Wetsuit question for Great Lakes Divers

[Web Monkey]

you may want to consider a dry suit, recommended in previous post, you say you only dive summer for now, but if you advance at all in season, depth, or skill you will be wishing you had gone dry, we have similar conditions in Tahoe (40degrees at 160' last week) you may want to consider putting the money into a more "all around" peice of equipment, and keeping more options open for yourself later

Yep.

Something else I didn't mention was that wetsuits are made with rubber that contains millions of gas bubbles for insulation. As you descend, the bubbles compress, giving poorer insulation.

A 7 mm wetsuit could easily be 3mm at 99'. and in addition to getting thinner, it loses it's insulating capacity because the insulation comes from the (now squished) bubbles, not the rubber.

This means that even if you're OK at shallow depths in your wetsuit, you'll be freezing your *** off if you go down to look anything deeper.

Terry

 

[thatguyoverthere]

You should look into different types of material also. There is more to a wetsuit than just thickness. You would be amazed at how much warmer you will be in a suit made with Rubatex material than your average wetsuit material.
I would go with a 7mm full suit to wear in the summer. Then in the colder months you could put another layer over it...like a 5mm or 7mm shorty or short john. That way you would have 12 or 14 mm in your chest and torso.

 

[NAUIPro]

Consider the new line of suits Waterproof suits. They just released a new semi dry 7mm Taurus Combat Limited Edition. These suits are developed and dove in the Arctic (Sweden) so suits are extremely warm.

See Press Release:

7mm Taurus Combat Semi-Dry Limited Edition

Waterproof announces the availability of a limited edition 7mm semi-dry, the Taurus Combat.​

Originally developed at the request of the Swiss military, the Combat features all the high-quality features and materials used by Waterproof in the standard Taurus, but in an all black color with the addition of Power Pockets.​

The Combat is shipping now and available in Men's Standard and Tall sizes and Ladies Standard sizes. Don't miss out on this special offering!​

Click on the image below to download the Taurus Combat Datasheet:​

​

Dealers: Please contact your Regional Sales Representative for more information.​

<img alt="" border="0" height="10" width="16">Also, check out the 5mm Lynx Fullsuit Video Review by Sport Diver Below!​

​

 

[martzak]

The only reason I wanted to chime in is because you remind me of me 2 years ago. I live just a few hours south of you. I was also intimidated by drysuits and even more so by their price. But because I do most of my diving locally I had to purchase exposure protection one way or another. So, I ended up buying 7mm full wetsuit with hooded 7mm bare arctic vest, 7mm booties, 5mm gloves, 7mm hood, and on really cold days I would drop one of those self-heating pads by therapeat(tm) in my wetsuit. Even with all that, I would still get cold on most deep dives.
It's so true what the others have posted, invariably most midwestern divers who dive locally will end up getting a dry suit, it's just a matter of time. 'Funny' thing is, for the cost of all my 'wet' exposure protection I could have purchased a decent used dry suit. Live and learn I guess.
2 years ago I ended up buying a brand new Bare nexgen pro with boots and suspenders for $800. This is definitely a budget dry suit but a very comfortable one and it beats any wetsuit on a deep lake michigan dive. As for my wetsuits, since I wasn't using them any more I sold most of my 'wet' gear at a fraction of the original price.
Save your money, get a drysuit, you won't regret it.

 

[helimvee]

I am another Great Lakes diver, on the Canadian side. I started with a wetsuit 7+7 and this year switched to a drysuit with gloves. If I was doing it again, I would go with a drysuit. Yes it is more money, unless you get a good deal on a used one, but it is worth it.

Drysuit diving is different so make sure you get proper training -either from the LDS or someone that has been diving a drysuit for some time.

I don't have one, but many people on this board dive a White's Fusion drysuit and apparently they can be purchased for a very good price.

If money is an issue and you go with a wetsuit then make sure it is double layer on the core and don't skimp on the boots gloves and hood. Frozen toes/fingers will end a dive quickly. Also, be certain that the suit fits properly - a loose fitting suit will just fill with cold water

 

[imnewjack]

You can usually find a good used drysuit for less than $500.00. Shoot, my buddy found 2 on this board for $500.00 total. soldone and recouped the total amount so he got his essentially free! Get one, get instruction and don't worry about 7mmm, 14mmm or any of that feldercarb. I've been using mine for three years. After about 4 dives with experienced hands (thanks Kraken and others) I haven't had a bit of trouble wih mine and I have dove in Wisconsin just before the ice comes in, Monerey in fall and summer (not actually much difference!) and Lake Lanier here in Gerogia year round (below 40 feet it is still in the high 50's eve in summer, and gets colder).

Why spend a couple of hundred on something you are going to replace soon anyway?

My $0.02 worth.

Mike

i have a dry suit i want to sell for that price...its a bare next gen which is a great entry level dry suit to get into.

 

[luckydays]

Inksmudged - Listen to these guys, go dry if you can. Keep an eye out for a used drysuit and go that route. Or save up for a drysuit and look for a used Wetsuit until you can get a drysuit. A 7 mil farmer jane is necessary if you are going to go wet for the dive season with a hood and gloves. I have a 7/5 ml hood and 5 ml gloves (any thicker and I cant use my hands underwater) as well as a full 7 ml wetsuit. I got my wetsuit used (brand new to me but sold as used) for less than half of full price on ebay. Had I known more at the time, I would have gotten a farmer jane for more comfort.

I got my drysuit cert a few months ago and have been looking for a drysuit ever since. I now have one and it really does make diving that much better. I still like my wetsuit and would have no problem diving in my 7 ml again but only in the summer. If the water temp is less than 65, I am going dry all the way. I can already see myself diving in November of this year or in Feb/March/April of next year. Even last Saturday at the quarry, the shallow side was 70 degrees at 25 feet but the other side at 50 feet was around 55 degrees and the deep hole at 85 feet was around 40 degrees (at least that is what they told me). I dont think that it will get much warmer around here and for repetative diving, a drysuit makes it better.

Good luck to you and hopefully we will meet each other at a local watering hole.

 

[idive2]

I may be diving up in the chicago area in a couple weeks and was curious about
thermal protection as well. I dive mostly in florida so I have 3m shortie and a 3m full.
The dive charter rents 7m full and drysuits. Never used a drysuit so don't want to
experiment up there. I see the surface temps are not incredibly cold but have no
idea what to expect in terms of thermoclines and water temp at depth in August.
I also need to figure out my weighting for the extra thickness of the 7m. Should
be interesting. I'll report back if I do make the dive ! If I ever end up back up that
way on a more permanent basis it seems drysuit is the preferred way to go.

 

[BuoyantC]

Lake Michigan can vary drastically from day to day. A week ago it was 63deg. off St. Joe, MI and about as warm as any diving I've done there. 50's or even high 40's is not at all unusual.

Go take a drysuit class, and do it right the first time. You won't regret your decision.

 

[idive2]

Would water temps be more favorable in Haigh quarry in August ?
I'd love to dive lake michigan but to be honest these water temps
of 40F-45F at depth in august seem quite chilly for a warm water diver.