Relative gave me titanium wetsuit...do they love me or hate me?

[pasley]

Titanium is of course only a name not the material it is made of. It is the generic of the Henderson Gold Core. I have been diving on by Aqua flite since 2001 and love it. It makes a very good seal against the skin. The better the seal, the less water you body has to heat. Provided it fits correctly, like a 2nd skin. It is warmer than a regular non-lined suit of the same thickness.

Los Angeles based diver. 116 dives on mine and still happy.

 

[pisaster]

The suit fits pretty well. There's a tiny bit of looseness in the small of my back, but I didn't feel any water moving around the couple of times I've taken it snorkeling and freediving (to a grand depth of about 7 feet) I need to take it out for some real diving to find out if I'll be warm enough, but the instructor whose cert class I'm taking doesn't want me to use it (I have a feeling because he wants to make me rent one of his suits). I guess I'll have to wait until AFTER I'm certified to figure out if it'll work for me or not. Thanks everyone for all the advice so far!

Jake

 

[pasley]

... but the instructor whose cert class I'm taking doesn't want me to use it (I have a feeling because he wants to make me rent one of his suits)...

More likely that after the class is over he is planning on selling you a nice expensive suit, perhaps a Henderson Gold Core. You may also explore having the suit tailored for a better fit. This is true of any wetsuit, it must fit like a second skin or you will be cold. When diving my titanium I often leave the water with whole sections of my body dry.

 

[sndt1319]

Titanaium is a terrible insulator, although it does reflect radiated heat pretty well.

The only way titanium would help you keep warm is if you were radiating energy (like the sun, a light bulb or a fire).

Since most of the heat you lose is by conduction, the titanium doesn't do anything, but the wetsuit material does (regardless of the titanium, it's still a 7mm wetsuit, which is good)

I have been meaning to say something about this. You DO radiate energy. Everything does assuming there is a temp difference. It is something I learned in Heat Transfer. Granted the convection of the water will have a much greater impact on your comfort.