What do you wear diving Monterey Bay?

[rgiles]

My daughter is attending UCSC. What do you wear diving in MB? She has been to busy so far and some of it may be apprehension about freezing to death. She has a 7mm semi-dry, 5mm boots, 3mm glove and will soon have a 3mm Pinnacle Torso warmer. NO SHE ISN'T GETTING A DRY SUIT. If I don't have one, she's not getting one....

Thanks

 

[Hinalo]

The 7mm semi-dry with a torso warmer is probably fine. 5mm booties might be a bit thin; I use either 6 or 7mm booties. 3mm gloves could work for part of the year, but during April-June I need 4mm gloves at least, so I dive year round with at least 4mm gloves.

She should also think about some kind of boat coat or long warm jacket for chilly SIs.

 

[Teamcasa]

When last I dived Monterey, most (8 out of 10) of the divers were wearing 7mm full suits with hooded vests, 7mm gloves and boots. And they dive MB regularly.

I was snugly warm in my drysuit.

 

[scoutsf]

I agree the 7mm fullsuit and 3mm torso warmer could be warm enough. I use a 5mm Pinnacle merino lined sleeveless vest under a 7mm Pinnacle merino lines fullsuit. I'd also suggest uping the boots to 7mm for warmer comfort. And don't forget to wear a 7mm hood. As for gloves I use the Mares Trilastic 5/3 mm gloves which fit great and still give plenty of flex.

 

[Gombessa]

Typical Monterey wetsuit is a 7mm farmer john. A 7mm full with torso warmer should be fine. Get/rent a good thick hood for sure.

 

[bbianchi]

Dont forget the hood!

 

[alibi 2]

I have been diving MB for 34 yrs and have never had a drysuit.. she needs 5mm gloves...the 7mm semi dry if comfortable and not too old should be fine...wetsuits are only good for about 4 years depending on how much you dive...I just got a new wetsuit in Aug. and I believe it is the best and warmest I have ever dove with..Aqua Safaris in Santa cruz now carries it...it is the Xcel suit thermo barrier..it is a one piece with an attached hood...

Tell your daughter to make a dive then she can better access where she is getting cold at..

 

[spoolin01]

For a long time a 7mm full with a 6-7mm hooded overcoat, 7mm boots, and 5mm gloves were OK but still cold after 20-30 minutes at any kind of depth, for Monterey and elsewhere along the NorCal coast. As I got older I resented the cold more and switched to a 7mm neoprene drysuit - O'Neill 7000X. If only I'd known then what I know now! Nothing compares. If she were buying everything anew, I'd point out that the price of the wet gear you describe is about the same as the cost of the drysuit ($400-$500 if you work at it).

 

[zen_man]

To reiterate almost everything here. 7 mil full, 6.5 hooded vest, 5 mil boots and 5 mil gloves. The water is a little warmer this time of the season and I feel fine through the whole dive. But in the spring when the water gets a little colder, I start feeling it after about 30 to 40 minutes. That's down to about 47-48 degrees on my coldest dives. Once my personal life settles down a little though, I'm going to focus on getting a drysuit.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Come on Dad.....

Buy the girl a drysuit...

You know, you go cheap on her now... when she is all done with collage and is making the big bucks, she will remember that you didn't care enough to buy her a drysuit and you are getting a bit older....

Off to the nursing home with you buddy