Wetsuit recommendations for specific diving environments

[NJMike]

I am planning to buy my first wetsuit soon, and am taking the time to look around. My LDS is an Oceanic dealer, and I found out last night that Oceanic has a 7 MM suit called the Ultra 7.

I am an inexperienced diver compared to the rest of you, and haven't done much diving, but now am back diving.

I live in NW New Jersey. My "home watering hole" will be Dutch Springs in PA. I probably will do 60% of my diving there, 20% in other lakes/quarries between NJ and VA, and 20% on ocean dives between NJ and SC.\

I do not plan on doing "cold water" dives, which to me means diving during the winter. I expect all my diving to be between...say April through October.

I want to buy one wetsuit that will best fit that type and locations of diving.

The last time I dove Dutch Springs, the water temp was 59 at 70 feet. The ocean diving that I would like to do would most likely be less than 100' depth, but I have no idea what the ocean water temps would be at 100' during the summer months. Can anyone answer that one?

My LDS, like I said, is an Oceanic dealer and also sells the Pinnacle brand of wetsuits, which look really nice but I haven't gotten any prices yet.

So I welcome all comments on the Oceanic Ultra 7 and any comments on Pinnacle suits that are at least 5 MM.

Thanks!
Mike

PS: I also posted this under a different subject title...sorry if you've read both.

 

[NJMike]

Thought I would get a lot of responses on this one.....anyone?

I guess what I really need to know is water temps off the east coast and how it compares to inland lakes like Dutch Springs.

Are the temps in the ocean warmer for the same depth?

 

[spectrum]

I think your "Ocean water temps vs inland lake temps? " question got more to the point.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=2266922&postcount=3

The bottom line is that you are heading for a wardrobe, don't expect one suit to do it all and to do it well. That being said what you need is a starting point. Since it's better to be over dressed than under and since this is October first here is what I suggest you get:
A Bare Arctic with the hooded step-in shorty. That will let you enjoy the fall, spring and as much winter as you dare. The next step is a drysuit. This will let you commonly make 2 dives to 50F though YMMV. If you want to truly extend your season to 12 months a drysuit is probably in your future.
http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/product_details.aspx?pid=002117&dept_id=6
http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/product_details.aspx?pid=003117&dept_id=57

Come June when things start to warm up get a hooded chicken-vest. This will let you cool down a bit and drop 6 pounds of lead. It will also work well with a 5mm and 3mm suit should you extend yourself into warmer diving.
http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/product_details.aspx?pid=003106&dept_id=65

That's what works for me.

Pete

 

[joe rock]

The 7mm wetsuit will serve you well at Dutch year round. In the summer the water stays in the high 50's low 60's at depth. It will be the coldest in April when they open for the season and the temps at depth will be in the very low 40's.

Water temps off New Jersey will get chilly at depth. Later in the season, you can be comfortable in a 7mm wetsuit.

Spetrum is right though, impossible to have "one size fits all". Given the diving you said you'll be doing, "one size can fit most".

JR

 

[NJMike]

Very interesting...for now, at least, the dry suit is out.

What does YMMV mean? Also, I'll have to do a little research...don't know what a chicken suit is...lol!

Thanks for the replies!

 

[MasterGoa]

A Bare Arctic with the hooded step-in shorty. That will let you enjoy the fall, spring and as much winter as you dare. The next step is a drysuit. This will let you commonly make 2 dives to 50F though YMMV. If you want to truly extend your season to 12 months a drysuit is probably in your future.
http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/product_details.aspx?pid=002117&dept_id=6
http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/product_details.aspx?pid=003117&dept_id=57


Pete

I will go ahead and coroborate this suggestion.

You can also look at the same thing in Velocity
model that would be a 5-4MM and a 5MM hooded vest on top.

But yeah, the full+hooded vest combo is
VERY versatile.

 

[MasterGoa]

Very interesting...for now, at least, the dry suit is out.

What does YMMV mean? Also, I'll have to do a little research...don't know what a chicken suit is...lol!

Thanks for the replies!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ymmv

Your Mileage May Vary

 

[jeraldjcook]

My LDS is just like yours, it sell Oceanic and Pinnacle. I tried both on and the Pinnacle fit me better. Fit should be the most important factor in my opinion. Pinnacle offers sizes in short and tall, Oceanic doesn't. If they both fit well, buy which ever one you like best or is cheaper. If you go with the Pinnacle, you'll need to decide if you want the Merino lining or not. I skipped it and here is my reasoning. I could buy the 7/5mm Cruiser (without the Merino lining) and a vest/hood combo with Merino cheaper than I could buy the 7/5mm Elite with the Merino lining. If I get cold without the lining I'll buy a vest later. Also, the lining is only on the torso, so there isn't that much of it to justify the increase in cost. The Cruiser is an awesome suit. It has a great neck seal and an extra thick spine pad. To be fair to Oceanic, I tried on last years model, not the newer Ultra 7. By the way, I only paid $199 for my Cruiser.

 

[NJMike]

jeraldjcook et al,

Your responses have definitely gotten me to thinking...especially about possbily combining suits...so here's what I'm thinking...instead of getting the cruiser, which my LDS is selling for $190 and vest/hood combo...what about the cruiser and a 3mm shorty?

Then the shorty could be used for any southern vacation trips, and added to the cruiser for early spring/late fall?

Can you wear a shorty under a full wetsuit? The vest/hood combo doesn't cover the crotch and I was thinking maybe that would be an important area to keep warm?

 

[jeraldjcook]

There shouldn't be a problem wearing a shorty under a full wetsuit. The only problem you *might* run into is when it comes to the neck seal. The cruiser has a pretty substantial neck seal and depending on what type of neck the shorty has, it could allow for water movement between the suits. The seal is made to be in contract with skin, not neoprene. Part of my thinking behind the vest/hood combo is that if I need an extra layer on my torso, I'll be needing a hood too. Wearing a shorty, tucking in a hood, and a full suit on top would be a bit bulky.
Funny enough, I've never really had a problem with my crotch area ever getting cold. Anyone else had this problem? If you keep your torso warm, everything else stays toastier.