What suits to try?

[chrisP42]

I'm going to continue diving in a rather cold environment (Lake Constance, temperature chart: here). Though I'm an absolute beginner, I'm not too comfortable with rented suits, so buying one is relatively high on my list. Unlike most other equipment, I really don't get a grip on what to look for when it comes to suits. Dry or semi-dry? Neoprene or trilaminate? Overall? Ice-west? Black or coloured? Grah!
I feel comfortable swimming for about 15min in ~18°C water in trunks, just to give you an impression of my weenieness ;-).
Of course I'll consult my lds (and buy there, and even might have the chance to test-dive in advance), but I really like to at least understand what the sales rep is talking about so I routinely do some research in advance.

TIA, chris

 

[SlowRain]

I am sure you will get a lot of answers...as you are in Europe I am assuming (always dangerous) that the majority of your diving is going to be done in that area....which generally is on the cold side, at least north. The temp. chart you showed...is that taken at depth or is that surface temp? Since it is a lake, I am also assuming there probably is a thermocline?

Honestly although expensive, I would think about a dry suit, and in strictly my opinion, a tri-lam. The reason is that there is quite a bit of different temperatures depending on where you dive over there, and the tri-lam offers in and of itself nearly no insulation value. This means you can alter your undergarments appropriate to the water temperature. There is nothing wrong at all with neoprene, but a neoprene drysuit in warmer water can sometimes be too much. It really would come down to you evaluating the range of water temperatures you will be diving most of the time. If they are for the most part cold, then perhaps neoprene would be a way to go as well. Of course budget also plays into this. If you want to dive wet, then you could again look at combinations like a 5mm suit and a core warmer for colder waters...or some sort of mix and match combination that works for you.

I have dove around England (brrr), Greece (which is a bit warmer), and France (brrr). I wouldn't even dream of diving England without a drysuit...but I am an admitted weenie about diving wet in cold water...after having done it way too long.

Good Luck!

 

[300bar]

Chris,

What brands does your LDS carry ?

 

[chrisP42]

The chart is surface temp. There's a thermocline at 10m - 20m with temperatures down to 4°C the whole year, as far as I know.

See, now I've already learned something about the characteristcs of tri-lam vs. neoprene . I've read plenty of posts going "I wear <insert arbitrary combination of stuff here> and it's great", but very little about the reasons/working principles. So thank you!

 

[chrisP42]

Plenty ;-). Beuchat, Aqualung, ScubaPro, Semann Sub, Cressi, SeacSub. Notably, they don't carry mares, but I'm sure if I'd fall in love with some piece of mares equipment, it wouldn't be that much of a problem.