Tropical Dive Suit?

[sruddock]

Hi there

I seem to get cold VERY easily. I only dive in the caribbean and have tried a full 5mm and a farmer john style 4mm, neither keeps me warm and I am shivering like crazy on my second dive.

I am considering a tripical dry suit (I HATE being cold) but am not sure what to look for or who makes the best ones. Priority would be one that would be easy to get on and off so do i want front or back entry suit? I see Whites makes a tropical explorer drysuit for warm water diving...so does DUI (latitude 30/30.

...or should I try a skin underneath? I dont see much talk of caribbean drysuits nor do i see many people wearing them...why is that (can only guess that it has to the fact that you cant go to the bathroom under water!!!?)

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

I would suggest you try a beanie , makes a huge difference , Whites makes tropical dry shells . I have a 3mm compressed neoprene , would work great anywhere , just layer undergarment as needed . Good luck , Its no fun being cold.

 

[spectrum]

If you want to stay wet I'd suggest a 3-5 mm full suit worn with a hooded chicken vest underneath. The vest will effecively close off the neck opening and must the vack zipper seepage. This provides a huge performance boost.

If that does not get you comfortable then a drysuit may be your ticket. DUI also makes a tripical weight suit.

Everyone is unique so do whatever it takes so you are comfortable and safe. At some point the drysuit will make more sense than piling on more neoprene.

Pee valves are an option for males and the she-pee is gaining popularity with the females. Also when diving dry the effects of immersion diuresis are greatly diminished and for single tank dives the bladder is usualy managable.

Pete

 

[Melicertes]

You could also look into semi-dry(wet) suits. I've been very happy with mine for a number of years.

Also:
1. Make sure you get out of your wetsuit during your SI or get yourself a dive parka to wear over your wetsuit to minimize evaporative cooling from the breeze topside
2. Get a hoodie to keep your head warm - the blood vessels in the head do not constrict do reduce heat loss as much as they do in the rest of your body because it is pretty important to keep blood flow to your brain going - consequently it becomes a pretty major factor where heat loss is concerned if not dealt with.
3. Consider going full dry if you are really going icicle every second dive and the above do not seem to work for you
4. Getting in shape can also help you increase your metabolism and consequently you generate more heat which in turn means you'll not get cold so soon. Obviously this is a losing battle if you're not compensating sufficiently with exposure protection but getting into shape is of course always a good thing for your general health and it does have the added benefit of making your "heater "work "better".

 

[sruddock]

Thanks Everyone, appreciate the info

I have a 5mm and a hoodie/beanie but that doesnt seem to do the trick.

I will look into a semi-dry suit i think.

No one mentioned a skin underneath - would that not do much good?

Found a Whites tropical explorer BE dryi suite on Ebay for 425 US - any opinions on that?

 

[Melicertes]

Rent one first. Try it out and see if it will do what you expect it to. Then make your decision.

 

[ucfdiver]

I'd stay away from semi dry suits. If you can afford it, go dry.

 

[Melicertes]

And your reason being?

 

[*Floater*]

if 5mm is not enough go for 7mm or a drysuit. you can also try adding a hooded vest under the 5mm suit or a thicker hood.

that said, could it be that your 5mm suit just doesn't fit properly? if it's too loose it'll let cold water flush through. the tighter the wetsuit, the warmer it'll keep you (that's why it's not uncommon to see people wrestling their suits one using plastic bags or lubricants,...). wrist/leg seals (or semi-seals, not fully waterproof like with drysuits) can also help to reduce water exchange inside the suit. some zippers, loose neck or other openings, can make it worse.

 

[Melicertes]

Good points Floater, I kinda assumed the OP had a properly fitting suit to start with. Assumptions are the mother of all...