Warm water weenie?

[TheRedHead]

The LDS is haveing a sale after thanksgiving, I will get one then. Should I go with a titanium? Or is that all hype. There is a bodyglove excurtion 5mm it will be onsale for $140

Titanium is supposed to reflect heat back to the body. I have a Henderson 3 mm Hyperstrech/Titanium/Aquasuede that I would wear to 72 F. It's an extremely warm 3 mm suit and I'm not sure if the Titanium has anything to do with it.

$140 is not a bad price on a 5 mm suit. The question is "Does it fit?"

 

[midwayman]

Better to be a bit too warm than a bit too cold. I have friends that go diving in the carribean in nothing but a skin. Might be that I could dive that way too, but no way Im going with out my 3/2 at least. Rather have the extra warmth if I need it.

 

[DTB1981]

Well the water temp is now 70. I switched to a full 3mm and it is ok as long as I can get warm between dives.

 

[LI Diver]

Everybody says get a heavier suit and be comfortable and it makes sense......but how about the consideration that a heavier suit means more lead and possibly more bc depending on the capabilities of your present one hence that means more energy used for the extra weight and possibly extra drag of the larger bc. Does this fit into the equation? I'm just hypothesizing here I'm realy just a newbie. I just came back from the Keys where I dove with a 5mm hyperstretch full suit that I bought because I thought that my 3mm long sleeved shorty might be not enough. I couldn't have been more comfortable and am very glad I made the investment.(Thanks Howarde for the advice) However I can't help but wonder how I might have felt in the 3mm shorty, 8 lbs less weight and a tropical bc. Like I said I am still a newbie and am trying to get more bottom time out of a tank on shallow dives. I have lost 30lbs and have been exercising religously 5 days a week since my previous dive trip and I thought that on this trip I would have got considerably more out of a tank. My previous trip I was wearing only a bathing suit and needed 10lbs less weight.My bc will handle 50lbs plus of weight and I only need 28lbs w/a 5mm full. Would a smaller bc help? A little more info on me... never smoked,still about 30lbs over weight but have always exercised and have been active. Worked 20 years as a welder..Any thoughts gang??

 

[LI Diver]

Wow almost 1.5 hrs don't tell me you guys are actually working??

 

[cummings66]

The only consideration in regards to weight is the surface walk and the trim issues.

Once under the water who cares if you've got 8 or 16 lbs of lead, you're still neutral when you adjusted it, if you did so. If not then adjust your weights as needed.

If the trim is right you will notice no difference. I go from a 3mm to a 7mm to a drysuit and honestly once the trim is set the feeling is very similar. Yes, there's slight differences but not enough to add enough drag to make me lag or things like that. Normally it's a feeling from the suit being stiffer.

Don't worry about needing more weight in other words as long as your BCD can handle it. I also prefer a BCD that has enough lift for my diving and that varies per person. Some can do 30 lbs and from the reading on sb some might need lifts of over 50 lbs...

 

[LI Diver]

Thanks Matt, I better brush up on my physics.

 

[SadiesMom]

ES, you're not going to get more bottom time out of a tank if you're cold.

Matt's correct in that if you're correctly weighted *for your current rig* (meaning whatever suit you're wearing and whatever you're carrying (i.e. pony bottle, camera rig, etc.), and you're correctly trimmed, you *should* have no significant difference in bottom time whether you're wearing a bathing suit or 7mm. Certainly there shouldn't be a big difference between a 3mm and a 5mm.

On the other hand, if your core temp is down and you're chilled? Yes, you will likely see a difference in air consumption and you're much more likely a) to feel too tired to dive overall; b) to want to thumb the dive because you're cold; c) to take a DCS hit. Staying warm is important, even in relatively warm water - even 80 degree water is still almost 20 degrees colder than normal human body temp and if you remember from OW class, water conducts heat 25 times faster than air. Even 80 degree water can really chill you by the end of a 4 dive day if you're not in enough neoprene and staying warm between dives.

Make sense?

 

[LI Diver]

Yes it does, and I always seem to think that you have ESP SM but what I meant was, "all things being equal" there were others in shortys and they seemed fine. We only did 2 dives per day. I know everyones tolerates the cold differently and I certainly don't want to be chilled (thats why I bought the 5 mil) and I remember all the info from the course (and we review it before each dive vac.) My son claimed he was fine in a 3mm short sleeved shorty but I made him wear a 1mm full skin under it anyways.
I guess it's just my nature to try and tweak things just a bit.
Thanks, Ed

 

[Charlie99]

The only consideration in regards to weight is the surface walk and the trim issues.

Once under the water who cares if you've got 8 or 16 lbs of lead, you're still neutral when you adjusted it, if you did so. If not then adjust your weights as needed.

If the trim is right you will notice no difference. I go from a 3mm to a 7mm to a drysuit and honestly once the trim is set the feeling is very similar.

You're ignoring the fact that wetsuits compress and expand as you descend and ascend. To stay neutral one needs to adjust the amount of air in the BCD as you ascend and descend. Thicker suits mean more adjustment.

This is why for temps above 78F or so I prefer a 3/2 full wetsuit that is 3mm on the core, but only 2mm on the arms and legs.

I also use a 3mm beanie over my mostly bald skull. Lot of extra warmth for negligible amount of neoprene.