California learning to dive questions

[tomfcrist]

I dove that area for years as a youngster with a wetsuit, but in my not so old age, I would prefer to dive dry there. Drysuits are a bit different to learn, but once you have it down, it opens up a whole new world in diving.

 

[Imapseudonym]

A lot good points in this thread so thank you all

I will probably lean towards just trying their rental wetsuit and see how that goes in the learning process. If I'm miserable on the first ocean dive then I'll probably have to look into something other than a wetsuit but at least I'll know. I have a suspicion that I will be cold but won't know until you try. I used one of their rental suits today and I was cold at the surface just testing it. Granted I feel it didn't fit too well so maybe I'll have to try another size another time. Someone suggested maybe looking into an aqua flex with a separate chest/hood combo.


Thank you all for the replies thus far I appreciate it. So much to learn

 

[IrnBear]

My girlfriend is short and fluffy, she couldn't find a rental wetsuit to save her life. She was miserable in the rentals during her classes. First thing after Cert we traveled to Fullerton California and had Theresa from New Wave Wetsuits make her a custom wetsuit. Oh Boy, what a difference and a Happy Diver my Girlfriend is…
My skinny as Daughter wears a 7mm and only really gets cold when we are not moving around.
Best of luck on your decision and your class.
Scuba is so much fun

IrnBear

 

[daz88]

yes, get you a vest or hooded vest to wear under the suit if you think you'll be cold. Everybody is very different when it comes to the cold. There is always the "shock" when the water first dribbles into the suit, after that you don't really notice it. (I don't anyway) Unless you're down there for a while. And go pee before you suit up? Dry off and warm up good between the dives or you'll get colder as the day goes on. And snacks are always good, they keep the furnace stoked. have fun and remember to relax....and breathe slowly

 

[Joshua Woods]

If you buy a used dry suit you can usually sell it for close to what u paid if you lose interest. But diving in a dry suit keeps u very happy!!! DUI is IMHO the best santi is making some nice stuff but no local servicing. DUI is Cali thru and thru!

 

[Ongrade]

You'll be fine in the 7mm wetsuit. Channel Island water temps are currently running 68-70 degrees according to the sea buoys. Last weekend in Monterey we saw surface temps at 62 and bottom temps in the bay at 53(at 55-60'), my wife hates the cold and she just started to get a little cold at 55' on our second dive about 25 minutes in. She dives in a Bare 7mm with a 5mm hood. Your open water dives will most likely not be down that deep or for that long, you'll be doing skills tests on the surface and down on the bottom most likely in about 20-30' then go for a swim to get the bottom time and depth to qualify it as a dive.

 

[g1138]

Check out Heatwave in Santa Cruz for custom make or custom altering a wetsuits.
Would not recommend their skin in for your diving purposes. Just normal 2 lined neoprene.
Their custom hooded vests are the same cost as a stock hooded vest. Wetsuits slightly higher.
http://www.heatwavewetsuits.com/

There's also Otter Bay Wetsuits in Monterey, but I think Heatwave makes their's much better.

You can also supplement with Mysterioso Mtech fleece.
FYI, there's no difference between Men's and Womens lines except for color.
http://mysterioso.com/category-mens-coldwater-weather-tops-and-bottoms



It's what I and the scientific divers use in Monterey. We're usually sitting in one place for 50min dives. These save us from shivering.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Imapseudonym
Interesting name...Welcome to the SLO UW world...
1. It is acknowledged that you are in SLO county which is 240 miles from San Francisco and 230 miles from Los Angeles.
2. You are a six foot -160 pound female- nothing unusual: my daughters are 5-11, 5-10 1/2 & 5-91/2 all divers for 45 years.
3. The acknowledged most experienced and overall best female instructor in SLO is Amanda Harrison (PM me for e mail)
4. The dry suit was developed many years prior to the wet suit.
a) The dry suit is very expensive and difficult to dive with out instruction ($$$) and experience
b) The wet suit is inexpensive easy to dive: generally is more durable will require less maintenance and is more user friendly.
c) It may be necessary to purchase a custom suit - wet or dry
5. The wet suit will be adequate for the majority of CenCal & SoCal diving. As it deteriorates acquire a wet suit vest for warmth.
6) A good investment for CeCal would be a between dive parka such as Warm wind or Sports Chalet Parka.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dive Metical Questions?'
Son Dr. Sam IV, is a San Diego Scrips hospital trained board certified Hyperbaric Doctor who is Department Chairman of the S/M Marion hospital and is the only qualified Hyperbaric doctor between Santa Barbara and San Francisco area.

You may read about me on this board at;
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/passings/473572-art-pinder-spearfishing-legend-king-sling.html

If you embrace diving it would be advisable to attend the 6th annual SLO UW S&R DivCon
You may read about the 5th DivCon on this board at
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tr...h-annual-slo-uw-s-r-education-conference.html

Attendance would increase your knowledge many fold over the average bubble blower diver.

Should you have questions or comments PM me and I will provide my personal e mail address and or telephone number in Pismo Beach and we can "talk diving."

Good Luck with your future adventures into the briny deep

Dr. Sam Miller, 111

 

[Imapseudonym]

Thanks everyone for all your replies. I continue to read all of them! After reading everything I was thinking of going the wetsuit route and just layering it with a combined hood/vest and see how it goes from there. I appreciate everyone's considerate and informational replies and it's extremely helpful being new to diving

Sam - thank you for the link to the conference in March. Looks interesting!

 

[Shasta_man]

I can't point you toward sizes that would fit your dimensions, but would point out that suits made out of the stretchy types of wetsuit like a hyperstretch suit fit snugly to your body much better and thus are much warmer than a traditional wetsuit material. By fitting better, it's more form fitting and thus measureably warmer because you don't have gaps and areas that make water pump in and out. They also move much better so they don't feel nearly as bulky and rigid as traditional suits. Coupled with good gloves and hood, they do a good job of keeping you warmer than you could be in a traditional suit. If anything, a hood made from that material is much better at not pulling your hair out when you put it on and take it off. That said, the water is still 53 degrees and you won't be comfortable forever. A drysuit, while having some issues of it's own (it doesn't like water inside it ) can be much warmer. However, they are still a considerable investment. So you have to decide whether you are going to dive locally enough to warrant that expense over renting one for a few dives a year. I'd suggest that you can have a lot of ideas about what you think you will want to do, but until you put in a bunch of dives locally and actually experience the upsides and downsides, you won't know how much you will like it. Once the initial thrill wears off, you can decide how much you like it and what your real preference is. Diving in cold water isn't just running down throwing a tank on and jumping in, and it requires more physical effort. Having the bucks to just buy it anyway would invalidate these concerns.