Questions on Wet suit styles

[spectrum]

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I prefer a fullsuit and hooded vest for a layered suit.

A Farmer John/Jane can provide the came rubber coverage but since there is no single membrane it's bound to have more seepage than a full suit. Some like to use the pieces separately but while they might work for that that are not IMO the best choice for the primary use. Depending on the strap arrangement of the John you can end up with as much as 3 layers of neoprene on your shoulders once you add a hood.

I am also partial to hooded vests. The vest will mute any seepage from your back zip and provide great closure of your neck openeing. All this in addition to providing 2X coverage on your all important core.

The hooded Bare suit you mention sounds like an Alpine. When you add the hood to the suit the fit becomes that much more critical, if it fits you just right it could work. You will be pretty much commmited to that weight of hood all of the time.

I dive mainly my Bare Arctic in wetsuit season

In the warmest months I wear a 3/5 hooded chicken vest under the Arctic.

In the cooler times I go with the 7mm hooded step-in shorty worn over the Arctic. The cheek zip is not noticable at all during the dive. As you step out of the water you can pull it down and open up your entire neckline, nice.

If it's real nice I can wear either of those vests with my Bare 5/4 Velocity.

I have even worn the 3/5 hooded chicken vest under my 3/2mm fullsuit.

Pete

 

[covediver]

The xcel, tilos, and other designs have across the chest or across the back or across the chest zips, so the hood in unitary.
Although the position of the zipper on the bare did not bother me I can see how it might for others. I you think it might be an issue for you, do not buy the suit as I doubt you would like it. If you are not comfortable with the suit it is not a good deal no matter what the price.

 

[stepup]

I ordered a henderson hyperstretch today. I dove in my Instructors here a while back and loved it. I ordered a 3mm instead of a 5mm thouhg. Also I didn't get zippers in the wrists I only got them in the ankles.

 

[Walter]

The one-piece back-zip suits tend to be easier to don and doff than the 2-pc suits.

Back zip suits are not easier to don. A 3 mil isn't too bad, but there are few things more difficult in diving than zipping up a back zip 7 mil suit.

 

[Teamcasa]

I'll say it once again. Get a custom wet suit made, you will never go back to an off-the-rack again.

Dave

 

[Walter]

Depends on your build. When I started diving, I had to go custom to get a suit that fit me. I dived one for years. Now, a suit off the rack fits me as well as a custom suit. Now, my suit is off the rack.

 

[spectrum]

I'll say it once again. Get a custom wet suit made, you will never go back to an off-the-rack again.

Dave

I disagree with this statement.

If you can buy off the rack you are ahead of the game. Nothing beats being able to walk out knowing it fits, bada bing bada boom. End of story

My wife is not an off the rack gal and has to go custom. Some fit from the get go, some are close and some have been basket cases. This goes for self as well as dealer measurements. I would never plan a dive trip or anything else around a new custom suit with allowing time for one for one alteration cycle.

When you need custom it is a great solution for a problem. If you got a better fit going custom then you are by definition not an off the rack person.

Pete

 

[drew52]

In the cooler times I go with the 7mm hooded step-in shorty worn over the Arctic. The cheek zip is not noticable at all during the dive. As you step out of the water you can pull it down and open up your entire neckline, nice.

I agree with this. You get the 1 piece 7mm and the step-in shorty. This way you can also use the 7mm on its own in warmer water.

 

[Rishidian]

I used to dive with a rental from my LDS - Bare economy model 7mm Farmer John. It took me over 5 minutes just to get the legs on, then the rest looked like it was too big. To help out, I would wear pantyhose, which made it go on SO much easier. It had a standard farmer john piece (vest and pants integrated) with a long sleve jacket. No hood.

Then I bought a new Bare Arctic 2 piece 7mm wetsuit. This one has a long sleve and pants piece, and a separate vest and hood piece. It is much easier to don and doff. The back zipper takes some work to get it zipped. I'm not a huge fan of how the hood fits - it zips up all the way above my chin, which created some jaw fatigue on the surface, but it can be fixed with the creative use of a knife. I usually don't zip it up all the way until I get my fins on in the water (almost all my dives are shore dives). I do like the integrated hood overall. And I like the flexibility of not having to wear the vest if I visit a little warmer climates. It's a nice wetsuit, which does it's job well (let's me get wet, but keeps me warm in the PNW waters).

You may want to look into a custom suit...a bit more expensive, but the fit will be better, and you can order the options you want (zipper locations, hood, colors, etc).

Just my 2psi...

 

[PM-Performance]

Well I went to my LDS the other day to try on some other options.
I tried a 1 piece and it went on very easily and I deff could move around easily and felt nice.
The thing was, the guy said with doing the ocean dives in the climate I am in and the seasons I want to dive, he said the 2 piece is gonna be a better option. He said 1 piece I might be good for mid to lower 50's.

I then tried on one of the Henderson gold cores and man did that thing just freaking slide on . I loved the way the bottoms went on. The thing that kills me about farmers is doing the shoulder strap and then getting the top off. I can never get just one arm our. I usually pull it down with my arms in and sit on it to pull the top off. Too much of a pain.
I would like to do the gold core 1 piece since it is semi dry too, but the whole 1 piece vs 2 piece thing gets me now. I dunno if just because my belly is big and I am missproportioned causing me these issues. I was thinking maybe a smaller bottom and a bigger top might help?
I might try on some bigger tops for the farmers this weekend and see maybe.