Wetsuits 1pc or 2pc

[boat sju]

I don't even understand why anyone still makes farmer john style anymore.

. . . more neoprene around your groin.

 

[j yaeger]

i have both-full suit bare 7mm for water 50* and up
2pc brand x for 32*- 50*
as boat sju said: more neoprene around your groin....
dry suit if i'm in for a couple dives,or no shelter to change out in
have fun
yaeg

 

[lsorensen]

A full suit with a hooded vest (at least the way Bare makes them) covers at least as much as the farmer john + jacket. My hooded vest starts mid thigh.

 

[spectrum]

I Agree with the Full suit and Step-in hooded vest, like Bare offers. It gives the same coverage as a John & Jacket but manages the neck opening much better. See here

Speaking from experience, such as suit in 7mm will make life nice from June into October from the mid coast south. If you want a longer season or are down east even that will be limited and a good case for going straight to dry can be made.

BTW, steel cylinders will make any cold water rig easier to bear.

So where about are you?

Pete

 

[scubadada]

I dive a full 7mm with a 5/3 hooded vest, 7mm gloves and booties. I do very well in San Diego at bottom temps around 52. Last Sept I did 4 dives off Cape Ann, MA, 1st two dives were 47 degrees, 2nd two were 53 degrees. I did fine but this was about my limit for diving wet. If I lived in either of these locations, I would have a drysuit.

Good diving, Craig

 

[drdaddy]

i have both-full suit bare 7mm for water 50* and up
2pc brand x for 32*- 50*
as boat sju said: more neoprene around your groin....
dry suit if i'm in for a couple dives,or no shelter to change out in
have fun
yaeg

OK, here's the deal - Listen to us old guys with hundreds of cold dives and not to the ones with under 100.

Yaeger is telling you, as some of the other old guys are, the facts.

I have 7mm 1 piece suits, 2 piece farmer johns, hoods and hooded vests.

I also have tropical suits with which I also take along a hood (for a little more warmth) or a 3 ml tropical hooded vest. It makes things very flexible

A 2 piece farmer john is warmer that a 1 piece -duh!!! You have 7mm all over your whole self, with an extra 7mm (= 14mm) over your torso and groin.
-------But, just as the sages have said, you must get a cold water hood (a hood with much longer flaps. That is what I have and no water goes down the back.

A one piece isn't as warm, but a one piece with an attached hood is warmer than a 1 piece.

However, a hooded vest will warm anything up. Put a hooded vest under a farmer john or under a one piece and now each is a step up in warmth than what it was before.

My O'Neil 7mm Farmer John with a cold water hood is so incredibly warm. If I put a hooded vest under it, instead of the hood, it is actually too warm to dive 46f degree water! So I don't dive it with a hooded vest. But my face, around my mask, is stinging with the cold.

I also have a lovely ScubaPro TeK 7mm 1 piece which offers some real flexibility. Put on either a cold water hood or a hooded vest and it's pretty warm. But it comes with a different kind of vest as well - a step in, zip up the front, w/o sleeves. If you put the hooded vest under this, you will feel like the michelin tire guy, but warm warm warm. Personally, if I wear it with the vest - the cold water hood is plenty warm.

I have dived dry. I don't like it and won't do it. I Jetty dive - too many places for seals and valves to get destroyed and, unlike my drysuit friends, I have never had to call a dive because of "suit failure". Also, I'm OK with the warmth of the wetsuit. However, if I was diving 45f degrees and colder from boat or a bank (not from "suit ripping Jetties), or that National Geographic guy with the leopard seal, I would get a drysuit. And I wouldn't look for the cheapest - $1,000 - $2,000 -$3,000. Also, deep tech requires a drysuit.

Over the years, if you stay with diving, you will have your collection of equipment. One size doesn't fit all and you won't necessarily get it right the first time. The most important thing about any piece of equipment is what is best for you - and proper fit is what makes the difference with any wetsuit.

 

[boat sju]

A full suit with a hooded vest (at least the way Bare makes them) covers at least as much as the farmer john + jacket. My hooded vest starts mid thigh.

Now I see. I thought you were talking about a (Bare's) chicken vest.

 

[smorneau]

Pete
Thanks for the info, I live in the Auburn area. I have just completed my classroom/pool/nitrox work and my open water dives will not be until late April or May. I am very excited to get into OW and that seems a very long ways off. I have been purchasing good used gear that I have had inspected/rebuilt for about a month and all I have left to get is a suit and a few more tanks. I want NEW for a suit, but I am still on the fence regarding a dry suit or wetsuit. I expect most of my diving will be Rockland south, but would also like to do some off Acadia and hope to get 40-50 in by the end of the season. I have visited Aqua in Portland looking at dry suits, they have so many choices to choose from.

I have visited your web site many times over the last several months, you provide a great service.

Thanks
Scott

 

[smorneau]

Thanks to all that posted!

 

[divermike1011]

Wow, this brings a lot of memories! I grew up in Maine and as a kid had my old man's 7mm farmer john with beaver tail top and hood to try and stay warm with. Actually stayed pretty warm, but didn't have a whole lot of ability to move! I know wetsuits have come a long way, and other people with more experience then I have suggested various combinations. If it were me I would look at getting the 7mm Waterproof (brand) W1 with hooded ice vest, 5mm gloves, and the 6.5mm booties. If money is not an issue I'd go with the drysuit, because although it's been twenty years I still remember how damn cold that water is! Enjoy the diving, Maine has some great spots.

Michael