Do I Need a Wetsuit in Hawaii?

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Most folks are fine with a 3mm full, but a 5mm full is not overkill if you get chilled easily or plan multiple dives over multiple days. For what it is worth, I wear a 3mm full year-round, but my wife wears a 5mm full year-round. You can dive without a wetsuit, once, but you'll almost certainly be chilled by the end of the dive. You'd need to be a polar bear to make multiple dives without a wetsuit

Have fun on your trip!

 

[scubadada]

Low to mid 70's and I'd go with a full 5 mm, mid to high 70's and a full 3 mm would be fine. I always take a hood just in case the wetsuit I've chosen is not quite warm enough. The lighter suit often works for a couple dives a day but may not for 4 dives per day. I dislike being cold, warm is good.

Good diving, Craig

 

[ccredifo]

When I dive in Maui I use a full 3mm suit and it's tolerable. I wouldn't buy or rent a 7mm suit just for a single trip especially if you won't use it in the future.

 

[DamselDoc]

I have been to Hawaii in March a few times and was good in a 3mm and a thermal vest. I like having the vest because it allows me to add a little extra warmth when I am using my 3mm or my 1mm. So, I can dive in a lot of temps and be really comfortable. Also, if you shop around, you can get some good deals on wetsuits.
Not sure when you are going, but if you have the chance, I would definitely recommend going during whale season. It is the most awesome experience to hear them singing while you dive.

 

[Gombessa]

I was in Hawaii in July and felt pretty cold in a 3mil full suit. I was there a few weeks ago and doubled up a shorty under a full suit, which was much better. I would have used a 5mm suit if they had 'em.

If you don't tend to get cold easily, you probably would not have asked this question. If you do get cold easily, you really can't be wearing enough exposure protection.

 

[berick]

I was in Kauai last September and wore a core warmer and felt a "little" chill near the end of my dives (3 days of diving). I usually only wear a skin in the Carribean -- even on liveaboards in December. My wife, otoh, wore a hood and 5mm and still got chilled -- but she always does. She'll take her drysuit to Hawaii next time (and she's taking her drysuit to Roatan tomorrow) Its really all about your personal cold tolerance and you'll figure that out when you get more diving. I'll agree with a previous post that very few people complain about being too warm underwater -- but I have experienced that with a 3mil in Cozumel in January.

 

[sabbath999]

I was there last week... the big island... water temperature was 77-82 depending on the site.

I wore a 3 mil full, no hood or gloves and was quite comfortable. My wife (who is very fit and likes a bit more suit than I do) was quite comfy in her 5 mil, no hood or gloves.

 

[redrover]

On Hawaii here and just to add to the pile, I do see people including some locals on occasion diving w/o a suit at all. Most common those in a shorty or a skin (when IÃ×e been out on a boat) claim they came up because were cold.

Upon arriving I thought wearing a wetsuit, even a shorty here was insane. Then sorta fell for a sale (+ recommendation) and got a 3ml shorty. Never went back to bare after the first time snorkeling, big difference in comfort.

Then in BOW class in a pool, cold and chattering and got a 3 ml full suit that has served me well. Now I suspect IÃÎ more acclimated to Hawaii and diving (less effort expended) so my 5ml is the main used. It can be overkill but easily flushed at the neck so no biggie. 4 dives and I am adding a 3ml core warmer too.

Boat dives on the Big Island West side are rather shallow easy sloping reef and tide is no more than a couple of feet. Point is not a lot of exertion, no swimming out and in or direct dropping down deep (say onto a wreck off Ohau.) Water temp does vary between islands.
75degrees is freezing for me, 78 is cold and at 80 I am in my 3ml. I am not recalling temps above 82 by my computer. Most commonly the temp is little deference surface to 100' 1 -2 degrees. Un-diveable conditions are very rare.

So being a furnace you might consider not purchasing at least for Hawaii. Doing some dives and see how it goes. There are plenty of rentals unless you are some odd size. And perhaps just pick up a core warmer or shorty here will be enough and you might find as I did, you didnÃÕ realize you got cold, until you felt what staying warm was like.

I did not realize how nice any head was until not having one onboard and recommend Jack's Diving Locker for a nice head J. A larger boat than some but I do not find myself having the urge to Mooo. Also has hot water rinse off the back and I have always found the crew delightful, one way or another and they are not rigid about 1 hr dive time. If you are limited time on island I recommend booking early as they are generally busy if you choose them.

 

[Charlie99]

I find a 3mm shorty is just right for snorkling in hot sun.

For diving right in Maui I'm using a 5mm + 3mm beanie. Just right for a couple 1 hour boat dives with 1 hour SI in between; or for a single a 100 minute shore dive.

My observation is that newer divers do well in 3mm full suits here as they move more and their dives are shorter. Less wetsuit means less buoyancy change with changing depth.

More experienced divers tend to have less motion underwater and therefore are more prone to chilling. OTOH, the additional buoyancy changes of a thicker wetsuit don't impact an experienced diver as much.

 

[Thalassamania]

Just cause your headed for the topics does not mean that its not f'n cold:

A Christmas Chill: An Encounter with Hypothermia-Induced Tourette Syndrome

WARNING: This video contains language that is inappropriate for children, and may be offensive to some adults. In search of new species of fishes, a pair of marine biologists descend down a deep coral-reef drop-off in the central Pacific, using high-tech closed-circuit rebreathers and breathing a mixture containing mostly helium. As they pass a depth of 320 feet on the way down, they discover what it feels like to penetrate a thermocline from the balmy 85-degree equatorial sea-surface temperatures, to the 50-degree deep upwelled water below. The diver carrying the camera, who was wearing only a t-shirt and swimsuit under his rebreather gear, had no idea that every helium-affected word he was saying was being picked up by the camera's microphone.