Why majority of wetsuits are black ?

[art.chick]

...and not JUST color, but fun designs, too! We saw a club of Japanese divers in wetsuits that made them look like colorful MICE! (Little ears on the hoods!) I LOVED it! But then is there not also a thread on this board in which it is revealed that women comprise more of the diving population in Japan? I think that is what makes a difference here in what the demand is. (Don't get me wrong, I have bulges that are probably better covered in black, but if I could get a wetsuit that made me look like a mouse, I could not resist it!) Can you imagine how cute it would be to have girls dive clubs called "Foxy Flotsam" and look like foxes or "Cruisin' Chipmonks?" The wetsuits would double as Halloween costumes!

 

[diverkim]

Women are in the majority as divers in Japan according to what I have read. I have probably done most of my dives with Japanese too and this bears out. I am happy with this.



But Japanese men wear the colorful wetsuits too. I like the colors too. So now I have a yellow 3mm wetsuit with black trim.

 

[Rick L]

scuba divers are outlaws!!
Outlaws always wear black
Rick L

 

[Flummox]

Really bright suits are also annoying at night under brighter lights. Wanted to sink one guy who had a BRIGHT lime-neon green ensemble, (BC, drysuit!, fins, mask...) because it was so distracting on a night dive! kept catching the attention out of the corner of the eye any time he got anywhere near any light. Want to see fish/rocks/reef not a 180lb angelfish.

Same reason for tech divers in caves/wrecks/reduced visibility, who wants to try and deal with the reflection off of a neon bright buddy when you are carrying a small searchlight in your hand...

 

[notabob]

I'm not sure if the color of neoprene has much to do with the color of a wetsuit. Most neoprene suits are covered in nylon, and I could be wrong, but I don't think nylon comes naturally in black. So it has to be dyed no matter what, black or some other color. So I'd mostly agree with those who say that the demand drives the color. Here's a thought - when the first wet-suits were being made whoever made them used black materials (I'm don't know if it was always neoprene). Over time, as new designs and models were introduced, people just stayed with the same colors - if it's not broke (i.e. if people are buying black), why bother changing it? Of course, people started getting bored with all black and accent stripes were born. Then someone took that to the extreme and the pink mouse wetsuit was born

-Roman.

 

[Fred Brown]

The reason black traditionally was chosen by manufacturers is that water absorption not only filters out reds, yellows and oranges at relatively shallow depths, but also affects contrast. Something that is black reflects very little light and thus contrasts very well in a medium such as water, where most colors appear gray. Development of fluorescent dyes over the last 20 years has allowed us greater choice in colors. Fluorescents do not just reflect color they also emit color when stimulated by any light with a shorter wavelength, and therefore keep their color at depth. As these dyes become cheaper to produce I'm sure we'll see a greater choice of colors in diving equipment.

Sorry about the physics lesson. :•)

 

[erichK]

Fred Brown once bubbled...
The reason black traditionally was chosen by manufacturers is that water absorption not only filters out reds, yellows and oranges at relatively shallow depths, but also affects contrast. Something that is black reflects very little light and thus contrasts very well in a medium such as water, where most colors appear gray. Development of fluorescent dyes over the last 20 years has allowed us greater choice in colors. Fluorescents do not just reflect color they also emit color when stimulated by any light with a shorter wavelength, and therefore keep their color at depth. As these dyes become cheaper to produce I'm sure we'll see a greater choice of colors in diving equipment.

Sorry about the physics lesson. :•)

As someone who often has to dive in dark and murky waters, I certainly prefer colours other than black. I do note that Viking, for example, makes its well- established line of rubber suits for commercial diving in a bright reddish orange colour. While I can agree that dayglo lime gree or somesuch is the last thing I wanrt to be distracted by when looking for organisms with subtler, more natural colours, *some* bright colour certainly helps in finding buddies and disttinguishing among divers in low visibility waters. And this can become a matter of safety that should be put above fashion

 

[IceBergSlim]

Here come the Men and Women In Black!....This is something I have thought about for a while. I thank you all for the thoughts and insite.
My only issues to add is that I do like it when the guide/DM wears a configuration of color that I can easily recognise. I think it is best if the "Head Honcho" is easily spotted out amongst the other divers. If that makes him/her a christmas tree under water-so be it. (just look away if it annoys you) I feel that this is a good idea as a safety issue. I also would like to see a color coded buddy system. Often I have had to distinguish my buddy by their name written on the maskback. (it worked for Dory but perhaps not for me)
As to night dives: How often have you kitted up for a night dive and heard the following conversations throuough the boat regarding tank lights: "I have a red blinky thing...so do I.... well mine takes a bit of time to warm up to blinky state....mine is blue and has a tapered snout....I have a LED strobe with blue...Anyone have an extra light stick and rubber band...
I undestand that to many these are basic issues, and I am not trying to make diving more complex than it already is, but it seems that a simple verifying of "visiual identity" before the dive would be a good skill to practice. As far as my limited knowlege goes I do not think that this is taught as a "skill".
Thanks for listening, D