My wetsuit, my wetsuit. My kingdom for a wetsuit

[abitton]

I'll chime in with the full length with a hooded vest. It's worked pretty well for me, but I must admit that it's barely enough on those deep dives (80-100ft), when water temp is below 50... A drysuit is in my future...

Alex

 

[Dive1Dennis]

My vote is for the one piece suit. I have used the farmer john style, but I prefer the one piece streamer, I have a very flexible system with three components. The streamer works great by itself. I can easily add additional components as the temp drops.

- 7mm steamer alone
- 7mm streamer + 5mm hooded vest (under streamer)
- 7mm streamer + 5mm hooded vest + 1.5mm shorty (under every thing) For the really cold stuff. With this I have the same core insulation as with the farmer john, but in my opinion, a better fit.
- 1.5mm shorty only for those tropical trips.

 

[costi]

My vote is for the one piece suit. I have used the farmer john style, but I prefer the one piece streamer, I have a very flexible system with three components. The streamer works great by itself. I can easily add additional components as the temp drops.

- 7mm steamer alone
- 7mm streamer + 5mm hooded vest (under streamer)
- 7mm streamer + 5mm hooded vest + 1.5mm shorty (under every thing) For the really cold stuff. With this I have the same core insulation as with the farmer john, but in my opinion, a better fit.
- 1.5mm shorty only for those tropical trips.

Dennis,
Just out of curiosity since I haven't dived in a one piece 7 mil...only the farmer John 7/7. I like it for the ocean here in the NE but it is often too warm in thesummer lakes.
How cold/warm do you dive the straight 7?
Bob

 

[glcoley]

What is the benefit of a 2 piece vs a single; say a farmer john/jacket vs a full suit?

every seam or opening lets water flow...the fewer openings the better,
just bought a 1mm full, a 3mm full and a 3mm shorty,
the combinations make for a good range of options;
from 1mm sun protection in warm water to a possible 7mm on the core and 4mm on arms and legs, and several variations in between,
too cold for 7mm on the body and I'm diving dry

 

[Dive1Dennis]

Dennis,
Just out of curiosity since I haven't dived in a one piece 7 mil...only the farmer John 7/7. I like it for the ocean here in the NE but it is often too warm in thesummer lakes.
How cold/warm do you dive the straight 7?
Bob

Bob, I am not sure I have experience to be able to help you, but I will relay what experience I can.
I have dove with the 7mm streamer and 5mm hooded vest combo from around 59F (Bonne Terre mine last spring) down to high 40s. Colder than that I add the 1.5mm shorty. Unfortunately, except maybe at the surface the water around here never gets very warm, so I don't have any real experience warmer than 60F. I can tell you that in 75F to 77F water in the Bahamas I was diving with a 3mm streamer and my 1.5mm shorty, no hood, no gloves without a problem. My guesstimate, for me would be that the 7mm streamer alone would probably do the job in high 60s.
Of course duration has a lot to do with it. A deep dive with a short safety stop above the thermocline (summer) is a lot less chilling than the entire dive temp at 40, as often happens here in early and late seasons. For that, and most of my diving for that matter, I have invested in a dry suit.