Wet suits vs Dry suits

[loganhand]

So i am thinking about doing a 45 Fahrenheit dive. I have a 7mm wetsuit with a hood, gloves, boots, and a shortie to wear underneath, is that enough to stay warm in such cold weather? If not, I could look into buying a drysuit, because my dive buddy already has one. I have low body fat so i get cold easier.

 

[jeangadbois]

I just did a 50 degree dive in a 7 with a hood and it was cold on the face when I jumped in but one on the way was very comfortable.

 

[tech3324]

Checkout this info on water temp vs suit thickness from Wetwear: Wetwear - How Thick A Wetsuit Do I Need?

Despite what they say, it's largely a matter of personal temperature tolerance, so the only way to know for sure is to try it.

 

[smorneau]

You will dive a lot more if you have a drysuit. It extends the seasons quite a bit here in the frigid Atlantic.

 

[dfx]

My suit of choice for sub-50 temperatures is a 7-mm farmer john plus a 7-mm step-in jacket, then hood and gloves. Tight fit is most important. Dry suit would probably be easier (?) and warmer, but I only do a handful of cold water dives per year, so I'm not gonna bother.

 

[Tigerman]

My choice of suit for anything below 10c/50f is dry. Yes its a bit more cumbersome (for the first dive) than wetsuits, but once you have it you REALLY dont want to go back..

 

[BUDMANOK]

54 degrees yesterday and my drysuit inflator hose develops a leak while gearing up had to dive wet. that's when you really appreciate a good drysuit

 

[eelnoraa]

If you do one dive in 45F water, you will probably be fine. By that, I mean you won't die because of hypothermia, but by no mean comfortable. Whoever says they are comfortable in 45F with 7+7 farmer john have never dived a proper drysuit in the same temperture, so that is coming from no comparison or ill comparison.

Beside warmth, 14mm of wetsuit has other catches. Think about it, on surface, you need lots of weight to sink the wetsuit. At 100ft, 14mm probably lose most of it buoyancy due to compression. You are over weighted at depth, which isn't the safest thing to do

 

[chrpai]

Back in my NoVA days I actually dove wet in as low as 38f. I can't say I really advise that though. Diving Milbrook and Lake Rawlings I could probably go from May - Nov wet. If I still lived there, I'd be diving dry by now.

Being in Texas, I dove pretty much ever week for the past 12 months. There were days where the surface temp required dry but the water temps and recreational profiles allowed wet.

 

[Wetwear]

Checkout this info on water temp vs suit thickness from Wetwear: Wetwear - How Thick A Wetsuit Do I Need?

Despite what they say, it's largely a matter of personal temperature tolerance, so the only way to know for sure is to try it.

Tech3324 is correct that personal tolerance plays a big factor in choosing wetsuit thickness. The temperature chart on our website is to be used as a guide for choosing the correct thickness FOR OUR NITROGEN NEOPREAN SUITS. This guide will be incorrect when using it for any other type of neoprene. When anyone places an order for one of our suits we ask a series of questions in order to help the customer choose the correct thickness for their needs. These are some of the factors we use in helping our customers choose a thickness:

1) How tall are you and how much do you weigh?.... Someone with zero to slim body fat is going to get colder more easily than some with body fat.

2) Where are you from?..... Someone from northern Michigan is going to have a higher tolerance to cold water than someone from South Florida.

3) What temperatures will you be diving in, how deep and for how long?

4) Are you going to be active while diving or staying still a lot of the time? Someone who spends a lot of time in one spot taking photographs or whatever will get colder more easily than someone that is constantly moving.

My best advice to you would be to layer your suit. Maybe bring a vest or another piece to wear over your 7mm in case it is not enough. It’s always better to be warmer than cold. If you are too warm you can flush in a little cold water, if you’re too cold, you’re out of luck!!!