Which wetsuits for MI diving?

[RPanick]

I dive in a dry suit, but I can afford it, and if I had to do it over again I would not have bothered with the wet suit. Now, if you can't afford it, then good alternatives are wet suits, lets face it much cheaper.

So the question then becomes where do you want to dive, what temperatures are you wanting to dive in. If you are a new diver, you probably shouldn't be going to the bottom of Gilboa, and lots of people never get to the tubes where it does stay about 45 most of the year. Now, the good part is the upper parts of most quaries get into 70's by the end of the summer, and in the 60's below the first thermocline.

With the warmer temperatures a number of people I know have gone to one piece wet suits, even some dry suit divers. The popular suits all seem to be hyperstretch (or similar), which makes some sense when you think about it. They just fit better and you don't have to get a custom suit made. I don't know if you fit into a standard wet suit, but I know I don't, the lengths are too short in some areas and too long in others. Hyperstretch takes care of that problem.

That has worked pretty well for July, August and even September in some cases. If you want to go diving before or after those times, you add what everyone refers to as a core warmer. Which is generally a 5 mm shorty.

So you can start with a wet suit, and add the core warmer later if you decide you want to deal with colder water. It spreads the cost out some.

This works for quaries, and may even work in some of the great lakes, particularly on shallower dives. However some places never seem to warm up, like the tubes.

BTW, I would suggest getting a dry suit hood, or cut the bib off of the hood you buy. Technically it will keep you warmer with the bib, but its also much more restrictive.

Hope that helps.

 

[ScubaRook]

How ya doing John? We are definately looking for something that will be flexible so we can strech our budget to dive more situations. Between two expensive hobbies, diving and reef tanks, I've little disposable income to toss around.

I would look into dry suits but my wife and I both need suits. Two $1500 suits just isn't in the budget. Even two $500 Henderson hyperstrech suits is more than we would like to spend. However, I am thinking a 7 mill one piece with a 5 orr 7 mill sleavless hood shorty core warmer would give us good bang for the buck and allow some cold dives and also allow us to dive not so cold situations using a regular hood. Bare makes that two piece setup for a good price, but the flexibility of the hyperstrech looks pretty nice.

I just need to find a money tree.

Thanks for the tips Bob. We'll likely dive a lot in inland lakes and quarries, and hopefully some great lakes and wreck dives. Were still new so 60ish feet is probably max for cold water. Well also dive warm, but we will have to get other gear for that.

 

[Dean810]

I have the same problem as you do. Most of my money is tied up in none diving things, so I am having a real hard time buying that drysuit. That being said, I only dive dry locally, so I rent. That really sucks becasue you always have to be on your toes when you rent from an LDS. Always unpack everything they give you and double check it. This past weekend they forgot my inflator hose! Luckily I noticed that before I was out on the boat in Lake Michigan.

I only dive dry because I save my wetsuit for the warmer waters and I don't wish to start a collection. But the waters at the medium depth aren't too bad now and wetsuit divers are not complaining. You got some good suggestions here. Stay in budget but get underwater!

 

[ScubaRook]

I hear you on renting. We will still be renting the other gear though. Not enough cash for a full setup, so we are starting with the wetsuit. Hopefully next year the bc/reg and grear. Maybe a year later a CPU. But, we also plan to dive warm at least once per year, if not twice and we need wetsuits for that as well.

I'll try to rent a coule different wetsuits to try them out. I've contacted the DiveTank and they seem pretty good, even said to actual go diving and test out the suit before deciding if I need a different size. I'll have to compare prices, but I don't think either LDS is a Bare Dealer.

Are there any large dive shops in Michigan with a lot of inventory to check out?

 

[Kathalinamarie]

Scubarook:
I hear you on the problem of getting the correct information for diving the Great Lakes and other local dives... My husband and I have both been certified since last October. Since that time we have been to Gilboa, Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Martin, Vortex Spring in Florida and Lake Michigan (off of the Garden Peninsula in the U.P.). I just finished my 15th dive. woohoo! I have a dive skin, 3 mil shorty, 3 mil full suit and most recently I bought a 7 mil Henderson Hyperstretch. My husband has a 2 piece 7 mil farmer john. He has used just the top part of his suit in the springs (about 68 degrees). In the caribbean, I wore my 3 mil and he wore my dive skin. (I think santa claus might be getting him a dive skin just like mine) I asked him what he thought about his set up and he said "it does the job". My shorty and 3 mil are both custom made. I bought standard Hyperstretch and gotta tell you I love that suit. I know it is more money, but it fits better than my custom suits. There are other manufacturers that make similar materials. When we were at Gilboa on Friday, there was a gentleman that had to stop getting ready for his dive and tote all of his stuff back up all those stairs because his wetsuit did not fit since last year. That would not happen with hyperstretch I don't think. I haven't layered my Henderson suit yet. I am not sure if I am going to purchase a new piece or just use my current shorty under the 7 mil. We are going to the Keweenaw next month, anxious to see how the 7 mil works in Lake Superior.

Both my husband and I have had to fully gear up in the last few months. We have had alot of good luck on ebay. It was just cost prohibitive to buy all new stuff either locally or online. We stopped using one LDS because of their overtly hostile attitude about our purchasing used equipment. Not reasonable to me to pay like $5k for a full setup for a new sport. Even if I had that kind of cash to spend, don't think I would have. I have bought quite a few things from Leisure Pro and have been really happy. I have had to return several things and have not had a problem at all. Promptly credited to my card without hassle. Anyway, good luck on your search for the right equipment.

 

[jcm996]

ScubaRook,
If you try on different suits and know your size. You can always look for used gear. 50% of my first gear is used. I was going to buy a 7mm wetsuit for $200 and was lucky enough to get a DUI 200 Drysuit for $280. And it is so much nicer than a wetsuit. I also picked up a dive computer on ebay for 90, I rented a computer and did 10 dives with both they were within 1 ft and 1 min of each other.

So you don't always have to look for new, especially starting out. But look at it this way. If I need to rent this item for $10 and a used one cost $50, will I make 5 dives to pay for it and own it. That is why I bought my first used BC, it was $75, rental in Cozumel was Like $10 a day so why not spend an extra 15 to own it.

Also go to your LSD and see if he will deal or has used equiptment. One of my local LDS is selling a set of used equiptment Large Sherwood Silhouette BCD, Cressi XS2 Regulator and Octo Sherwood Gauge console with compass,and 100 cu.ft.Aluminum tank. $610. Just shop around.

 

[ScubaRook]

Thanks for the advice. A different shop I went to has the Xcel strech suits for a bit less than the Henderson brand and he said if we buy two suits he will work on the price. So that helps. I'll have to look around for used equip, although somethings I am not sure I trust using used goods. Both shops have fairly good deals if you buy full gear setups. We plan to eventually buy the whole getup, but a little this year, and some next year.

I did not know you could rent a computer? I thought you had to use one a few times before it started to work right, insofar as remember you depths and how fast you used air? I'm very new to the computers though. I'll look into renting one, that would be cool.

I appreciate all the help. I think we know what style suits we want, now to pick a brand and find a good deal. We might also get a coule 3/2 mill suits for warm water while were at it.

Another question. Does it may a difference if you wear a .5 mill neoprene suit or a lycra skin under your wetsuit? Both in terms of making it easier to get the wetsuit on and for a bit extra warmth?

 

[CMAN]

Here is a link to Tripple L. www.scubal.com They have great prices on their gear, a 7mm one piece for $82.00. I have purchased a bcd from them and I was impressed with the quality. I haven't purchased a wet suit from them but I have read other posts from people that have and they say they are good suits and the price can't be beat. I was diving Lake Huron (Mary Alice B) over the fouth of July (90 ft, 48 degree water) using a 5/3 Henderson hyperstretch hooded vest under a 7mm two piece hyper stretch wetsuit and I stayed plenty warm. I do like the hyperstretch but anything with velcro will stick to it and cause it to pile so you have to be careful because it is an expensive suit.

 

[ScubaRook]

CMAN, that link doesn't work (although I could google it). I have seen cheap-o 7 mill suits for not much more than $100 at the local shops. Just plain old neoprene, nothing fancy. I suspose these would work just fine for us on a budget.

Are the other strech neoprene suits, such as the Bare SGS or the Xcel strech also as sensitive as the Henderson Hyperstrech? I would guess so.

 

[CMAN]

I fixed the link, it appears to be working now.