I returned three weeks ago from the above-mentioned Komodo (5-day) liveaboard and thought I'd update this thread with my data points. Out of 13 dives, the "chilliest" two were 79F at bottom (as measured by my Suunto D6), in south Komodo. The next-chilliest was a single dive at a bottom temp of 81F. All of the rest of the dives were in north Komodo and measured a balmy 82F.
I ultimately opted to bring a 5/4 full suit, as that's what the dive op recommended in the pre-trip briefing materials they sent us. In hindsight, it was overkill for this particular trip and just added unnecessarily to the weight of my luggage. I used a hood and gloves for the south Komodo dives and appreciated the added comfort. But I would have been fine if I had opted for a 3 mm, even minus the hood and gloves, if just slightly chilly.
My wife used a 3/2 full suit for the north Komodo dives, adding a hooded Lavacore vest underneath for the chillier (79F) dives, and I have to believe that was the best combination in terms of a tradeoff between warmth and luggage weight. She normally gets cold, and she was fine on the 79F dives. I believe the majority of divers wore 3 mm or 3/2 and just added a hood and gloves for the colder dives. I may have been the only diver with 5 mm (5/4, actually). Some of the divemasters wore shorties for the warmer dive sites and only switched to 3 mm full suits for the colder sites.
Of course, if I had no luggage weight or space restrictions, I'd bring both a 5mm and a 3mm, especially for a longer trip that visits more south Komodo sites.
As a reference for you, I normally dive a 3/2 full with bottom temps of 82-84F, and that is perfect for me.
Just a few data points for y'all to help in the decision.
