Full Wetsuit vs Shorty?

[mwmerrill]

I'm pondering what type of wetsuit, if any, that I need while diving in Roatan.

My wife and I just successfully completed our pool dives this past weekend in MN. We will be in Roatan next week to complete our OW certification.

My wife purchased and wore a full 3mm wetsuit in the pool because she is always cold. When I felt chilled after 4 hours in the water, she said that she remained warm.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
MwM

 

[godive19]

Thermal protection is always a personal choice. I can tell you that I got back from roatan last week and we had water temps of 79 degrees. Maybe someone has a more recent temp but you need to compare that against your pool experience to decide.

 

[Rainer]

It was 79F in Roatan when my wife and I were there last month. We both dived dry. We'd have frozen diving wet (shorty or full suit).

 

[Doc]

You'll gain this decision making competence from more diving.

As Rainer said above, they used a "dry suit". Me? I will use a regular bathing suit & football jersey in a few days, maybe I'll wear a polarfleece during night dives. (The water won't be any colder, just my body's core temp will be lower after 4 dives during the day) A polarfleece at night is also a good choice because of protection from jellies.

Absolutely nobody can tell you the answer, but they can tell you what is important... the water temperature.

Most dive ops have rental rubber- unless you are an unusual size.

The temperature of water also depends on where on Roatan you are diving. You'll likely see temps 3 to 4° warmer in the shallows of the South side, versus North/West.

 

[CODMAN]

I dove a 3mm/2mm fullsuit when I was there and after 3/4 dives a day, I was starting to fill the chill. This kind of suit does keep you a bit warmer, needs little extra weight to keep you down (I use 6 lbs) and protectc you from stingging creatures (to some extent). All good reasons to go for a full suit!

That, and rarely will people be TOO hot to enjoy the dive in a thin wetsuit like that (if you do, just pull open the collar and let some cool water in). But people who don,t have enough thermal protection definetly will feel too cold to enjoy the dive. If you're not sure, err on the slightly warmer side...

Just my 0.02$

 

[peeweediver]

My 0.02$ is in agreement with CODMAn's 0.02$. I wear a 5mm in the pool when I teach and in the warm tropical water because being too hot never happens for me except topside and I can deal with that. Also, after seeing one too many divers (new and a bit more experience) rub the coral and develop bad rashes because they were wearing shorties, I also recommend full wetsuits. I raise this not to get into a debate about neutral bouyancy, why none should ever touch coral, and who should or shouldn't be diving...one rash was a side scrape going between two reef outcroppings. If you can and it doesn't bother you in terms of comfort, full wetsuits make perfect birthday gifts and, more importantly, are really nice to have when diving where either a bit of a chill or an inadvertent scrape can occur.
Rob

 

[parzdiver]

While the thickness of the suit will definitely be a personal choice based on your own temperature tolerance, I would recommend a full suit over a shorty. I have seem many people get stung by jelly fish, one person seriously injured by a hellfire anemone, and I was bit by a wreck just below the bottom of the shorty. The extra protection is well worth it, even if you got with a .5-1 mm full suit, and a 3mm shorty on top.

 

[Scubagolf]

Just returned after a week of 3 dives a day on Roatan. Water temps were generally 78-79 degrees. I wore a 3mm full suit all week, until the last dive on Friday when I added a hooded vest. My wife wore a 5mm all week. Anything less and she would have been cold. Thermal protection is a personal thing, but women generally get colder easier. Best to be prepared so that you do not get cold.

 

[silvernotch]

I need to pick up a suit for our trip down in April and the more I think about it and the more I read, the more I want to get a 5mm

 

[BettyfromToronto]

I agree with everyone above. We wore 3mm full wetsuits in February and were fine (even top side with the top pulled down to our waists). On the last day we actually did still feel a bit cold on the last 2 dives of the day. So glad we took everyone's advice here and bought our wetsuits before the trip.

A friend we were diving with had a shorty for all the same dives and he was warm enough but got scratch up a bit on the knees. So it's not just about warmth - but protection too.