Jumpsuit vs. 2 piece-

[buff]

What is best for cold water diving(other than a dry suit)-a one piece-7mm- with attached hood or a 7mm two piece with an attached hood on the jacket?


Thanks

Mike

 

[Warhammer]

Personally, I like full/shorty combos over the farmer john/jane type suits. Why? Because you can wear one piece without wearing the other. With a farmer john, the john is pretty much useless by itself due to it not having any protection for you underarms(big heat loss aera). But then again, you're talking 7mm, so I doubt you'd ever have a need for a 7mm shorty, so I don't know. If it were me, I'd probably get a 7mm full suit, a 5 to 7mm sleeveless shorty, and a bibbed hood. Either way, you'd be better off with more than just a 7mm full suit because with 2 pieces you'd have 14mm of protection in the torso vs just 7mm.

 

[buff]

But isn't that extra 14mm. so very cumbersome??? and bouyant?

 

[Warhammer]

Sure it would be more bouyant, and you'd have little mobility due to the thickness, but it would also be warmer. So it's a trade off. It depends your needs, comfort zone, and etc. If 7mm is enough protection for you then a full suit would be adequate. Some people require more. Idealy, if you need 7mm, I'd say a drysuit would be a better option, but you asked about wetsuits.

Take me for example, I'm comfortable in 55 degree water in a 3mm full, 3mm sleeveless shorty, and hood. If I got in colder water than that, I'd buy a drysuit (which I probably will before winter). To some people that would be chilllllly. I can dive the shorty by itself down to about 72 degrees, the full by itself below that and add them together somewhere along the way. With a farmer john, you don't have full protection with both pieces and the john isn't very efficent(probably less so than the shorty alone) by itself. If you went the full suit route, you could always add a shorty later if you needed it.

 

[bradymsu]

Mike,

I'm a Michigan diver who gets cold easily but also values my freedom of mobility for wreck diving. I'd say without hesitation to certainly get the 2 piece farmer john / shorty combination if you are diving in non-tropical areas. Here's why.......

With the one piece, you are covered with an even 7mm. With a two piece, you have the 7mm plus an extra 7mm over your core body area. The area covered with 14mm is the exact area of the body that doesn't need mobility anyway but really benefits from the extra warmth. Your legs, arms and neck are just as mobile in a 2 piece as in a 1 piece plus you'll be warmer. The bouyancy is easily compensated for by adding a little extra weight, a very small trade off for the extra warmth.

As an additional benefit, as mentioned earlier, you can always wear the 7mm shorty alone or over a diveskin. This is great for those August days when it is just a bit too warm to wear 7mm all over. Also, stay away from attached hoods. Like a one piece suit, it limits your options. Most divers prefer not to wear a hood in water temps over 65F.

 

[jobowker]

A two piece is definitely the way to go if you want to stay warm in cold water without going to a dry suit. One one change that I made was to move from a farmer John (bib overalls & jacket) to a steamer/sleeveless jacket combo. This gives you all of the advantages of a regular Farmer John, but when the waters warm up, you can wear just the steamer. The steamer is a 7 mil backzip fullsuit. The Jacket is similiar to a farmer John jacket, except that it's sleeveless and hooded. Only your torso and crotch area has two layers, so it doesn't affect your mobility. The buoyancy does require more lead, but everything is a tradeoff. The suit that I have is from aquaflite. I really like the steamer/jacket setup over a traditional Farmer John, and keep the hood from my old wetsuit around just in case I only want to wear the steamer.