The time has come to decide - wet or dry in SoCal?

[tparrent]

My 3 mm Hyperstretch just ain't gonna cut it out here

I went to the LDS today and tried on a 7 mm fullsuit and have one important question: is diving really still fun when you dive in one of those????? Not only was it tough to get on but I felt like the Michelin Man after Thanksgiving dinner. Just get one that fits, right? Well, the guy in the shop thought this was the right size - and since I was going to order anyway it's not like he was pushing what he had in stock.

This experience got me looking at (but not yet trying on) drysuits. The guy said that he has a variety of suits himself and that he prefers the 7 mm over the dry unless he is doing a lot of dives. Why? Because the drysuit is so hard to get on! Sacred Bovine! How could it be harder than the 7mm with integrated hood?

He also had some Hyperstretch type suits in 7mm. He told me that he was glad when his was stolen because it was just so cold. I know that debate has raged here but this was just one more data point.

So do I go wet, go dry or go to Bonaire????

I know that I will have to learn how to properly use a drysuit but I may need one anyway someday if I return to the Great Lakes (which I hope to do). I also hope to dive all year here in the Channel Islands and I understand it gets even nippier in the winter.

What say you?

 

[tparrent]

Another option: farmer john with jacket - both in 7 mm

 

[voodoodiver]

My vote is for Dry. I dive Dry year round and always very comfortable.

 

[TheRedHead]

Farmer john = michelin man in straight jacket. Go to Bonaire!

 

[do it easy]

I heart my drysuit and wear it year round- even on the sweltering summer days when I have to don it and jump in the water or perish from heatstroke. There are a few more steps involved, but after a while, it's as easy as putting on your underwear in the morning.

 

[mobster75]

I don't have any problems wearing a 7mm wetsuit with 3mm hooded vest and 5mm gloves/boots for diving at all. But some would think that anyone who dives in wetsuit configuration in New England is crazy. This past weekend I had one of the drysuit guys during my Sat. morning dives ask me if I was diving a drysuit (because of the look of my wetsuits inside) and he was shocked that I dove 7mm wet and felt rather warm the whole time.

A 7mm configuration does seem intimidating at first because if you don't know what you're doing, it will take you 20 minutes to suit up and you won't have the energy to dive. I've found that flushing my wetsuit arms and legs with water right before putting it on made it pretty easy to get on (some pulling, but only takes me 5 mins to suit up).

I've never felt constricted while diving with my 7mm on, but the only cold spots I feel are around my face where the hood doesn't cover. It's really not that bad....

 

[crestgel]

I just did the switch from wet to dry. My suit is in the mail.

 

[roakey]

Less than 70 degrees and I dive dry...

Roak

 

[alwaingold]

If you are planning to dive a lot and can afford it, I say get the drysuit. If you don't, and you dive all the time, you will probably end up getting one later anyway I mostly dive in Monterey/Carmel, which is a little colder, but it was actually doing 3-dive days in SoCal (in the winter) that really persuaded me to go dry. It's so cold on the boat between dives, even with my boat coat.

Whether you get a wetsuit or drysuit, getting into your suit will get easier pretty quickly, so I wouldn't make a decision based on that.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

I vote for DRY.

In SoCal if you dive wet you can still dive year round, but you will be cold on the surface intervals in the winter. The biggest single advantage for dry here in SoCal is the out of water part of diving.

I have an really nice Excel wet suit with an integrated hood and in the summer it is fine in and out of the water, but in the winter it is cool in the water, and unpleasant after. A dry suit really opens up the diving to all year, and frankly the diving in the winter is better. In the winter the visibility is usually better and the boats and beaches are far less crowded.

It is an expensive choice, but consider a used dry suit if money is killing the choice, that is what I did. I shopped for months and had a few problems along the way, but in the end it worked out. You can also rent dry suits.

DRY, DRY, DRY,

Mark Vlahos