Need to get warmer!

[nvert]

Thanks for taking the time out in helping me find the best suite for my needs. Currently, I have a medium BARE 5/4 with a 1mm hooded vest (fits great but arms and legs are a bit short) and a medium 3mm vest with the 7mm hood (which I don't use because it's too tight to get over my head). After a week of repetitve diving on a liveaboard in the Bahamas in 78F water, I was definately chilled by the third day in the 5/4 with the 1mm hooded vest, gloves and booties.

A few scenarios:
1) A 7/6 fullsuit;
2) Add a 5mm or 7mm zipped hooded vest to my 5/4 or a 7/6;
3) Try out a 2pc 7mm jacket/john (I like the front entry as it seems like it would be easier getting on and off);
4) Or a drysuit shell $$$!!!

Most of my diving will be in the 70s (again liveaboards, Florida Keys and Florida caverns, NC coastal wrecks) with some local river/quarry dives in the 60s. I currently have a 3mm fullsuit for warm water dives. Really, I'm just trying to find a good solution to keeping warm during repetitive diving. I'm a photographer so I don't move much either.

Thanks for your advice.

Brad

 

[SubMariner]

With a shell drysuit you can vary the undergarments to match the temps you'll be diving in; it gives you a VERY wide range.

Go dry.. you won't regret it!

 

[nvert]

No kidding about the shell. I'd def love one and it seems that if I keep adding up the $$$ I spend on wetsuits, I'd have paid for a shell by now!!!

What do you think of the BARE NexGen promotion offered at Divetank? Although not a shell, what do you think of the BARE XCD2 Pro....I found a *very* good deal on this one.

 

[kidspot]

I've been very happy with my Bare Nex-gen from Divetank - used it on 20-30 dives so far over the past 3 months... Temps varying from 55*-80* (though most of this has been in the 75*-80* range)

Pros:
1) I don't get cold any longer (WONDERFUL!!!)
2) In many ways it's easier to get on and off than my wetsuit (I had to have help with both, because I couldn't get my front zip wetsuit off by myself... the drysuit someone has to zip me in and out)
3) Warm and dry during my surface intervals
4) Longer dive times (because I don't start shivering)
5) Dry and comfortable after the dive

Cons:
1) Mobility slightly more limited (my biggest complaint!)
includes problems like: harder to don and doff my fins and gear, valve is harder to reach etc..
2) can be very warm before getting the suit wet (means pouring water over the suit after donning)
3) a little more maintenance and cost.
4) higher cost than a low end wetsuit, not much more than a high end wetsuit though.

Aloha, Tim

 

[Davee]

how bout just a thicker hooded vest, your hood is only 1mm, you are loosing alof of heat from it, use a 3/5 hooded vest.

 

[nvert]

Thanks Tim for your pros/cons. Just what I was looking to hear.

I like to be as self-relying as possible but it sounds like someone must help you close your DS? What undergarments do you wear under the NexGen if you're diving 70-80F? What about the 50F range? What's your maintenance on the Nex-gen? Is a special DS hood required or can you just wear a regular neoprene hooded vest like you would under a wetsuit?

Davee-
The thicker vest is on the list - I already have one in fact, but it's getting exchanged since it's just too small to go over my head.

What do you guys think about a 2pc jacket/john?

 

[rmannix]

What do you guys think about a 2pc jacket/john?

I use a Harvey's 6.5mm Jacket/John with attached hood comfortably to the low 50's, colder if I stay shallow. Colder or deeper in a dry suit.

 

[spectrum]

So you want to dive down in to the 60s F. Unless you are very cold intolerant you can surely do this in wet gear. You can go dry but on a hot day you will have fewer options in escaping the heat. Try dumping a few quarts of cool water in a drysuit! If you are buying Brae at the right places you can get into a lot of garments for waht you'lll pay for a new drysuit and ancillaries.

What you need to do is quit buying gear that does not fit you.

I have the Bare 3/5 chicken vest from 2004. This year they boosted the hood to 7mm and that is waht you have. Unfortunately you say the neck is too tight for comfort. I tried 3 or four brand's versions of this item before finding that the Bare fit for me. Some of the others were painfully tight even though they were all XL. It is possible that your proportions are not off the rack and you may need a custom or slight alteration. No good can come from diving with a neck that is uncomfortably tight.

I dive a 7mm Arctic with the 3/5 hooded chicken vest worn under in our Maine summer waters where we have a typical surface temp of 65 and the bulk of the dive in the mid to upper 50s and find this set-up perfectly comfortable.

I also enjoy the sleek simple sensation of diving wet.

I also have a 5/4 Bare Velocity as you do. It's a great suit for skin-diving and some fresh water scuba-dives. It will also probably be nice for out warmenst summertime shore dives worn with the chicken vest, I never got to try this last summer. For me the weak link of this suit is the 4mm sleeves. My arms tend to be the cold spot. If this is your case then the heavier step-in vest won't help that very much. A hotter core will make the limbs more tolerant, it's a question of how much.

I don't have experience with the repetetive diving you did in the Bahamas but based on my experience with these items I bet you would have done nicely with the 3/5 chicken vest and your 5/4 velocity.

For your dives closer to home one of the Bare step-ins would probably put you in good shape, the new 5mm version would work well. I'd try it in a 3/5 chicken vest first, you may be surprised.

At worse spring for an Artic 7mm and mix and match your vests with your suits but you need to get everything to fit first.

I have 2/3, 5/4 and 7mm full suits along wioth the 3/5 hooded chicken vest and 7mm hooded step-in and mix and match almost everything.

You have varried dive conditions as well as dive count intensities. the ideal configuration is just enough to leep you comfortable throughout the session. To much means more weight and inefficient diving. Too little is a cold unsafe diver.

Be sure to try your gear locally or plan to exchange mail-order items to get great fits, this is crucial for performance and safety.

Pete

 

[Tom Winters]

If you're going to stick with diving, whatever you pay for the right drysuit will amortize itself in a few years.

 

[oceanaddicted]

You may want to look into a Semi-dry suit also. I have a 6.5mm Mares suit that works very well in cold water. Came with the hood too! Ran me about $400 3-4 years ago! Only problem is it zips in back from shoulder to shoulder so you have to have help getting in/out of it!