Is 5mm too much for Caribbean?

[archman]

5mm... too much. We used 5mm suits a lot this summer in the Bahamas, where it's chillier than the rest of the Caribbean. Our teaching groups were SUPPOSED to be assigned 3mm suits, but there was an office snafu.

Anyways, the 5mm were unnecessary, and dealing with the extra buoyancy and surface overheating problems made for a real nightmare. Eventually we ended up chucking all of them in a pile, and most of the students dove with just their swimsuits on. Very rarely did they get cold.

In the winter, most people dive with a 3mm suit, either a shorty or full.

 

[fgriffith]

Hey guys....

I am thinking about getting a full body 5mm for Caribbean diving. Is this gonna make me too hot or should I go with something thinner. I have heard that successive diving through out the week may cause one to be colder as your body acclimates to the warmer waters.

Thanks...

I think it depends on the diver. If you get cold easily, you may want to go with a thicker suit. I dive with a 3mm in the Caribbean, but my wife dives with a 5mm. But I see people diving without a wetsuit all the time.

Frank

 

[r00t0fallevil]

Too bad you can't get a 5mm full body with some zips or some other device to let some water in on the chest, arms and legs in the event u get too hot.

I think the only thing close to this is the Henderson Gold Core. Henderson has the adjustable collar so I guess you can open the collar up all the way and let as much water as you want in to cool you down.

As for sweating like a pig on the surface, if we only had the zips for the arms and legs..... HAHAHAHAH

 

[WarmGoingCold]

In my personal opinion, 5MM is perfect for that part of the world. Not only did all the DM's that I dived with wear 5MM, some of the divers I dove with did as well. I dove with a 3mm and started getting cold at the end of that second dive of the day. Third dive was chilly. Next time I dive, I will go with a 5MM.

If your not cold sensitive, don't bother buying a 5MM for 80 degree water. If, like me you find yourself getting cold on that second or third dive of the day, buy the 5MM.

 

[dtbriten]

Can a 5mm be that big of a difference with a 3?

I'm reading everyone's comments about 3mm being plenty. I am often cold with 3 mm when the temp drops below 82.. so it is very individualized.

 

[Ambush]

Off Ft.Lauderdale I was doing a beach dive this summer in a 3mm shorty. It was WAYYY too hot. Not only did I burn up on the beach but it was juts too much in the 83-85 degree water.

On the other dives, which were deeper and one at night, I simply wore my board shorts and a long sleeve rash guard and I was perfect. If you are diving in warm water on a hot day, I definitley recommend a rash guard, it is soo comfortable and keeps you from losing heat while not getting too hot.

Stylish too.

 

[bradb21]

Just got back from Jamaica, and my 2mm Shorty was MORE than enough.

5mm is crazy for the carribean IMO! You could probably get away with a 5mm full in cold Lake Michigan now.

 

[Damselfish]

Variations on this have been said many times but I'll say it again. When people post things saying "I was warm in this or cold in this" - it would be much more helpful to others if they stated any of the following that aren't obvious:
- the actual water temps in addition to a location and time of year. And an island and date is more helpful than something broad like "carribean."
- how many dives they were doing (2 one day, 5 a day for a week)
- what their body type is, are they basically a cold or warm person
- where are they from and where do they usually dive (in my experience people who are from the north, even if they don't dive there, are much more tolerant of the cold. I've been on a boat in the Fla keys where it was 80, happily diving in a t-shirt, when everyone local thought it was getting too cold in their 5mm and considered the season almost over.)

 

[String]

Im going against the trend here and will say that a 5mm suit is the minimum id wear for any dive.

Ive never yet overheated on a dive, i do however HATE being cold or even slightly cooled.
Surface overheating isnt a problem as i just take the suit off - it takes 30 seconds. Buoyancy isnt any harder and the extra weight is negligable and certainly not noticed. 6-7lb or so on a belt really isnt noticed compared to the rest of the rest of the equipment.

I;ll be in the keys next year and be warned, i'll be requesting a 5mm full suit (i'll bring my own 2.5mm gloves...)

 

[Warren_L]

5mm or 3mm? Very personally dependent on your own tolerance to cold. I'm fairly cold tolerant and I dove with a 3mm in the middle of January in Cozumel where water temps were around 78-80F. 20 dives in 6 days and it was more than adequate.