Needing New wetsuit...3mil...Opinions

[JKSteger]

Wow Stu, I've already did a few dives in the suit. It felt really nice and it was a lot better than the old Neosport I was using. I hope my suit holds up!

J:

 

[Stu S.]

Hey, Jeremy. Good for you and woe is me! I bought the Scubapro 3mm "Profile" suit on sale as a repacement. It fit really well in the store. I used it for the first time this morning. Blue Springs is 72.5 degrees, all year. That new suit was warm as toast at 20 feet. At 60 feet I got cold, as in leg cramps cold. The safety stop at 20 feet was just the right kind of warm.

What to do??? My brand new suit is no better than the 3 and a half year old that thinned out. If any of you divers know of a real good one that will last, help me out.

Thanks / Stu.

 

[HBO MD]

Sorry to hear about the suit Stu.
I've recently been introduced to WATERPROOF wetsuits. I've never seen a better crafted suit.They've really thought of everything. It's not stretch because the Swedes who designed it felt that compression would be excessive and contribute to heat loss. There are 2 new models hitting the States, the W1 and W2, one is a back zip model which is very cool.
The warranty is excellent.
Just a thought. Good luck.

 

[bearhere]

It sounds like you need to go to a heavier suit than a 3mm to me. We dove Hawaii last winter when the water was in the low 70's and our 3mm's weren't enough. We ended up buying hoodies and heavy rash guards and were still cold on the second dive. The older you get the bodies metabolism changes. Some get warmer and some get colder. Our dive masters were all wearing 7mm's. Of course they're use to warmer water than what we were experiencing and were diving almost every day.

 

[Stu S.]

Thanks, guys. That Waterproof suit is nice. I ordered the Capri model from Scubatoys and had to send it back. The body fit fine but not the arms, as mine are rather long. The inner wrist seals did not allow me to pull the sleeve on enough for the armpit of the suit to fit the armpit of me.

I bought today's suit at a local dive store. I don't know if they will accept a return on a one-time-only used suit. If they do, I'll take your ideas and work with the owner to get a more suitable (no puns) replacement.

Thanks again / Stu.

 

[drbill]

If you required a 5mm before and are thinking of a 3mm now, are you considering what the loss of that 50 lbs of bioprene will mean in terms of thermal insulation. If you dove a 5mm with it, shouldn't you be considering a 7mm without the extra "insulation?"

 

[Wayward Son]

call me cheap, but I have a hard time spending a lot on a suit, especially a 3mm. Wet suits are one of those things that you destroy a little every time you use it. I wait for sales & deals, most of min ran me around $100 each, with my 7mm about $200. If my 3mm isn't warm enough I bump up to a 5mm. Neosports seem to have a reputation for falling apart. Thermoprenes are often available for about $100 & so far the 3mm & 5mm ones I have are holding up. The knee pads are a joke, though, but the suits seem to do OK.

 

[JKSteger]

If you required a 5mm before and are thinking of a 3mm now, are you considering what the loss of that 50 lbs of bioprene will mean in terms of thermal insulation. If you dove a 5mm with it, shouldn't you be considering a 7mm without the extra "insulation?"

You're right Dr. Bill, somthing to think about. However, I think if I need more than 3mm then I'm bring out my drysuit which I don't think I will ever recoup the cost of! A semi-custom suit at a great price = $1400.00 + $300.00 (undies), extra weight, new fins to fit the boots, etc, etc. I guess I should be wearing this suit every dive..

Looking back, it is nice to be dry on thoes cold days of diving, but that has only been maybe 20 dives... for the price I could have got a really nice 7mm and a Propane heater and one of thoes stand up changing tents. Maybe even got 2 7mm suits so that I always put on a dry one for the 2nd dive.

Just saying!

I dove the Breaker in 68F water for a 45min dive and it worked great. It was cool at first but then it was fine.

J: