What to wear immediately after a dive?

[kelemvor]

What my wife does is she has this thing that's like a robe except it has a stretchy neckhole and that neckhole is how it attaches. It's really big. She puts that on, changes her clothes under it while on the boat, then removes it. The robe thing is long enough that it goes down to her ankles, so not much worry about accidentally flashing someone. Since it's kind of robe-like it's good for removing any wetness or sand/salt/whatever. Maybe that's a "mumu" I don't really know what it's called or what a mumu is.

Before she got that neck-robe thing... We found (for both of us) that some bathing suit material holds water more than others. The stuff that's made out of the "old-school" nylon type material dries super quickly. That's still what I do, use the quick-drying material bathing suit. She didn't like how that suit looked hence the switch to the portable changing room and wardrobe swap.

 

[living4experiences]

I'm a bit confused about this. What is the difference between a lycra skin and a rash guard? Do you wear a swimming suit under the lycra skin? Maybe I was thinking of a lycra skin and I thought it was a rash guard when I asked whether one could be worn directly under the wetsuit.

I think the terms are used interchangeably now, especially with dive and surf wear being similar. I have a full body, one-piece lycra dive skin that I wear under my full wet suit for the sole purpose of getting that wet suit off with ease. It offers no thermal protection, though. If I wear a shorty wet suit, I still wear the skin, but then it becomes a rash guard for my arms and legs. My lycra skin has a 50 SPF, but not all of them do. I wear a swimsuit under my skin because it's pretty thin material and doesn't protect your modesty.

 

[ElizaDoolittle]

I wear a swimsuit under my skin because it's pretty thin material and doesn't protect your modesty.

Oh, pity! I thought the lycra skin could be the perfect solution, since it would make putting the wetsuit on easier, and protect me from the sun between dives. I'm not concerned about its lack of warming properties, since I can always wear between it and the wetsuit whatever men wear when the water is very cold. I'm more concerned about wearing too many layers when the water is warm and the weather hot. If I have a swimsuit, plus a skin, plus the wetsuit, it may be too many layers!

Maybe a silly question, but where is your modesty more in danger when wearing only a lycra skin? Can I wear only the upper or only the lower part of a bikini?

 

[CathyE]

Oh, pity! I thought the lycra skin could be the perfect solution, since it would make putting the wetsuit on easier, and protect me from the sun between dives. I'm not concerned about its lack of warming properties, since I can always wear between it and the wetsuit whatever men wear when the water is very cold. I'm more concerned about wearing too many layers when the water is warm and the weather hot. If I have a swimsuit, plus a skin, plus the wetsuit, it may be too many layers!

Maybe a silly question, but where is your modesty more in danger when wearing only a lycra skin? Can I wear only the upper or only the lower part of a bikini?

The lack of modesty is likely only in the skin’s lack of any support structure. My Henderson skin is not see through, but as a larger woman my swimsuit has built in parts that keep me neat and tidy. If I was young and trim I wouldn’t be concerned. I do also like having the choice wearing a suit gives me, in that I can choose to remove the skin without needing a full wardrobe change.
Here at home the water temps that I will dive in range from 18c to 24c and I wear the skin under a 7mm wetsuit. In the Caribbean (preferred) during a winter trip, the water is usually 26/27c and I wear the skin and. 3mm suit. During a summer trip when the water can be 28c or 29c I will just wear the skin and no wetsuit. The skin gives me some protection from nasty floaties and jellyfish, etc.
It is not uncommon to see women in a bikini and rash guard top, this type of suit is commonly sold now, but I prefer full length protection.
On our vacations the female DMs are often wearing 5mm wetsuits and extra vests. They seem to really feel the cold, maybe the multiple dives every day, and maybe the lack of an insulating layer of fat.

 

[living4experiences]

Oh, pity! I thought the lycra skin could be the perfect solution, since it would make putting the wetsuit on easier, and protect me from the sun between dives. I'm not concerned about its lack of warming properties, since I can always wear between it and the wetsuit whatever men wear when the water is very cold. I'm more concerned about wearing too many layers when the water is warm and the weather hot. If I have a swimsuit, plus a skin, plus the wetsuit, it may be too many layers!

Maybe a silly question, but where is your modesty more in danger when wearing only a lycra skin? Can I wear only the upper or only the lower part of a bikini?

If you're not wearing a bikini top under the lycra, think of it as a wet t-shirt concept, if you know what I mean. I'm a warm water diver only and I've never been too warm with a bikini top, the skin, and the wet suit. It's easy to peel off just the top layer of the wet suit and skin on a surface interval to prevent overheating. By the time the surface interval is over, the top half of the lycra is dry enough to put back on with ease. For land-based diving, I don't wear a bikini bottom because I have no intention of fully doffing for a surface interval. On a live-aboard, I will wear the full bikini because you're doffing with a large group of people on the deck all at the same time and it's usually a couple of hours between dives.

I think this thread is going off track from the OP's original question, so I'll be quiet now on the lycra comments.

 

[ElizaDoolittle]

You're right, I've sort of made this go off-topic. My apologies to the OP. And thanks to those who have answered my silly questions.

 

[living4experiences]

You're right, I've sort of made this go off-topic. My apologies to the OP. And thanks to those who have answered my silly questions.

You have great questions, not silly. We ladies have a lot more logistics to figure out than the men!

 

[pelan-pelan]

male perpespective here. When I dive wet I wear a speedo so less fabric to absorb water. With the towel on I dissamble my gear pausing to pat and rub the area of the swimsuit. I find by the time I'm done dissambling and packing the gear the towel has absorbed most of the water and I can throw on a pair of shorts or jeans without getting getting wet butt.

Thank you so much for this reply. Perhaps it is the way it translates into English.
Apologies, ever so slightly edited.

 

[Diverlady13]

I like the quick dry athletic dresses.

What brands do you like? I'm looking for something similar.

 

[Kimela]

What brands do you like? I'm looking for something similar.

I'm wondering too. No matter HOW MUCH I try to dry myself off, I end up with two big wet spots on my chest and look like I've peed myself. I've been looking for the perfect patterned coverup that will hide my wets spots. Let me know if you find anything that works.