I'm COLD!!!

[diverrex]

I don't know Jeff and have never been in his shop but do yo really think that the combo of you and that suit is the best fitting wetsuit he's ever seen? Sounds like a load of #@%& to me. "Wow that suit is so sharp, you know what, it looks like it's custom!" Everything that you've said that he said sounds like a sales pitch for a 1986 Buick LeSabre.



Try using a plastic grocery bag instead. Put your hands and feet inside it(all at different times) and slide your suit on that way.

Billy[/QUOTE


I disagree with you on this one Empty, the suit does indeed fit me like a glove, nice and snug around the waist and the chest. He didn't need to pitch me a sale for the suit anyway, I had wanted to by this suit for a few months and would have bought it regardless. If he wanted to sell something he could have sold me one of the Scubapro wetsuits which go for 150 dollars more :mooner:

Wetsuits need to fit tighter than a glove. A good fitting wetsuit is probably uncomfortably tight on the surface, then once underwater feels fine.

 

[rgiles]

Glad to find this posting.

SPKelpDiver, I'm right there with you. Same semi-dry, legs over booties, gloves velcro strapped over sleeves and still get water moving up my arm. I even went to JMJ and asked them to extend the sleeves 2 inches. That helped a little. Diving in the Catalina dive park this weekend in 64 degree water, I got chilly on the second and third dive. I also have the thicker Lycra skin under the suit. So I think I'm doing everything I can but I want to be steamy warm. Think I'll check out the Pinnacle page, have JMJ look at the suit and keep tossing $$ into problem, until I'm warm.

SPKD - interested to know what finally works...

Thanks All, this is a great post

Rich

 

[rgiles]

By the way, I really like PacWild. Nice folks and best of all the prices are fair and they have the gear.

Thanks

 

[Sideways]

while Im a newer diver..... I love my Excel 9/7/6 one piece. Now...I haven't dipped lower than 54 yet...but I was very OK there, and Im a cold water wuss for sure Like Billy and others say... fit is key. Mine is tightish on land...but plenty comfy in the H2O

 

[sanderdl]

I have to comment on this...I don't dive semi-dry, I dive a conventional wetsuit. BUT if I had water "flowing back and forth" up into my crotch, I would about die. It gives me the shivers just reading about your experience. Something is very wrong about either the suit or the way you are wearing it. My 5-mil one piece WETsuit plus hooded vest doesn't let water flow back and forth at my arms, my legs, or my neck the way you say your semi-dry suit does. A SEMI-DRY suit should be drier than a wetsuit IMHO.

 

[ba_hiker]

If there is water running up your legs as you kick there is something wrong. That needs to be fixed. Beyond that try a hood from Monterey bay wetsuits, the custom fitted 1/2 inch one.

-brian

 

[ccohn2000]

OK, I'll just chime in here. I used to get cold all the time. I tried everything to make my wetsuit keep me warm. I even had disposable hot packs over my tummy that I activated during the dive. Nothing worked. Then I got a drysuit. I'm always warm now. You can get a decent suit used on E-Bay or Craig's List for not too much money if you don't want to buy new. My hubby got one for $350 and I recently bought a back up neoprene suit in perfect condition for $222. They are far and away better than the wetsuit.

 

[jbruno]

I have had the exact same problem. I'm a light frame, very little body fat, so I got cold on every dive. Gone to Pac-Wild, my favorite store, talked to the guys and went home with Bearskin semi-dry. The very next dive, I got cold just like ever before. Here is the problem. These suits are not made custom, (obviously) so for them to fit, the are made off material that is very elastic and has a lot of stretch. So it looks good on you in the store, but in the water it compresses a lot. At 30 feet you only have a 3 mil instead of 7. As you dive, the compression cycles cause the internal structure of the neoprene to brake down and the material degrades and looses it's ability to insulate. The wrist and ankle seals are a complete joke, and the zipper is not a waterproof zipper and will allow large amount of water in and out of the suit.
My next stop was the JMJ shop in Torrance. They made me a semi-dry wet-suit which is by far the best suit I ever had. The zipper is the same type you see on dry suits, completely waterproof. Also the ankle and wrist seals are a much bigger then the ones on your Bearskin, and they work! There is practically no water entering the suite at all. That brings up another problem. To pee or not to pee? One last word of advice: Keep it shallow and start saving for a dry suite!

 

[divingdds]

Without knowing you or your body type, I agree with those who feel that you've probably got a fit problem. I'm skinny....currently 5 ft. 9 inches and 145 lbs. I'm 57 years old and have been diving in So Cal over 35 years. I've had 3 customs suits and other various suits. You should not be feeling water movement through your arms and legs....that is a fit problem. Down you spine is a usual thing for most of us. If you are skinny, you might need a custom suit. Also, after 30 years, I bought a drysuit. I was ALWAYS cold with any wetsuit. BTW, I dove British Columbia last April in my drysuit.....42 degrees. You might have to bite the bullet.

 

[PuddleDiver78]

OK, I'll just chime in here. I used to get cold all the time. I tried everything to make my wetsuit keep me warm. I even had disposable hot packs over my tummy that I activated during the dive. Nothing worked. Then I got a drysuit. I'm always warm now. You can get a decent suit used on E-Bay or Craig's List for not too much money if you don't want to buy new. My hubby got one for $350 and I recently bought a back up neoprene suit in perfect condition for $222. They are far and away better than the wetsuit.

I have to agree with you on this one. I am fairly new to diving but i used a wet suit on all my dives except the last 2 (which were the 2 dives for my drysuit cert). What a different experience. 2 days later i bought a suit of my own. Good finds on your suits by the way. I just dropped 1700.00 on mine