New Divers, question on wetsuit purchasing?

[doctorwhodiver]

I am a person who is almost always warm and I dive in a 7mm wetsuit at Dutch Springs. I was only cold at about 65ft near the Silver Comet and some of the other attractions at the depth.

I used 3mm in the pool because we were in there for 3 hours.

I've only snorkeled in the Caribbean but I only used a skin... I've never dove in the Carribbean in the past (recently certified) but I stayed in the water for about 2 hours and was not cold.

I would at least invest in a skin because regardless...it helps you get into your wetsuits and then you have them if you only want to wear that. They have great deals on the classifieds here or on ebay and they are only like $40 new (for a "cheap" beginner one)

 

[CindyMac]

For the Caribbean, I dove a 3mm with a skin. The first dive I did was with the skin only, but I decided that I'd prefer the protection of the 3mm suit (Henderson AquaLock).

My dry suit is being ordered today for diving here (North Carolina). Our quarry dives are usually cool and the 2nd dive really chills me down, even in August. I've been using a 5mm for these dives. Dove Sunday and was fine until I hit the thermocline and was at 35-40ft and the water temp really dropped.

Try renting before you buy to help you know what you need. We're all different and have to find what works best for each one of us.

 

[Diver Dave 69]

I dive a lot around long island and when I started I was using a 7mm wetsuit for all my training and dives. All training was at dutch as well.

I have since switch to a dry suit and tend to use it year round as I get pretty cold when I dive.

I have checked out a lot of shops on long island and would highly recommend talking to Randy out at Hampton Dive in Riverhead.

I'm not a professional but I have never heard or experienced getting cold from compressed air. Dry mouth definitely but not cold.

 

[fjpatrum]

Thanks for all the fantastic replies! I will definitely look into a 7mm suit at the very least. Going to check prices between Thermoprene and a dry suit.

it sounds like these are the recommended brands Hendersons, AquaLung, and DeepSee.

Let me add Billabong, Bare, Oneil, Hurley, 4th Element, and any of the other major brands. I will say don't discount the Neosport suits as bad. They are not. They are made with the same neoprene as the Henderson suits (Henderson makes the Neosport line) they are just not as feature rich as the Hendersons. They are the same quality workmanship and materials, however. Someone telling you otherwise is misinformed or "up-selling" you. I have 4 Neosport suits that were the right price and right features for what I needed. They fit great, they work great. You get what you pay for... a low(er) end suit as far as features that works fantastically for what it is designed to be. I also own Quicksilver, Oneil, Aqualung, Billabong, Henderson, and a couple other brands.

Far more important than brand, though, is fit. Make sure it fits properly and just about any brand will be good enough for diving, with the same features. Don't compare a fully taped (seams), lined suit against one that isn't. Make sure your comparisons are on similar features.

All that said, I wear a ton of neoprene when diving wet in cold water. I am a big fan of layering and always wear a hood. The hood makes all the difference so no matter what you get, I recommend a hooded vest to wear under it unless you're incredibly cold tolerant. I have a Neosport 5mm(hood)/3mm(chest) vest that I wear on every dive below 80 degrees except in my dry suit.

I also recommend buying "warmer" because it's trivially easy to "cool off" in the water but it's much more difficult to warm up.

 

[boulderjohn]

Yeah I had asked the sales person about the 3mm in the Caribbean and she had said that the air from the regular is so cold (stated it is basically like compressed air out of a can) that it will cool my body so much that a 3mm will not be enough which is why we should go with a 5mm.

What's great about ScubaBoard is that no matter how much experience you have or how much time you spend reading up on scuba diving theory and how many threads you go through here, you will always eventually run into something you haven't heard before.

 

[tracydr]

I'd recommend starting with renting. If you like diving locally, you'll probably end up getting a drysuit. You could start classes in a drysuit, if your instructor is willing to teach an added class or two to also get a drysuit certification. The certification isn't necessary but its often included in purchase of a new drysuit. Plus, its a very helpful class, or at least I found it helpful.
I waited a long time to purchase a drysuit. I dove my first year exclusively in Puget Sound, in a 7+5 wetsuit, rented from the Army Base store. I wish I would have been able to purchase a drysuit for those dives!
Drysuits are now available at quite reasonable prices, some not much more than a high quality wetsuit.
For Caribbean diving- I usually start in a 3ml wetsuit in Bonaire with 80-84 degree water, but I almost always switch to 5ml after a day of repetitive fives, as I find myself chilling after the first dive of the day for the rest of my trip.
I think some parts of the Caribbean change temperatures quite a bit from summer to winter.
I need the heavier suit on night dives as I always seem to be colder on night dives, possibly because its the 4th or 5th dive of the day. When diving my drysuit in southern CA, I always add an extra base layer of Smart Wool on my night dives, even if I don't need it during the day.
our local diving in AZ allows for a 3ml or lighter in the lake during the summer but going below the thermocline requires a 5ml or heavier. I usually dive a 3ml for mid-summer and stay above the thermocline. In the fall I switch to drysuit and then I can dive at any depth that I care to dive.
Ive never purchased a 7ml wetsuit. Since leaving the NW, I found that a 3 and 5 ml have been perfect, along with adding the drysuit since living in AZ, because we dive So.Ca, where I prefer to dive dry. The drysuit is also great in AZ for anytime other than summer.

---------- Post added June 5th, 2013 at 10:29 AM ----------

What's great about ScubaBoard is that no matter how much experience you have or how much time you spend reading up on scuba diving theory and how many threads you go through here, you will always eventually run into something you haven't heard before.

Funny!
I asked a local shop person to show me any drysuit undergarments they may have in stock. I was shown the Lycra skins!

---------- Post added June 5th, 2013 at 10:50 AM ----------

Thanks for all the fantastic replies! I will definitely look into a 7mm suit at the very least. Going to check prices between Thermoprene and a dry suit.

it sounds like these are the recommended brands Hendersons, AquaLung, and DeepSee.

I had checked out a Scuba Network shop in Carle Place NY for an FYI on which shop I frequented.

I have a Waterproof 5ml and a Henderson 3 ml. Both very nice products. Around here, you can often get steals on wetsuits when they are on sale. I always browse the sale racks when I go to a store and I've picked up some awesome deals. Both of my wetsuits were less than $150. I think maybe even less than $100, but I can't remember for sure.
I also highly recommend a Lycra skin. You can slid into your wetsuit much easier and the Lycra is a great sunscreen topside when its warm. It also makes a great protective suit when water is extremely warm. I use it for my swimming pool diving a lot as it prevents sunburn and makes my gear feel more comfortable. Our pool gets up to the low 90s in the heat of mid-summer..

---------- Post added June 5th, 2013 at 10:56 AM ----------

Perhaps the salesperson was thinking of the difference between OC and CCR air? I've heard you stay much warmer using CCR, although I've never tried it.

 

[RamCumminsFF]

I just dove Dutch Springs yesterday, and was plenty warm with a Scubamax 7mm one piece wet suit, 7mm hood, and 5mm gloves. I learned that fit is everything, two weeks ago I was using one of my instructors suits that was big on me and I got cold easy! Yesterday I only started to get a little cold at 60ft when we were swiming around the bus.

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