Skip 5mm and go to 7mm?

[divewithjp.com]

Dear fellow divers,
hoping that someone with more experience can share their knowledge about wetsuit thickness for divers that get chilly quick.
I am currently in Cairns, Australia and plan to start working as scuba instructor, so calculating 2-5 dives daily for at least 4 days every week.

I have been using a 3mm Aqualung Hydroflex:

• in Thailand, Koh Tao: No temperature problems, very happy to have the 3mm to keep me warm, thermoclines ok, water temperature from 29-32 degrees, the warmer the happier I was. Everyone else was happy in rash guards or 3mm shorties.
• in Nusa Penida, Indonesia: Definitely more chilly in the water (27degrees) but feasible for the first 30 mins, the thermocline with 23 degrees made me freeze and shiver and I felt like ending the dive, survived but not comfortable and very exhausting

I like to be in the water and not even think about the temperature. Which is why I am thinking to get a 7mm suit and skip the 5mm for anything colder than 27 degrees.
I found a wetsuit with a front zipper which I could easily open up during a dive in case I get too warm, so I think to just buy 1 new wetsuit and be fine for most places. I am scared to get a 5mm and start feeling cold at 25degrees, especially with diving a lot.

I am however concerned about the donning on and off of a 7mm when everyone around is in 5mm.
I don't use a hood because of my hair (1meter dreadlocks) so that just does not fit.

What would be your advice?
Get a real 7mm wetsuit with front zip for cool downs? Like the Waterproof W8 with front zip?
Get a 5mm vest to combine with my old 3mm? Like the Waterproof O1?
Get a 5mm and maybe some undergarment in case it gets too cold?

Not limited in budget (also not trying to waste money), but limited in luggage, so not trying to travel with 3 different suits and trying to make a good longterm investment.
All in all, I just don't want to be cold, what's your recommendation?

 

[Searcaigh]

I get cold easily, and when temps hit 23C I want to be in my drysuit.

My advice is to get the Waterproof W7 5mm with the neckseal, it's "almost" like a semidry.

7mm suits (I have one) have two distinct disadvantages.

1. Getting into the bloody things, and getting them off again.
2. The required additional weight to get down below sea level with crazy buoyancy characteristics.

 

[Umuntu]

A 2 piece beavertail and overall pants 5mm wetsuit, popular with spearos, provides 10mm of neoprene around your core chest and crotch and 5mm on arms and legs.

Easy to don and doff too.

 

[FreqFlier]

Anything thicker than 4-5mm comes with some tradeoffs. Like needing a ton of weights, taking forever to dry etc.
I'm fine in my 3mm to about 26C, adding 3mm hooded vest takes me to about 23-24C.
Anything below that, especially multiple daily dives is a drysuit territory for me.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If you don’t want a hood get a rear zip one piece.
Pinnacle makes one that’s 7 mil on the body and 5 mil on the arms. If you need to cool down just pull open the neck seal and let some water in.
Going with a front zip with no hood means probably a step-in top on a farmer john bottom and those are too restrictive around the hip joint and too much rubber on the thigh and core for what your doing.

 

[noads99]

I had a very similar predicament - not instructing but now a senior at 66 and getting coled towards the latter end of the dives and it was really spoiling my enjoyment - best thing I have spent money on rencently in a new Santi Avatar drysuit - no longe cold at all and really comfy and felxible.

 

[Zef]

Given the water temps you mention you dive in, I would recommend the Aqualung Aquaflex 5mm wetsuit and couple it with the Aqualung Dynaflex 5mm shorty. This shorty is designed to be worn over the the wetsuit. This will give you versatility to add/remove the shorty, or even just wear the shorty as the water temps permit.

If you were to be diving water 20C or colder, then I would suggest a semi-dry or drysuit.

I see you are originally from Luxembourg. I lived and dived in Belgium for 10 years. I used a 5mm when the water was 19c or warmer, a 7mm semi-dry when the water was between 10c and 19c, and a drysuit when the water was colder than 10c or the air temp was cold.

A bunch of years ago I dived off the coast of Phuket Thailand, in a 3mm and was more than comfortable...but if you get cold easily, I think you would do well with the 5mm + 5mm shorty....a 7mm may be challenging from a heat exhaustion standpoint before getting wet.

I would also think about just a 5mm with a sharkskin undersuit, some folks swear by the sharkskin for thermal comfort under their wetsuit...the shorty and the 7mm will both require carrying more weight which is a pain, where the sharkskin should have a marginal if any affect on your buoyancy.

-Z

 

[lowwall]

I agree with @Zef. Get a standard back zip 5mm and layer it with a full front zip 3 to 5mm shorty when needed. Pinnacle makes a good one too, 5mm Men's Pinnacle ESCAPE Front Zip Shorty Wetsuit

You want a full front zip rather than the half zip ones. That's what makes it really easy to don and doff even when you are already encased in your 5mm fullsuit. Zip the first couple inches on the thigh and just step in.

 

[johndiver999]

Since you asked for advice: Cut the hair and wear a hood like a normal diver. It is more comfortable to wear a good hood (or a hooded vest) and a thinner suit.

 

[MB NZ]

My opinion is that there is too much emphasis on suits thickness versus fit and seals. A 3mm open cell freediving suit will be much warmer than a 5mm wetsuit designed for SCUBA. Open cell may be too much to tolerate for most, but closed cell suits in the same design are a compromise. They are harder to track down, but they do exist. Failing that a proper semi-dry wetsuit with drysuit style zips and seals. Also, get a hair cut.