Weighting for 3mm vs 5mm full suit

[chris1965]

My wife and I were cold in 3mm diving in Hawaii last winter, and will be going back with 5mm. Can someone give me a ballpark as to what additional weight we should plan.....I know there are lots of variables involved but should we be thinking 1-2 lbs or more like 8-10lbs.
Thanks

 

[RinaW]

Body mass and diving comfort greatly affect how much weight one should use for diving. I never dove with a 5 mil (I layer with vest & hood instead), but my wild guess would be somewhere in the middle of your range. Based on your logged dives, I'd recommend going with more weights so you don't have a hard time descending. Use your BC to compensate for buoyancy.

If you're travelling to Hawaii, I hope you're not planning on taking your weights on the plane with you. You could rent weights easily at the numerous dive shops in Hawaii AND ask them to recommend your weight increase.

 

[sam1]

Rule of Thumb:

3MM, one piece wetsuit, shortie or jump suit
5% of your body weight

5MM, two-piece wet suit
10% of your body weight

 

[allistoy]

When I switch between a 3mil and 5 mil 1 piece suit I need to add 3 pounds for the 5mil suit for fresh water diving.

 

[diver 85]

I would guess about 5 or 6, but there are a lot of variables out there, so I'd start with about +8--- as Bill said, better to be more than less(overweighted)..report back & tell us what it wound up being in your case......

 

[chris1965]

Thanks all for the info! No I won't carry weights on the plane. At 180lb, I have used 9lbs for 3mm (5%); I'll be interested to see how close I come to the 10% rule. On a related note when people switch from a 3 to 5 mm suit, how much cooler are the water temps that are now comfortable (again in general, assuming similar work of dive etc.)

 

[kenbert61]

Chris can you give us/me a dive report from your last Hawaii trip...I know we have a Ohana thread, but I love reading about them as I will be diving on Kauai/Maui in Feb/2011

 

[redacted]

My wife's 5mm, size 10, full suit requires 5 lb more lead than her 3mm. Depending on your size, you should expect 5 to 6 lb more.

 

[surfinusa555]

I took a look at my log book for you and I added 4 pounds going from a 3mm to 5mm one piece.

 

[chris1965]

I had the good fortune to dive in Hawaii both in February and October of 2009. Both time the Kohalo coast (north of Kona on the Big Island). In February water temps were in the low to mid 70s, in October the high 70s. Most of my dives were 50-75 feet maximum. One dive to 85 feet to look at the Eels (a most interesting site of small eels swaying in the currents ). Visibility was usually great as much as 75 feet, 50 typical. Have fun on your trip