Puget Sound with 5mm Wetsuit?

[trevorsg]

Hey guys,

For the summer I'm living in Bellevue, but my primary place of residence is Austin, TX. While I'm here, I have gotten started with scuba diving - I got OW and AOW certified and purchased most of my gear. One of the last things to purchase is a wetsuit. I've been holding off on a wetsuit because obviously Texas waters are much warmer.

But as you may know, the Underwater Sports in Seattle is holding their annual dive fair and they have some outstanding prices on wetsuits (and just about everything else). I'm wondering if I get a 5mm wetsuit, how uncomfortable do you think I'd be in Puget Sound (~50-55°F)? I don't mind being a little cold, but I don't want to freeze. For my OW and AOW dives, I rented a two-piece 7mm hooded vest suit, and I was nice and toasty.

I'm considering the Henderson H2 Titanium 5mm. Conversely, do you think I would be uncomfortably hot with this wetsuit diving in 80-85°F water?

Thanks as always

 

[Doubler]

IMO a 5 mm is too thin for this area. I find it very hard to enjoy a dive if I am freezing. I guess you could go with it and a 2mm hooded vest. 5mm is a little to thick for the caribbean but if you get to hot you can unzip and let some water in. I have lived in this area for 20 years and went out once in my 5 mm and have never gone back. I'm more into 80 degrees and 100 ft. vis so I travel for my fix.

 

[lamont]

I'm considering the Henderson H2 Titanium 5mm. Conversely, do you think I would be uncomfortably hot with this wetsuit diving in 80-85°F water?

I dove a full-5mm near Tulum, MX and nearly fried myself, same suit worked fine in Hawaii though (both trips in Nov/Dec timeframe i think, if that makes any difference to the surface temps...).

I know someone who got themselves fitted for a drysuit at the UWS fair today and he's been diving a 5mm and getting very cold after 40 mins.

I'm guessing a 5mm works better from 60F-75F or so based on where I've used mine.

 

[mohave_steve]

I'll second that. 5mm is too thin for Puget Sound diving. I am fairly tollerant of cool water diving. I have dove waters from low 40s to upper 60s in a 7mm Henderson Hyperstretch. I would not recommend diving any colder than 50 or so in a 7mm. 5mm is IMHO better suited to 65+ temps.

Just my .02

 

[Akimbo]

Most people find a 5mm too thin down here in Northern California. In fact, a lot of people forgo their 7mm wetsuits for drysuits in Scuba. You are right though about a 7mm be too much for the Texas Gulf Coast.

 

[ligersandtions]

IMO a 5 mm is too thin for this area. I find it very hard to enjoy a dive if I am freezing. I guess you could go with it and a 2mm hooded vest. 5mm is a little to thick for the caribbean but if you get to hot you can unzip and let some water in. I have lived in this area for 20 years and went out once in my 5 mm and have never gone back. I'm more into 80 degrees and 100 ft. vis so I travel for my fix.

I'd go one step further....

IMO, a wetsuit is not enough thermal protection for PNW diving. Most of the active local divers will be in drysuits....otherwise, more than one dive (or even one dive in the winter) is all but impossible.

Save your money and look for a used drysuit. It will make the diving far more enjoyable.

 

[trevorsg]

Yeah, I'd definitely invest in a drysuit if I were a local, but I'm only going to be here 3 more weeks, and I don't want to have to "waste" money renting a 7mm farmer john/jacket. Thanks for the replies!

 

[DiverMike10]

Just my opinion, but it seems like the waste would be buying a wetsuit that isn't adequate for either environment you will be diving. I'd rent for three weeks. Good luck!

 

[pnw_diver]

I'd go one step further....

IMO, a wetsuit is not enough thermal protection for PNW diving. Most of the active local divers will be in drysuits....otherwise, more than one dive (or even one dive in the winter) is all but impossible.

Save your money and look for a used drysuit. It will make the diving far more enjoyable.

I suppose it all depends on someone's tolerance to cold and natural insulation (i.e. fat!). I have enough of both. I've been diving the PNW in a 7mm farmer john/jacket since 2001, and can honestly say that it's comfortable enough for me. There's been a couple of times where an inrush of cold water has been uncomfortable, but it warms quickly enough that I've never felt really cold, certainly not to the point where a second or third dive was out of the question - even in the winter. That's just me - the vast majority of people who dive the sound regularly dive dry, and there's a reason for that. I'm pretty sure that reason isn't because they had nothing else to spend the money on.

With that being said, I do have a Bare Trilam HD Tech drysuit on order. I do hate putting on a cold, damp wetsuit on the second or third day of diving, and certainly the additional comfort will be welcome.

Even with my cold tolerance and abundance of natural insulation, I wouldn't consider diving the sound in a 5mm.

 

[ClarkKent]

Drysuit....