Which wetsuit

[rcolsen]

I live in Minnesota and need to buy a wetsuit. Most the people I talk with recommend a 7mm but even in lake superior, I tend to over heat (summer/fall). I am leaning towards the 5mm and possible ordering a hood/vest for colder water (below 40F). Whats your opinion on wetsuits thickness for cool water.

 

[TMHeimer]

Below 40F? That's an easy one- the 7 mil farmer john with hood and 3 fingered mits (if much below 40). Forget the 5 mil. And they're probably few who do better than me with regard to cold tolerance.

 

[j yaeger]

i agree!!!except for the mitts...
a 2 piece gives you the warmth for your core
and you can split it up and wear the top only in the summer
we all do ices dives with them and no prob
too warm,open your zipper!!!
dry 5mm gloves a personal choice-dexterity and warm too!!!
enjoy
yaeg

 

[fjpatrum]

Personally, if given those options I'd find a 2-piece 5mm if I was the type of person to be warm, which I'm not. I end up wearing a ridiculous amount of neoprene in cold water. I will highly recommend the hooded vest though, whether you go 2-piece or full suit. It's invaluable. I wear 5 finger gloves but the 3 finger mitts sound like a good option if you don't plan to use your fingers much.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

The more you dive, the longer and deeper your dives will tend to be. This will increase the amount of thermal protection you need when diving wet. I would rather have a little excess neoprene and unzip a bit if you are overheated. To this end, a 7MM is a good choice.

 

[spectrum]

I live in Minnesota and need to buy a wetsuit. Most the people I talk with recommend a 7mm but even in lake superior, I tend to over heat (summer/fall). I am leaning towards the 5mm and possible ordering a hood/vest for colder water (below 40F). Whats your opinion on wetsuits thickness for cool water.

I'm accross the lattitude in Maine and have some sense of your world n MN.

The suit you need to start with is a zmm with 2X on the core (torso/grroin). I prefer a fullsuit and step-in hooded vest but a John/Jane/chacket and bibbed hood are also an option. See here. even for these configuration 50F is a pretty common prefered limit. You can dive under ice in a good 7mm set but's not a lot of fun.

What you need to realize is the dramatic thermoclines you will encounder as you dive down into fresh water. A 5mm set may be a lot of fun for dives to 30 feet from mid July to early September. but it wonlt go the distance. Here in Maine I have sites when in the summer I can enjoy a 1 hour dove to about 18 feet in trunks, 30 feet in 5mmm and after that you want the 7mm set or drysuit.The same body of water on a given day can be that dramatic! Any experience skin-diving, jet-skiing or swimming will have little bearing on comfortable diving beyond the shallows. Also rememeber that with depth the suit will become compressed and less effective.

Embrace the neoprene, it is your friend.

Pete

 

[rcolsen]

Went with a 7mm one piece and will order a vest/hood if I need it. This coming spring I'll order a 5mm as well. I think that the 7mm will be too warm at times and I already have a shorty 3mm. When I did my open water dives in Lake Superior, I did it without a hood and gloves (took them off) because even at 45 degree I was hot in the suit. No ill effcts and my instructor figures I'm gona be natural at ice diving. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Scuba.com]

I always explain it like this:

You can always make a warm suit cooler. Unzip it a bit and let water in.

It's a lot more difficult to make a cool suit warm. The only sure fire way is to add more suit.

As for the boots, gloves and hood. They are important, but also 3 of the easiest places on our body to keep warm. We lose most of our heat through our head, but in order to keep it warm outside a thin fleece beanie or a knit cap will keep it nice and toasty. We can run around barefoot with a minimal amount of discomfort on a rainy driveway or cool floor and when your feet get cold, it's amazing how a thin pair of socks warms them right up.

Same with gloves. We can throw work all day long in a thin pair of gloves out in the cold unless it's frigid and we are continuously handling cold items.

 

[maranda1389]

I purchased a 8/7mm full wetsuit before my certification classes and tried it in the river (49 degrees) and got a little chilled so I ordered a 7mm hooded, step-in, shorty to go over the full suit. SO GLAD that I ordered the second layer. I would have froze my butt of during my OW class. I get cold easily though, I STILL got a little chilled in the 45-48 degree water with 15mm of neoprene on. I also dive with 7mm gloves and boots.