Possible to be too warm?

[pardsie]

Noob question. Is it possible to be too warm while diving if you say wear a 7MM suit while diving in tropical waters? I plan on diving almost exclusively warm water ...Key Largo in November...Carribean islands Bonnaire ..Belize...Caymans. I just ordered a 3MM jumpsuit hopefully that will be adequate for those waters. Say I go to 5MM instead is it possible for that to be too warm while doing single or maybe double dives?

 

[Trixxie]

YES you can get too warm.

I wore a 5mm for my cavern confined water dives in an 85 degree pool and thought I was going to DIE.

I wore a Trilam (very little thermal protection) while diving in Roatan and did get a bit chilled towards the end of the dives.

Wore a 3MM in Bonaire last April and it was perfect.

I would say you should be ok in a 3MM.

 

[SteveAD]

Another thing to consider is more neoprene=more lead needed. I always make it a point to dive with as much insulation as I need but no more than I need.

 

[covediver]

Yes.

This only happened to me once, but it did happen on a beach night dive off Santa Barbara. I had on a 7.5 mm two piece, the usual suit for diving in that part of the world. I got in the water and quickly got overheated. Pulling down the zipper to increase water circulation into the suit did not alleviate the problem so I called the dive as it was very uncomfortable. It stands in my memory as one of the few dives I ever called because of equipment.

 

[berick]

Yes, it happened to me several times when I first started diving. Once, while diving in Cozumel in January -- with a 3mm full suit for a check out dive, I became extremely light headed and hot. My wife said it looked like a dishwashing machine when she unzipped the back of my wetsuit. I no longer dive with neoprene when the water is 78F or higher. A skin works great for me. Definitely got rid of the "heat" induced headaches I experienced early on in my diving.

 

[donnad]

i'm a very cold natured person, and i wear a 3mm full suit in tropical waters, and it's perfect for me. any less than that and i would be cold for sure.......especially with repetitive dives. love my 3mm 7 would definitely definitely be too much!

 

[ScubaSpicher]

It is all personal. Depending on the person you might overheat. I dive a 3mm in tropical waters and feel comfortable, but do no 1, and only 1, person that dives in a 7mm. She is very cold all the time!

 

[kouhoutek]

You also want to think about your comfort immediately before and after the dive.

You *might* be able to stand a 7mm in warm water, but how about sitting on the boat in the hot sun, in your black wetsuit, waiting to get in that water?

 

[Noboundaries]

OMG, a 7mm wetsuit in tropical waters? I'm gasping just thinking about it.

We were diving a shallow dive in 64*F water off Catalina last month in our 7mm wetsuits/hood/gloves. There was a class finishing their OW certs so my wife and I jumped off the boat and took a little tour. My wife was comfortable and I was sweating, pulling at my neck letting water into the suit.

On the next dive we moved to a pinnacle less than a mile offshore. Expecting the same temps, I removed my gloves. Turns out the water was 56*F and I needed my gloves, but at least I was not sweating. My ungloved hands make good radiators if I'm overheating.

We wear 3mm wetsuits in 75-81*F Carribean water, no hood. 81 is about my maximum for the 3mm. Beyond that I'm in a skin, or a skin and shortie if doing three or more consecutive dives.

You can always buy a polypro dive skin (1mm equivalent) and a tropical hood to add to the 3mm if you feel the 3mm is not enough on your 2nd and 3rd dives. A hood make a huge difference.

 

[katiusha]

I just got OWD certified and planning on going to Florida Keys and Bahamas from Nov to March. Would you say that a 5 mm suit is sufficient for winter diving in Bahamas? I looked through several posts/websites and people are quoting anything from a skinsuit to a 7mm+ wetsuit (thankfully noone mentioned a drysuit yet for those waters

Would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.