What to wear under 7/5 wetsuit?

[cork2win]

I went through 25 pages of posts and searched but didn't find my answer so here goes...

I'm doing checkout dives this weekend and have a Henderson Hyperstretch 7/5 wetsuit on it's way from Ebay. Assuming it fits ok I'm planning on wearing it. Water temps at depth are reported to be in the low 50s, so I'll probably be wearing a hood and possibly gloves as well. My question is, since the whole purpose is to stay warm it seems silly to be wearing a swimsuit under this wetsuit, but I haven't any clue what else I should be wearing.

Opinion seems to be that I may be a little chilly at those temperatures with just 5mm on my legs/arms. Should I be wearing long sleeves and pants of some sort underneath? If so, what material? It's all going to get wet so I don't know if anything is really going to help other than more neoprene which I don't have.

And what do I do on the surface interval? Do you normally strip everything off and get into dry clothes, only to have to put the wetsuit back on in an hour or so? Or do you leave the wetsuit and everything on and put something dry on over? It's supposed to be in the upper 70s on the weekend so it won't be too cold. I know this is probably a silly question but never having done this before I want to be prepared!

Thanks in advance. Getting psyched and nervous!!

 

[The Kraken]

The only thing one wears underneath a wetsuit, most people anyway, is a bathing suit.

A 7/5 may be a bit chilly in those lower temps. Depends upon your personal physiology.

What you want to do during the S/I is dependent upon the weather and your tolerance to cold or getting chilly.

Even in the upper 70's, if there is a good breeze blowing you can get chilled during the S/I. Take something like a light weight rain suit or something of that nature that will block the wind.

Determining what exposure protection to use with varying temperatures is one of those things which can be learned only through experience.

the K

 

[ClevelandDiver]

A swim suit will be fine with the wetsuit. A 7/5 wetsuit is fairly warm. Individual tolerance to cold varies greatly, but most people will be able to handle 50f degree water in one. Also, even though the temp at depth is in the 50s, by this time of year you are likely to have pretty warm water above 30 feet. And most quarries I've been to have platforms at around 20 feet. Assuming this is your open water check out dives, you probably won't be spending much time below 30 feet anyway.

As for the surface interval, I usually take the wetsuit jacket off (or leave the top hanging around my waist in a one peice) when diving wet with 70 degree air temps and dry off with a towel.

I spent all day Monday at a northwestern Ohio quarry. The air temp was 70+ the water was 70+ from the surface to 30 feet. The bottom temp at the deepest point was probably around 55 degrees. Diving my 7mil wetsuit, I was intentionally opening up my suit to let water in at depths less than 30 feet because I was too warm. I rather enjoyed the cool water below the thermocline at 36 feet. Over the course of 8 hours I did 5 dives and never once was I uncomfortably cold above or below water.

 

[cork2win]

Thank you both! These seem like such silly questions but there's just so much new stuff!

ClevelandDiver, yes, these are my checkout dives and will be at Gilboa so I'm guessing you're right about the depths and temps I'll be encountering. Is that where you were? I know the instructor mentioned going to 60ft but I'm sure that's after all the skills portion of the dives and I doubt we'll be spending much time there.

 

[ClevelandDiver]

Thank you both! These seem like such silly questions but there's just so much new stuff!

ClevelandDiver, yes, these are my checkout dives and will be at Gilboa so I'm guessing you're right about the depths and temps I'll be encountering. Is that where you were? I know the instructor mentioned going to 60ft but I'm sure that's after all the skills portion of the dives and I doubt we'll be spending much time there.

I was at Whitestar, but Gilboa's webpage http://www.divegilboa.com/conditions.shtm says the avg temp for the water is in the 70s above 30 feet this time of year and 53 degrees at 60 feet. For me, a trip down into 50 degree water is very refreshing after spending a lot of time in warm water in a thick suit.

Have fun!

 

[rico68]

I don't like the way a swimsuit bunches up inside a wetsuit. So I wear a pair of Under Armor compression shorts. Fit snug and it's like having nothing under the wetsuit.

As for the temps, like was stated earlier, it depends on you. I personally wear a 7/5 all the time. I've been down to 41 degrees without any discomfort (with mits, not gloves). I would think you'll be fine with that suit in the temps you're talking about. My wife on the hand probably couldn't handle 41 degrees in a drysuit, let alone a wetsuit. All very personal.

 

[spectrum]

Wear as little as possible under the wetsuit. Dive site modesty often dictates trunks unless you do real good gymnastics in a towel or have changing space. In my experience common trunks are no problem even if they seem a bit bunched up as you roll the suit up and over them. I do prefer Jammers which are essentially bike shorts without the padding. IMO a lycra diveskin is not what you want. Thermally it it is a wet rag with no value and it will enhance water migration, a bad thing.

You will wear a hood(5 or 7mm) and gloves (5mm).

You would have been better off with a full 7mm suit. The arms should be the one imobile part of you when diving hence they generate little heat. Cool arms make cold hands unavoidable. Layering in the arms is not usually practical. Some brands like Henderson have thing thing about lightweight arms, like you are going dancing in the thing. I dive a 7mm Bare arctic and in no way feel encumbered. If it's not to late to switch I'd consider doing so.

As you dip below 60F you will find it good to have a second layer on your core. In a full suit this is best attained with a hooded step-in worn on top. Fewer openings, less flushing.

Like all things thermal YMMV depending on your tolerance and metabolism.

Odds are at this time of the year your dives are starting in more temperate water so priming the suit with very warm water may not be warranted. I usually start doing that when the warm part of the dive is in the 50s.

Have fun,
Pete

PS
I had intended to make my 3000th post something special so let me add a big thank you to the fellow board members that have taught me so much over the last few years.
Thanks,
Pete

 

[Dash]

I wear an older pair of lycra cycling shorts. Easy in, easy off.

If you get cold, try supplementing with a 5mm hooded vest. That'll give you 12mm of core thickness. I use this setup in SoCal and "cold" never enters my mind so far....

 

[vablackwater]

:mooner: Just say no to speedo's!

 

[scubagrrl06]

cork2win I'm from Ohio too and get very cold. I wear a 7 mil and wasn't at Gilboa this past weekend, but was at WhiteStar. I still was very warm in the 7 mil until I got to the first thermocline. (About 30 ft) At one point took off the jacket part of my farmer john before a dive.

As far as what to wear underneath I always wear a bathing suit and I believe that's what most people wear. I DO wear a speedo, but since we're women I don't think it has quite the gagging effect that vablackwater was referring to :mooner: (That's only on guys VA )I have found that a bathing suit like a speedo is good since it does not have lots of buckles etc. Some of my suits with buckles get uncomfortable under the wet suit. So any bathing suit that lays flat and is comfortable is good.

Also I doubt you'll need a hood I tried one my very first check out dive and was just wayyy too warm. Although it may be just a bit cooler this week w/the rain we've had, I wouldn't use one. Although you should probably bring it along just in case you decide you do need it.

When I get out of hte water I usually pull down the top part of my wet suit so I can get some sun especially if I'm cold. If it's too cold out I'll through a sweat shirt over top of my bathing suit.

Have a great time. My check out dives were about a year ago and I had some trouble w/equalization etc. Almost gave it up. But finally figured out how to deal with it. Now I'm hooked