Who Needs a wetsuit for tropical water diving anyway?

[happy-diver]

No wetsuit encapsulation when diving here

but I wonder every so often when the welts don't heal for weeks and the septic sores

even as I'm gargling antibiotics and a limb goes numb becoming almost gangrenous

how much do I make myself give for my art

See the green

Hope I've got me budgies on

 

[JossRincon]

In PR we tend to use full 3mm, but honestly sometimes I probably should be using 5mm - I have a fairly flexible set of different things to use depending on the dive. In Roatan is was SO warm (alarmingly so) that I went with 3mm dive shorts and a long sleeve rash guard. But in PR, the water still gets fairly chilly in winter, so I have 3mm full length pants and various shirts/vests for layering. I get cold a bit more easily than many and as others have said here, it's really hard to overheat in the water. So going with 12-14 lbs of weight is a small thing to stay warm and dive longer!

@Mark IV I love the story of the 7mm set!!!

 

[agilis]

I'm an old man, more sensitive to cold than I was when I was younger, so I no longer dive in water colder than 70F. For water from 70F to the high 70s I use a 2mm zipper front full suit, 1mm socks, no hood or gloves. So equipped I'm nice and warm. Water warmer than the high 70s I use a lycra body suit, the kind you can ball up and hold in one hand, for protection against stinging creatures. Anything more than that is, to my mind, overkill. Water in the mid 80s is practically bathwater. People who wear heavy wetsuits in tropical conditions need much more weight and are cheating themselves out of a better experience. A little shiver every now and then is good for you.

 

[scubadada]

...A little shiver every now and then is good for you.

No good for my gas consumption

 

[agilis]

No good for my gas consumption

I gladly trade a few extra minutes of bottom time for the freedom and sensual pleasure of being lighter, sleek and streamlined.

 

[scubadada]

I gladly trade a few extra minutes of bottom time for the freedom and sensual pleasure of being lighter, sleek and streamlined.

I will gladly trade the freedom and sensual pleasure of being lighter, sleek and streamlined for a significantly longer dive time, feeling warm and comfy. I doubt the sleek and streamlined part, regardless.

 

[agilis]

I will gladly trade the freedom and sensual pleasure of being lighter, sleek and streamlined for a significantly longer dive time, feeling warm and comfy. I doubt the sleek and streamlined part, regardless.

What data do you have demonstrating that avoiding a very minor bit of feeling slightly cold, and only at the start of the dive, makes a "significantly" longer dive time possible. My experience is that it makes almost no difference, and that physical activity is the main factor, other than depth, in establishing dive time, all other things being equal. You may doubt, but heavy suits are constricting, require more lead, and detract from the experience. Except for stinging and rash, no suit at all is the most pleasurable.

 

[scubadada]

What data do you have demonstrating that avoiding a very minor bit of feeling slightly cold, and only at the start of the dive, makes a "significantly" longer dive time possible. My experience is that it makes almost no difference, and that physical activity is the main factor, other than depth, in establishing dive time, all other things being equal. You may doubt, but heavy suits are constricting, require more lead, and detract from the experience. Except for stinging and rash, no suit at all is the most pleasurable.

I have my RMV for 1,877 dives since 2010 and know that being cold is a major determinant of my gas consumption. What "data" do you have? Of course, I would rather wear a lighter suit if that is possible, given the environmental variables.

 

[agilis]

I have my RMV for 1,877 dives since 2010 and know that being cold is a major determinant of my gas consumption. What "data" do you have? Of course, I would rather wear a lighter suit if that is possible, given the environmental variables.

I have only my personal experience of scuba diving for almost 60 years. I never advised being cold. People should not be cold while diving. I wrote that I was quite comfortable with my 2mm suit in 70F+ water. I did imply that a slight shiver at the beginning of a dive does not translate into being cold. I aim for comfort, always have. I don't advise anyone to be cold during a dive, only to avoid over 'dressing'. A 5mm suit in water over 80F degrees is much too much in my opinion, for anyone who is not tubercular, and wearing a hood in warm water is silly. I've been cold during dives, like when I used to dive some wrecks off the Jersey coast with those old quarter inch suits and a vest. That was long ago. I don't advise it.

 

[scubadada]

I have only my personal experience of scuba diving for almost 60 years. I never advised being cold. People should not be cold while diving. I wrote that I was quite comfortable with my 2mm suit in 70F+ water. I did imply that a slight shiver at the beginning of a dive does not translate into being cold. I aim for comfort, always have. I don't advise anyone to be cold during a dive, only to avoid over 'dressing'. A 5mm suit in water over 80F degrees is much too much in my opinion, for anyone who is not tubercular, and wearing a hood in warm water is silly. I've been cold during dives, like when I used to dive some wrecks off the Jersey coast with those old quarter inch suits and a vest. That was long ago. I don't advise it.

I've only been diving for 54 years since I was certified by LA County in 1970. I did most of my early diving in So California in a custom 1/4 inch Bayley wetsuit, I did fine, but was often cold at the end of a dive.