What Suit For Fla Keys Xmas???

[mbb97fxdwg]

Hi Fellow Boarders,
Wife and I are going to dive off of Key Largo 12/26-1/1. Max depth 65'. Avg depth 40'. 2-4 dives/day. What kind of wet suit would you all suggest. I am leaning to a 4/3mil jumpsuit(I am warm blooded). My wife gets a little colder and is leaning to a 5/4mil jump or a 3mil farmer john. Any help would be appreciated. Thx

MBB

 

[HowardE]

It's all relative... I wear a 7mm or Dry over the winter. The water temps should be in the mid 70's around 75-76 degrees... Plan accordingly.

 

[vondo]

Hi Fellow Boarders,
Wife and I are going to dive off of Key Largo 12/26-1/1. Max depth 65'. Avg depth 40'. 2-4 dives/day. What kind of wet suit would you all suggest. I am leaning to a 4/3mil jumpsuit(I am warm blooded). My wife gets a little colder and is leaning to a 5/4mil jump or a 3mil farmer john. Any help would be appreciated. Thx

MBB

If you say you are warm blooded that might be about right. I wore a new 5mm semi-dry in those conditions and I was a little warm. If I go down again around that time I will get a full 3mm suit.

 

[scubadobadoo]

Two years ago the water was in the low 70's in January and I was cold! Not only was the water chilly, but the wind really did me in. Water was 70's but wind was in the 50's easily. Add to that 4 dives in one day and you will be cold. I would go with my dry suit or a 7mil with light hood and gloves and a nice jacket between dives. If you go lighter then make sure you have a nice thick hood and gloves. Winter storms can move in and make it surprisingly cold for water sports in Fl. 4 years ago I got blown out there in January with temps in the 30's with the wind and the next year it was 80 degrees in December so go figure. Have fun!

 

[gander]

My wife and I were in the keys last Christmas for about a week. We dove 6 days in a row and just wore 3mm full wetsuits. We were both quite comfortable. About the 3rd day, the second dive of each day, I noticed being a tad cool, but nothing significant. If your warm blooded (I am not), you won't have any problems in a 3 mm.

On edit: I will add that the outside temperature was warm during that week. We did dive in the mornings and it was a cool boat ride out, but the outside temperature was in the upper 80's most of the week. The water temperature during the week was 72F.

 

[jpcpat]

Dove the Keys that time last year. Water Temps were in the mid 70's. Iwas in a 3/2 and quite comfortable. Another person from our group needed a beanie too.

5 mil seems extreme to me, but there were people diving dry.

 

[Gradual Ascent]

During the winter in the Keys I use a one piece 3/2 with a dive skin underneath. In the spring I use a 3/2 shorty, and summer all you really need is the skin for sting protection.

 

[skynscuba]

http://scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=3538901

 

[MikeM_scuba]

Add depends how many dives of diving and how many dives per day.
If you are planning to dive more than 4 days 2 dives a day you may consider 5MM for days 3-on. I was diving 3mm and was cold after 4 days (X-mas time 2004).
Try to use hood with your 3mm it will help a lot. Whatever you do, you must wear gloves. They are red corals that irritate your skin if you touch it. I got bitten by it by Lord of Abyss (?) underwater status of the Saviour.

 

[scubadobadoo]

Whatever you do, you must wear gloves. They are red corals that irritate your skin if you touch it. I got bitten by it by Lord of Abyss (?) underwater status of the Saviour.

The coral may disagree with you. I asked the coral and it said that you attacked it when you touched it and it merely defended itself. Yet another witness claimed that the Jesus statue pinched you. Who knows really... Watch Judge Judy at 4pm for specifics. (dueling banjos music heard in the distance)