Should I get a 7mm wet suit?

[scubabear47]

I am 13 and i live in new jersey and i cant decide if i should get a 7mm wet suit. I do 30 to 40 dives a year which probaly 20 of are in the north. But since i am still growing i dont know if it is a waste of money to get a 7mm wet suite because i will probaly grow out of it in 2 or 3 years. So should i get a 7mm wet suite

 

[fnfalman]

You'll grow out of any suit in a few years. New Jersey water is pretty darn cold. Can you handle 40-something F water with a 7mm wetsuit?

Of course you can always layer up and have a 3-mm vest that you can wear underneath, or maybe an outside shortie to wear over the basic 7mm suit as well.

 

[tgsmith]

You can always rent one, or rent a drysuit if you can find one in your size.

 

[Rainer]

Man, that's tough.

I'd be looking at a cheap or used suit if I knew it'd only last me a few years.

Talk the parents into more trips to warm water!

 

[Damselfish]

How much are your local rentals? Just gotta do the math and estimate if it's cheaper to rent or buy. Sounds like you might dive enough to make it less expensive to buy or at least pretty close to a wash.

Would almost certainly be cheaper to buy if you can find a decent used suit from some other growing kid, or you might be able to sell a suit when you outgrow it to someone else.

 

[boliver_69]

You can get a cheap used one on ebay....

I paid $20 for my 6.5mm farmer john

cheaper than renting, and when you need a new one in a few years it was no big investment

 

[scubabear47]

I have dove of the jersey shore and in northern lakes before with a 7mm wet suite and i was fine

 

[scubabear47]

Are the ones on ebay good quilty ?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Qualitative differences in wet suits show up after a few years as the seam may be less durabel or the neoprene more permanently compressed. But you will have outgrown it and moved on to another by then so it really does not matter. Get an inexpensive suit that fits you well with not too much extra room (as it will pump water through the suit and make you cold) and plan on replacing it with another suit in a couple years.

 

[scuba&golf]

Go to a dive shop and try on a couple of different brands and find the brand and size that fits and look on e-bay. There are a lot of great suits at great values but no return policy. Just make sure that you know your size by brand because they each brand may fit differently.