days in a row, I add another layer.

My wife's temperature tolerance is close to mine. She adds another layer about 5 degrees before I do. My daughter's tolerance is zip probably because she's in the water year round (open water competitive swimmer and absolutely no body fat). We're still figuring out what she needs.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Full 5mm jumpsuit and a 3mm beanie , you will be good to go on multiple dives daily , only took me 20 years to figure that formula out . Enjoy!