key west in febuary

[truckerdraven]

hello guys n gals,
me and a friend will be coming to key west in febuary. and I am curious as to what thicknees wetsuit should I bring 3mm or 7mm or should I say hell with it and bring the drysuit? the reason I ask is I have heard some say just a 3mm suit will do so say 3mm plus lavacore which would equal the the insulation of a 6mm. so any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Dive-aholic]

That time of year temperatures will be in the high 60s to low 70s. That's dry suit temps for me.

 

[CT Sean]

I would be pretty darned chilly in low 70's in my 3/2mm. If I had a glued seam full 3mm I'm sure I'd be a bit warmer but not sure it'll be enough to call it comfortable. I'd definitely want at least a hooded vest. On the assumption you have a 3mm, and you've used it, what do the temps of those dives tell you about how comfortable you were?

 

[sportxlh]

Depends on your tolerance to cold. I dive a 7mm in the winter, I see some dry suits on various boats from the keys to jupiter but also see plenty of divers in 3mm's too. Temps are usually in the low 70's but could be warmer or cooler.

 

[tomfcrist]

It really depends on your tolerance to cold. That time of year I see some folks wearing 5 or 7 mm suits, but I'm usually good in a full 3. Mind you that I'm used to much colder water, so 67 degrees isn't really cold to me. I can tell you that when I lived down there I wore a 5 in the winter. Nowadays I would be burning up in that. Honestly you can't go wrong with the drysuit and a wicking layer and maybe a 200gm thinsulate.....if you are too hot with the thinsulate, just go with the wicking layer.

 

[Steve_C]

I checked my log book. I have frequently dove the Keys out of Largo in early March. One trip I saw 74. There were lots of 70-72. One dive was a 68. Might have been the air temp for the 68. It was an unusually cold day.

I dove my NC summer configuration. Full 3/4 wet suit, 5 mm boots, a 3mm beanie on the head, gloves (probably 3mm but not sure). I was comfortable on dives 1 and 2. If I did a dive 3 and 4 then I felt a bit cool but no real cold.

You loose a lot of heat out of the head. I find that the 3mm beanie makes a lot of difference. I am not a hood fan so don't use one when the beanie suffices.

Unless you are cold blooded I think that 3mm plus anything should work fine. With just a 3mm and no head gear I think that lots of people would be chilly.

 

[scubadada]

I wear a full 5 mm and 5/3 mm hooded vest in the Winter. I'm generally warm, even 3rd & 4th dive