Layering Wetsuits?

[jon1]

I am looking to buy a wetsuit without breaking the bank. When I asked my LDS owner what thickness would be ideal in Oklahoma, he responded with, "Well, what jacket do you wear in the winter?". He was saying that you can't have just one wetsuit for all situations. I understand this, but I would prefer not to have to buy a 3, 5, and 7mm suit.

I have an Xcel suit that has 3 different thicknesses, (.5, 1, 1.5mm), but this doesn't insulate all that well. If I were to wear this under or over a 3mm would make it any warmer than the 3mm alone. I am planning on a Belieze trip this winter, but I also do a lot of diving in lakes around here. The coldest I ever do is about 60 degrees, which is 5mm temp. Would a 3mm with a hooded vest get me close to 5mm territory?

Sorry if this is a naive question. I'm new to this and I just dont want to throw my money around.

 

[stargost]

I dont think it is a great idea. While I did it for a while when the water got really cold here (soCal), I ended up layering a 3mm on top of the 7mm wetsuit, then a 7mm vest on top of the 7mm suit.
First config was the worse: the size of the 3mm didnt fit (under or above the 7mm).
Second config was very bulky. Of course it was warmer, but it needed an awful lot of weights to get down and then compressed a lot at depth which was not great for buoyancy.

For cold water and wetsuit now, I would use a hooded vest under the main suit (assuming the hood size and the vest would be the same), or just buy a thin full undergarment/rashgard to get below the main wetsuit. But 2 wetsuits would be a no.

final note: in Belize, you can dive with nothing or just a rash gard. 3mm are ok for multiple dives, but likely the most you will tolerate.

 

[jon1]

So, what would you recommend if 60 degrees F were the most I would be doing?

 

[formernuke]

The degree thing is difficult to answer, everyone is different and same get cold easier than others. For if I only did 60's I would probably go for a five or a seven depending on air temp outside how many dives a day, how deep your dives are (the deeper you go the more the neoprene compresses) and how many days of diving (all these things factor into how cold you become). I happen to dive in everything from high seventies to mid thirties so I own 3mm, 7mm and a drysuit. In 60 water at a medium or high depth I will go with the dry suit as I do get cold when the wetsuit compresses.

hope this mismatch of information helps and doesn't confuse you more.

 

[jon1]

Thanks for the response. I understand, it just leads me to the conclusion that I need to just try rentals of different thicknesses.

 

[xfrogcls92]

Layering is exactly what happens when you put a top over a farmer john or vest or both.
Layering works really well in most cases. Everything has to fit well or you can get very uncomfortable, as in constriction, and the problem will get worse or appear to worsen the deeper you go.
Renting is smart and will keep you from buying parts that don't fit together. If you know you will never get into water colder than a certain temperature it should be relatively easy to find a combination of pieces or a specific suit that works well for you. A non-custom semi-dry might be good and you wouldn't have to have other pieces. We are using them at work regularly for water colder than 60 degrees with good luck.
Whatever you do don't buy something that is almost good enough.