Just a couple of questions from a new diver.

[Connor78]

I live in SoCal and am just getting into scuba and freediving. I am trying to get into spearfishing and am just starting to collect all my gear. Is there any suit that can be used for both? Without compromising the durability, warmth, and mobility? The water is generally 10-15 Celsius. I would like to if possible buy one suit and use it for both and allocate the extra cash to other items.
Thanks, Connor.

 

[tbone1004]

no reason you can't do double duty, suits are suits all things considered. I have a bunch of buddies that use Dano's suits from @MAKO Spearguns for spearfishing while on scuba and freediving. Good stuff

 

[emoreira]

10 to 15 Celsius is too cold for a wetsuit for scuba, at least for me and the great majority of divers.
14 Celsius is generally set as the temperature limit to switch from wetsuit to drysuit.

 

[tbone1004]

10 to 15 Celsius is too cold for a wetsuit for scuba, at least for me and the great majority of divers.
14 Celsius is generally set as the temperature limit to switch from wetsuit to drysuit.

freediving usually has short exposures and drysuit is not going to work for that....

 

[TMHeimer]

10 to 15 Celsius is too cold for a wetsuit for scuba, at least for me and the great majority of divers.
14 Celsius is generally set as the temperature limit to switch from wetsuit to drysuit.

Questionable. Of course depends on your cold tolerance, air temperature, and number/length of dives.
Many divers in Northern climates do 2 dives in a day of 30-40 minutes in water that is 10-15C (50-58F). Air temps. usually colder than SoCal.

 

[Steve_C]

Do a number of dives to get used to being on scuba before you task load with spear fishing.

Have fun.

 

[emoreira]

freediving usually has short exposures and drysuit is not going to work for that....

Agree, that's why I question if the same suit fits for freediving, spearfishing and scuba as the OP asked.

 

[emoreira]

Questionable. Of course depends on your cold tolerance, air temperature, and number/length of dives.
Many divers in Northern climates do 2 dives in a day of 30-40 minutes in water that is 10-15C (50-58F). Air temps. usually colder than SoCal.

Of course questionable. However you will see more divers with drysuit than with wetsuit in that temp range.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Thanks for the positive comments. A 7 mm freedive suit is definitely warm enough for recreational scuba and freediving. Our freedive suits have the option of a farmer john pants and the jacket has an attached hood and without any zippers to leak water, you have a very warm suit.

When freediving, it is very desirable to minimize the thickness of your suit, so that you minimize the buoyancy swing between the surface and at depth. For scuba, the swing is easily offset by the use of a BC.

I know some freedivers in that area will choose a 5 mm freedive suit, even though it is not as warm as a 7 mm suit. If you are going to do a lot of scuba, you should probably consider a 7 mm suit and see how it goes. Hopefully you will take a look at our wetsuits,

I recently made an informational/promotional post about our suits. Hopefully this will be useful.

How To Choose a Freedive Suit

Thanks
Dano

 

[Esprise Me]

Out of curiosity, where exactly are you located? The temperature range you give sounds more like NorCal than SoCal. Around here most people get by with a 7mm wetsuit, though some of us whine about it more than others, and some exceptional wimps such as myself layer a Sharkskin jacket underneath and pour warm water into the suit. No one worth talking to would fault you if you decided to get a drysuit.