Suit recommendations for Curacao, St. Maarten & Saba

[scubaaaronh]

We were in bonaire in Feb. My wife gets cold easily and we dove with 3mm and lycra skins the whole time there doing as many as three dives in a day before dinner and never got cold. i was actually warm, and kept flooding my suit on most dives but used the suit for more exposure protection than just the skin. The water in Bonaire tends to stay around 80 degrees. when we go back in Dec. i am going to use a 1mm full and so is my wife. better protection for the legs and knees for the rougher exit points.

 

[RTRski]

DivingDreamer: My wife and I are going to be in SXM starting July 3 and diving the 5th with Dive Adventures out of Simpson Bay (probably more days after that too, but that's the only one pre-reserved so far). Maybe we'll see you there, depending on what op you picked! (We've also prebooked the Dive Safari's shark dive on the 8th). I'm 6'2", shaved bald, with a goatee and glasses, and my wife is about 5'8", blonde, shoulder-length hair

We did St. Kitts last year in June with 3mm shorties and were fine - our guide and some of the other divers were all suitless. We were planning on just taking our shorties down this trip as well, even though we hope to do some of the deeper pinnacle dives off Saba later in the trip (July 10-11). Neither of us is terribly skinny these days, but my wife is pretty cold intolerant and she was fine last year. The SKB dives were down to 60' max or so. Of course it helps that we've been practicing locally here in Texas in 3mm fulls in a spring fed lake with surface temps similar to down there (84ish) but thermoclines at 25ish and 50ish feet...

I'd bet given your experience in cooler water, a well-fitted 3mm shorty would be fine, and a full would probably not be overpoweringly warm unless you hate to strip it down to at least waist level on the surface between dives. So you probably can't go wrong either way. For that matter, in late June / early July a plain skin would probably be okay as well, but I kind of prefer the shorty at least, if only for the psychologically better gut-compression effect of neoprene over spandex.

RTRski

p.s. regarding gloves, I wore them in SKB if only for ladder grip, but I've read that some of the coral preserves don't want you to wear them as you might be more tempted to touch... was curious myself what reaction I'd get to them in SXM and Saba, but bringing them just the same. They can always ride the gear bag if someone gripes at me.

 

[zf2nt]

I did 3 dives a day virtually every day on Little Cayman last winter from October - April. What I found was that I was perfectly comfortable in skins if the water temperature was at least 81F. If the water temperature was 79F or less, I really needed to wear a full-length 3mm suit. I think 77F was the coldest I ever saw, and I was perfectly comfortable in my 3mm suit. On the other hand, I felt a little stifled at 83 in that same suit. So...given the time of year you're going and the water temperatures, I'm sure you will be perfectly comfortable in skins. Then, since will be wearing nothing that compresses with depth, you don't have to do any fiddling with your BC if you just get your weighting right. That's a bit different than Monterey!

Bruce

 

[D_O_H]

On our recent trip to Bonaire, the water was a scorching 86 degrees on almost all our dives and I did all of them in just a swimsuit. I didn't get even a little bit cold on any of the dives, and we had some 90 minute + dives and several night dives.

I also dive Monterey quite a bit in a 7mm farmer john and only occasionally do I get cold up here.

I worried a little bit about getting stung or nicked up on entry and exit with no exposure protection at all, but I managed to get through the whole week with just one little scrape on my knee. If I owned a dive skin, I would have worn that instead, as I did get tossed around in the surf a little bit on a couple of dives.

My girlfriend, on the other hand, has far less natural insulation than I do and wore a 3mm full suit. She is always cold and found the 3mm a bit too warm on the first dive of the day, just about right on the second and added a hood for the third dive and beyond.

 

[DivingDreamer]

Thanks again for all of the great replies! My husband and I are on the insulated size - I'm 5'9" and 180lbs and my huband is 6'0" and 220lbs. I think we're going to buy a dive skin at the local dive shop and perhaps rent a 3mm there. My husband is pale skinned and could use the coverage that a skin could provide. I have enough battle scars and would love the extra coverage to protect against nettles and whatnot. I brushed up against a fire plant of some sort in Cozumel in a swim through and that was no fun (was in a 3mm shorty).

CSD1129 - I missed your question earlier - no, we won't be in SXM in August, though I am sure I would love to stay on vacation even longer! We're heading home on the 9th.

scubaaaronh - when considering your reply, I recall having to flood my suit in Akumal or Cozumel. Thanks for helping to jar my memory!

RTRski - We haven't set diving plans for SXM yet, as we're not sure if we'll up to it as it's the end of our trip. I think Dive Adventures is one that a lot of folks have recommended, so we may dive with them on the 7th. I love the comment re: gut-sucking.

zf2nt and D O H - Local divers!!! Gotta love Monterey. As you know it's so cold around these parts - I don't own a 3mm or a shorty for that matter. I am sure that we'll be in warm water heaven.

 

[RTRski]

One last thought: (your comment about sunscreen coverage for your husband reminded me of this, as I'm also fairish skinned and burn easy) is that even if you don't wear anything, DO wear strong sunscreen on all exposed skin and probably any skin not well 'sealed' by a wetsuit. Not just for the sun exposure, but it has the secondary benefit of helping seal your skin against the nematocysts (sp?) of the little jellyfish and coral polyp larvae. Spawning season for those is more early summer, but some people get what's called "swimmer's rash" where areas covered by swimsuits or T-shirts get red and raw because of bites because the little larvae get stuck next to your skin and sting when you get out of the water.

I've never had a problem of any kind like that diving in the Caribbean in June and September both, but then again I'm a religious Coppertone Sport SPF-45 wearer to avoid frying my first day and ruining the rest of my vacation!

Mebbe we'll see you and your sig-other on the 7th. My pic is in my profile so feel free to look, stifle a laugh if necessary, and then you can say "hey, you're that wordy bah-stahd!" if you see me in SXM.

Also those who talked about flooding reminded me, a quick yank on the neck is all that's needed to cool off a tad if you ever do stifle a bit, but getting warmer is a bit harder. (Someone on another thread recommended keeping a 2LTR soda bottle full of water on deck in the sun - keep a spare cap with some holes in it and you have an instant , if brief, warm shower.)