Wet suit for Belize in January

[leadweight]

In 78F water, I freeze in a 3/2. Some of it has to do with the age of the suit. A worn out (300+ dives) suit is not going to be very warm. When the temperature drops to 80F, I usually will switch to a 5/4 and put up with the extra weight.

 

[jakubson]

I freeze in a 3/2 on liveaboards. Not on day 1, but by day 3. When I was there a few years ago, I wore a sleeveless 3mm shorty underneath a 3/2, and I also wore a 3mm beanie (temp - 82 degrees). A lot depends on how many dives a day you plan to do - with 5 dives a day, your body just does not have the time to recover if you get cold.

Granted, I am a total wimp, but I am warm even on the night dives. YMMV.

 

[pedro101]

Most people here dive with thin shorties or nothing however, January is pretty cool and 3mm is probably sufficient

 

[Thatch Caye Belize]

I freeze with a 3-2 in January and our dive instructor wears a 7 mil with a hood. He is a bit wimpy but I understand what he is doing. A person coming from a cold weather place in January to dive in Belize may not think it is cold at all. Most people who come from wintery places do not feel cold in Belize. But about ten percent of the people we dive with are very cold and need thicker wetsuits. And many people from here or who have lived here for a while are very wimpy about cold and most seem to need thicker wetsuits or we just double up like Hank.

 

[peterbj7]

I haven't worn neoprene for several years. The most I wear is a thick diveskin, which I find quite adequate. I'm currently just using shorts and rashguard. I recall one dive sometime in the winter, when I was wearing a thin diveskin and someone else on board had on a full drysuit.

But don't forget the boat trip. I've been on dives with Travis (Thatch Caye) when I've been quite warm underwater but froze my butt off on the boat journey back. Some sort of very baggy coverall can be very useful then.