Wet Suit for Florida Springs

[giles45shop]

All,

I am looking to get my first full wet suit. I'm a new diver, live in Florida (Tampa area) and will mainly dive FL springs, lakes and some Gulf diving. Most diving will be fresh water (70%). I've currently got a 2 ml shorty and was acceptably warm in that for my check-out dives in Rainbow Springs (72F). I've also been diving several times in my lake recently and was okay for 1hr dives in 67F water 20' deep with the shorty and a hood. So I guess you could say I'm on the cold tolerant side of the scale.

I've also been in Crystal River (72F) this winter in a rented 3/2 full suit w/ no hood, seemed fine for the dive (1 hr).

With the background out of the way, on to the question:
I'm thinking about getting a 5/4 full suit and wondering if that will be sufficient for me? My thinking is that it should be warm enough for spring diving, and if needed I could put the 2mm shorty underneath for a 7mm in the torso area for winter dives in the gulf. I'm thinking a 7mm is too much suit and would only get used in the Gulf in the winter, and I'm not real crazy about a 2 piece Farmer John.

Any opinions from people in similar situations (water temps, cold tolerance) would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John

 

[The Kraken]

Needless to say, exposure protection is a very individual and subjective matter.
But to answer your question, the 5/4 should be very adequate, especially if you're doing repetitive dives. Some may say it's a bit too much, but it's much easier to cool off than it is to warm up, especially at depth.

I dive a 3/2 in the springs and seem to be just a bit cool at the end of the second dive, but then again, I have a tendency to get cold.

Been considering a 5/4 myself.

In my opinon, the 7 millimeter would certainly be a bit much, plus it brings into consideration more buoyancy factors with which to deal.

 

[WaterDawg]

5/4 will be fine (as I just found out my self) as long as you have a nice hood.

 

[giles45shop]

Thanks for your input! Sounds like a 5/4 would be a good choice for me. I know one suit can't work for everything, but I really don't want to have to have the other extreme of a closet full of different suits.

What 5/4 have you been considering? I've heard good things about Bare, and the prices (~$160) look very reasonable. I'm not looking for any real special features and I don't want to spend big bucks on a suit.

Thanks,

John

 

[WaterDawg]

I have the BARE. it has "seals" on the forearm and calf the the others didnt have and it was about 160$ I also have a BARE 6.5mil hood. The first day I dove that in a spring the air temp was low 40's and the second time we did two dives and I was ok (the water was 66-68)

 

[simbrooks]

When i dove wet it was a 5mm, now i enjoy a full day of immersion in my drysuit. After a while the 5mm does chill you out, specifically when you have been in the water more than an hour - if you plan on longer dives i would try a 7mm, but that might be overkill. A hood might help as well to retain some heat. In the summer it will feel mighty cold in there compared to 90F+ day time temps, but you warm back up really quickly on SI's, in the winter peel that stuff off and get toweled and into dry stuff between dives.

 

[Jason B]

[hijack] I just wanted to tell Simon I like the count down timer in his signature.[/hijack]

Jason

 

[Tanked Monkey]

In January 2005, I dove Ginnie, Crystal River, Blue Grotto, and Paradise Springs in a 7mm Henderson, a beanie and reef gloves. The water temp was 72, and air temp was mid-40's to mid-50's. I also did these dives last June, when the air temp was in the 90's. 7mm hyperstretch was perfect for me both times, and I can usually tolerate the cold better than most (quarry diving in Virginia). I used my 3mm Oneil without beanie in the cenotes in Mexico (water temp was 78), and I was a bit cold on the second dive of the day.

A compromise would be a 7/5mm, which would give you the extremity flexibility of a 5mm, but torso warmth of a 7mm. For the thicker suits, I like the hyperstretch, as it adds quite a bit of flexibility and comfort that most others do not, but man it's expensive.

YMMV

Mike

 

[giles45shop]

Thanks for all the input! I think I'll go ahead and get a 5/4, probably a Bare. I thought about the 7/5, but I'm thinking that it might be a little heavier than I need. If I get a 5/4, I can still probably use it in those mid-range warm temps (72-80) where you might normally wear a 3/2, without getting too warm like a 7/5 might do.

And by layering my existing 2mm shorty under the 5/4 I would have effectively the same 7mm in the torso area that the 7/5 would have for the colder winter Gulf dives.

Thanks,

John

 

[Corigan]

I've dove Crystal River, Morrison Springs, and Vortex Springs in the past two weeks. I have been in temps from 55-71 degrees and was fine in a 5mm with a 3mm hood. Of course YMMV.

Matt