Summer wetsuit options

[memphisluvr]

Hi all. . . .I'm really new to diving and need some help deciding what I need to get for a summer wetsuit.

I have close friends that dive and they have given me some guidance, but I also know they tend to be biased. I also think I've worn out my 'question welcome' temporarily.

My question is what is a good suit/skin/whatever for summer diving. I've been told that you can dive comfortably in the local lake in just a swimsuit, but I tend to be cold-natured and want to be ready to work around that.

I had a LDS owner recommend one of the fleece lined skins, but my friends are passionately against them b/c they say they don't see the point in wearing wet fleece. Now I don't think they've actually tried one, I think they've just looked at them and made that decision. Unfortunately I can't afford to buy one just to try it out. I need to know if it'll protect me some from the cold. I don't need serious protection, just enough to keep a chill off.

What is the general opinion of these type suits? What kind of experiences have you had? Any other recommendations?

I also like the idea that I can layer these guys under a traditional wetsuit in colder water. I'm all about multi-tasking in my purchases whenever possible.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Lead_carrier]

I agree with your buddy, stay away from the fleece. It is great for wearing in between dives tho. Personally, I like the Seaquest 3/2 wetsuits. I'm good to around 70 in one and can add hood, shorty, etc. as needed to let me go even lower. Whatever you get just make sure it is a good fit and has a good warranty.

 

[JimC]

First a bit about how insulation works. Air traped in the fibers of a fabric provide insulation. The actualy material of the fabric does nothing. That air is warmed by your body and creates a barrier of warmed air. In the case of neoprean, the air pockets are inside the material and traped.


Cotton has decent insulation properties, when completely dry. When damp or wet it looses all insulation and esential makes you colder by traping watter on your skin.

Fleece has excelent insulation properties when dry and damp. It dousn't compresee when damp and can still trap air. When wet it still traps air, but also holds water against your skin, which defeats the whole insulation thing. When submerged, all of that traped air floats away, and it has no insulation value.



In short, there are 3 ways to stay warm underwater. Trap air in the material (neoprean), trap air around you (dry suit) or bring a heat source (impratical).



Fleece lined dive skins are not thermal protection underwater. Unless the water is very very warm, I would sugest a decent 3/2m full body suit, good to around 75 degrees, at which point you'll need to start adding more rubber/hoods/etc.

 

[MISFIT DIVER]

I have to agree with lead. I use a seaquest 3/2 when I do pool work and in the Islands and I'm totaly comfortable. Seaquest also makes a 3/5/2 jumpsuit. Good if you just want a one piece suit with out having to mess with the vest. The vest is a good option because it allows you to add and take away thermal protection if you need to. tell you LDS you want to try them before you buy them. he should not have any problems with that. You did not say how deep you paln on going. that will also effect the ability for your suit to keep you warm. Dive dry, there is nothing like it. Good luck