What to wear, what to wear...

[SteveFass]

Tomorrow I'll take a long lunch and visit Stingray Divers over in Brooklyn. Acording to their website they sell Harveys and O'neill, both nice stuff.

to be continued....

What I meant was, there are two LDS's that do not get ANY customers asking for 7 mil suits, EVER, so they don't stock any. Dealers for good lines too - Xcel and Pinnacle. The way it works, if you know absolutely what you want, they will order it for you, and you had better not be in a hurry. I would consider a semi-dry from either of those two, but how can anyone shop that way?

 

[grouchyturtle]

Actually I dive 3mm gloves all summer.

In the fall I switch over to dry gloves.

 

[AquaHump]

Aquahump - I was told at Pan Aqua that this time of year most folks on the boats are diving wet. 5 mil boots and gloves, a 7 mil full suit, and a 5 mil extra on the core (like a hooded vest). I think I'd be happy limited to diving June-October, so WHY DRY?

I can understand your confusion. I would go dry if you can afford it, yes you could by a 7 mm with a 5 mm chest piece or you could buy farmer johns. IMO wets suits reduce you mobility. It is more difficult to reach you valves. Also, when you reach depths like that of the Stolt you get full compression of you wet suit and it looses its thermal protection. With a dry suit you put on undergarments and you can even use a different gas to inflate it that retains heat better.

 

[RiverRat]

What I meant was, there are two LDS's that do not get ANY customers asking for 7 mil suits, EVER, so they don't stock any. Dealers for good lines too - Xcel and Pinnacle. The way it works, if you know absolutely what you want, they will order it for you, and you had better not be in a hurry. I would consider a semi-dry from either of those two, but how can anyone shop that way?

I think many of the customers of those stores are probably warm water, vaca type divers. So they don't get much demand for 7mm so maybe don't stock them. I frequent the Pan Aqua CT store and it's a different story. More cold water divers. They stock the heavier wetsuits and drysuits.

 

[SteveFass]

Maybe I should go to CT then. The Pan Aqua down here had 7 mil one-piece suits in two types of Henderson and one type of ScubaPro. They said to get a hooded vest - nobody buys a two piece anymore.

Today I took a very long lunch and went to Stingray, a technical shop that does a lot of local diving. They told me that during the summer most wet divers use a 2-piece, contradicting the guy at Leisure Pro and a place on the East side.

But he also suggested to rent for a while so I can see for myself. But that doesn't really make sense. If I rent a 2-piece (that's all I can find to rent), how will I know what it is like to dive in a one-piece? Besides, rental gear seems to always be lower quality.

 

[Spratman]

Dare I say, check out LeisurePro, since it's in the city?? They've got a lot of brands under one roof. Gives you and idea of a bottom-line price too.

However, NEVER mention Leisure Pro in the confines of an LDS....

 

[SteveFass]

Oh yeah, I was at LP on Sunday. I like that place; the staff, the selection. Met a very experienced diver (salesperson) who was absolutely sure a 7 mil one-piece was perfect for summer diving here. Thing is, I met very experienced diver/salespeople at other shops who were just as sure I'd need 12-14 mil in the chest/body area, meaning 2 -pieces.

So who do I believe?

I might just rent a two-piece, but then how will I know whether a 7 mil one-piece would have been warm enough? Why is this so darn hard??!!

 

[scuba41girl]

LOL!

BTW - I dive 5mm gloves and at the end of the second dive my hands are cold at depth. There is NO WAY IN HELL that anyone who knows what they are talking about can recommend 3mm gloves for diving in this area.

Not necessarily true. I dive dry and i wear a 3mm stretch glove. i hate a 5mm glove. too hard to deal with my gear. my hands get a little chilly at the end of a 40 min dive, but i only mean a little chilly.

 

[SteveFass]

I hope I found a compromise glove - Pinnacle makes a 4 mil. Stretchy enough to work a bolt snap (the salesperson at L-P made me pick it up off the floor and work it in the store), but hopefully warmer than a 3 mil. The boots I got are a great fit, but I think a little too warm - 6.5 mil. It's what I get for waiting till the last minute to go shopping. I kept getting different advise on what suit to get so I'm going to rent a 7 mil Pinnacle farmer john with an attached hood.

The big day is now only two days away! I have no concentration to do any work at all. I finished reading the Naui book and I last night I saw the Naui DVD, which was surprisingly an educational and entertaining review of OW class, even if it was made in 1994. Two more days!!

 

[Buoyant1]

I dove Bainbridge in a 7mm, with a 5mm hood and gloves about 3 weeks ago and it was about 48 degrees for part of the dive. Only my exposed face was cold, the rest was fine! (Much to my surprise, it was the first time using the 7mm)

Subsequent dives have been in the low 50's and still toasty warm! I can see the benefits of a dry suit in the winter for that point where you need to take OFF the wetsuit and get into dry clothes, but the wetsuit isn't bad! (just really clunky and not too easy to get used to)