Will my wife be too hot in Coz in her 6.5mm wetsuit?

[Ze_Abron]

We are off to Cozumel this Feb and my wife has a 6.5mm wetsuit with integrated hood - I am worried she may be too hot in it.

Am I needlessly worried - or should I pony up the $100 it will cost to get her a 3mm suit?

 

[letterboy]

I went to Belize - water temps in the 80's - the girl I went with dove a 5mm the entire time we were there, while I dove a 3/2. does she normally dive cooler temps? I could have dove a 3mm shortie and been fine, but alas I only brought my fill 3/2 so I wore it. Has your wife dove warmer waters before? who are you diving with? how long will you be diving, a day or two or a week?

from a coz website -

* March - June: (Spring/Summer) Seas are usually flat, skies sunny ... alot of "no cloud" days, water temp 79-81 and viz from 100 - 300+ depending on if the island gets any rains. These months riding on the boat is pleasantly warm because humidity is less and alot of sunscreen is needed.

*
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July - October: (Rainy Season) Seas are usually flat, skies are more cloudy and rain comes/goes throughout the day with no real rhyme or reason so it's very humid [70%+] as well as warm. Water temp will be 80-84 and 300+ viz if the rains are scattered. This is also part of our hurricane/tropical storm time .... if these roll thru ~ all bets are off on water conditions obviously!! However, with that said this is also a great time to be here diving if there is no "weather"... Fewer divers, fewer people in general.

* November -February: (Winter) Seas will be lightly choppy, most days it will be sunny with skies partly cloudy and water temps will go from 84 down to 78-80 range. Viz will be very good generally. During winter we get "nortes" that blow in from time to time and shut down diving for 2-3 days. Also, the boat rides can be chilly for sometimes there are low north winds and diving goes on.

 

[DiverLS]

No - she will not be too hot while diving. I wore my 5 mil and was cool at depth. Most of the other divers on the trip used 3 mil suits. They kept them on at the surface and warmed up nicely.

The problem is on the surface. She will have to take it off on the surface. If she doesn't mind all that pulling off and pulling on a wetsuit, she will be fine.

You didn't say how long you will be there or how many dives a day you will be doing. 3 dives a day for 3 days, my core temperature cooled a little.

 

[kathydee]

Not sure the water temps in coz?

But I get cold easily so dive my 5mm & 3/2 hood vest in 82F water when I'm doing 3-4 dives a day & am comfortable.

If the water is warmer, I take off the hood or just crack the zipper for a little water flow. 6.5 does seem excessive for bulk/weight but might work.

I dive 3mm in 87F or warmer but even at those warm temps I can get chilly if I am logging lots of BT.

 

[kjvander]

And the nice part about wetsuits is even if you do get a little warm....crack a neck seal and flush a little cool water in and you're all set. If she is used to diving in a 6.5 and has good mobility in it then she should be fine.

 

[jayjoans]

Depends...is it cut high on the leg and low in the front? Probably not too hot then.

 

[spyder]

Seems a little heavy to me. Temps should be in the high 70's maybe 80 at the surface. I dive a hooded vest under a 3/2 and it feels great (I have a tendency to get cold).

 

[ligersandtions]

I wore a 7mm in Cozumel and was not too hot. If you're going to be doing a lot of diving, even 82F water starts to feel cold.

FWIW, I'm of the opinion that there's no such thing as too hot in a wetsuit....you always have the option of flushing water through it. There is, however, such a thing as being too cold, and for that you have no real option...

 

[Adaveke]

When we were in the Maldives last October, the water was a lovely 86F (30°C) and we used 7mm suits. Here in Belgium the water is really cold and we were not interested in buying a 3mm suit for the few chances we would get to wear them.

At first we where a bit worried about being to hot, but then we figured we could always rent a 3mm suit. In the end we never needed to rent a 3mm suit and where quite happy with our 7mm suits.
The only problem is the extra weight you need to get down, which makes you consume more air.

 

[firstdive2005]

We are off to Cozumel this Feb and my wife has a 6.5mm wetsuit with integrated hood - I am worried she may be too hot in it.

Am I needlessly worried - or should I pony up the $100 it will cost to get her a 3mm suit?

Buddy you said that on the internet. Also if you really want her to be hot spend a little more money for crying out loud. Also it really depends on some things, but certain dive op dive masters think our wives are hot so maybe pm a few people for some tips. Sure hope you have fun. I love Cozumel, just got to watch out for the amorous dive masters.