New to diving...looking at wetsuit

[danthemanj]

Hi All,

I'm new to diving, new to the board and as many have done before me, am looking for gear. I'm working on my certification and just finished my first pool dive. I needed some advice on purchasing wetsuits since this will be my first wetsuit purchase. I live in New Jersey but intend to dive both out of NJ (in summer) and vacation dive in the Caribbean. I was hoping I could buy a standard wetsuit that would serve both locations but I'm guessing that won't be possible. The next best thing I though of is of buying a wetsuit that I could possibly use in the Caribbean and then add a layer for NJ diving. I was looking at the Mares Trilastic 7/5/3. Scuba.com has it for a decent price but when I asked my instructor about the Trilastics she mentioned not to buy anything that wasn't a standard thickness. Would you guys and gals recommend going this route or buying two seperate wetsuits. Of course money is always an issue. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[spectrum]

It's not going to happen.

For NJ you will want a full 7mm with 2X on your core This may be a fullsuit and vest or a farmer John & jacket combo. The last thing you want to do is trade away neoprene on your arm with thinner sleeves. One of the greatest dive enders is cold hands. Lightly protected arms promote cold hands, short and simple.

That suit will be way to warm for the Caribbean unless you are not cold tolerant in which case you will need a drysuit for NJ.

Even if you plan to wear the heavy suit in warm water an introduce water to cool yourself it would be a shame to needlessly wear all of the required weight without need.

At this point in September I'm guessing that you can certify in a shop suit, get gear including a nice 3mm full suit and to your warm water trip. Come spring get your cold water wet or even drysuit. If you intend to do late late fall and winter diving in NJ buy for cold and either rent or buy for warm water when the time comes. The good news is that once you are outfitted for cold water the warm water suit is a tiny investment.

Pete

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I started with a 7MM FJ+Jacket (Maine) and added a cheap 3MM for vacation (Maui). No way is a single suit going to work decent in both locations. If you can afford the cost of a nice warm water vacation, you can blow $100 on a cheap 3MM and enjoy you dives so much more.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I agree that an inexpensive 3mm full suit is the way to go now. $100 to $130 should do the trick. Then just buy a 7mm wet suit by next spring - and this approach will give you some time to find the right 7mm suit as fit is everything in a 7mm wet suit.

 

[danthemanj]

I appreciate all your input. I'll buy a thinner suit for my pool dives and rent for my certification dive. I'll buy the 7mm suit in spring. Would the Mares Trilastic 5/4/3 be a good suit for warm water or will it be too warm?

Thanks,

Dan

 

[spectrum]

I appreciate all your input. I'll buy a thinner suit for my pool dives and rent for my certification dive. I'll buy the 7mm suit in spring. Would the Mares Trilastic 5/4/3 be a good suit for warm water or will it be too warm?

Thanks,

Dan

That depends largely on your tolerance for cold and how intensive you will be diving on vacation.

If you are going to blitz 4-5 dives a day for consecutive days you will be bucking more heat loss than if you lay on the beach and do the afternoon 1 tank boat trip.

For many tropical locations you can find divers ranging from trunks to 7mm and even dry suits. Most do fine in a 3mm full suit I'd say.

For the vast majority the Mares Trilastic 5/4/3 will be more than adequate. It's really only a few mm more on a few panels so I would not expect it to be excessively warm. Any neoprene will get you hot fast in the tropical sunshine.

Pete

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Personally I would think a 5/4/3 would be too hot in the tropics. There are several people there who dive with no exposure suit whatsoever (granted they are not doing 3-4 dives a day). The primary reason I would want a wetsuit in the tropics if I am only doing 1-2 dives a day would be for environmental protection...coral, jellyfish, etc. In that case a 3 mm would keep me warm and protected. Keep in mind the thicker your suit, the more weight you are going to need.