Semidry wetsuit for warmer water?

[ucfdiver]

ok, so why not just get a good 5mm hooded vest and call it good? My point was if he's happy with his 3mm and is concerned about getting chilly on deco, why invest in heavy wetsuit which is less comfortable when there are better options out there? Drysuit doesn't make sense, but I just still don't see any point in a semidry. If you can't do a dive in a 5mm+hooded vest, go straight to a drysuit, but if you can do it in a thin wetsuit, then that makes the most sense

5mm Merino Hooded Vest - Dive Right in Scuba
grab that for $100 and you'll be about as warm for those types of dives, or take the same money and get something more versatile than a semidry?

Semi dry wet suits can be had well under $500, most drysuits are $1500-3000. Semi dry's do not require a $200 zipper placement every 2-3 years, $100 wrist seal replacements every year, or $150 neck seal replacement every 1-2 years. Not to mention if you get a pinhole in one while gearing up it's no big deal.

Semi dry is a marketing term for a better quality wet suit with improved zipper, wrist/leg seals, and better seams-- completely inconsistent across brands.They make 5mm semi dry suits. No one ever said he was getting an 8mm suit except for you.
SEASOFT 5 mm SEAZERA

 

[nakatomi]

how much weight do you need to wear with a 7mm wetsuit and 2 al80's? You need at least 8 for the tanks, and the average 7mm wetsuit is between 15-25lbs positive at the surface *semidry's usually more*, so at best you're 25lbs, likely closer to 30lbs. So that's 25-30lbs of lead you have to carry on land to sink you plus the tanks for fresh water. If he's doing salty stuff it will be even more.

Really? Where do you get stuff like that Tbone?

Diving a 7mm wetsuit with two aluminum 80s in Mexico (and a razor cline), I used between 4lbs and 6lbs of weight.
And that included passages below the halocline too with saltwater in them.

As to moving in the wetsuit, that's just the same than with the 3mm or in the drysuit.
If it fits properly, you will be able to move sufficiently.

 

[karstdvr]

. How is diving a rig that is going to become very unbalanced at depth by losing 20+lbs of buoyancy safe or smart when you have an alternative that either does not change at all with depth, or changes very little with depth?

I really like neoprene drysuits especially Atlans, and right now I am on my 5th one, getting a new one about very 3 years. I feel very safe and balanced, but most importantly warm, dry, and have good back up buoyancy. But, I know the limits of neoprene, and don't push it past 130' in depth, there and deep I will use my Santi or Pinnacle. The one thing I really appreciate about neoprene is being able to donn my suit in the water, because some dives on a boat on the river don't provide you any shoreline or stable boat to stand in.

 

[ucfdiver]

Really? Where do you get stuff like that Tbone?

 

[LiteHedded]

So you're giving advice based on something you read in a study aid for a class that you've never taken, and applying that to an environment you've never been diving in.

Mexico is at most 60-70ft deep in saltwater passages, excluding a few deep sites which tourists don't really visit anyways. A wet suit isn't losing 20-30lbs of lift at 2ATAs. A 7mm suit will be PLENTY warm enough in those depth ranges, we're not talking Eagles Nest here, I doubt the diver will even notice the loss of thermal insulation at all. Zero Gravity teaches cave courses to people in 5mm wet suits all the time.

GUE's own gear setup page shows divers doing tech dives in wetsuits
https://www.globalunderwaterexplorers.org/equipment/config
View attachment 211613

that's the image on the tech 2 card

 

[catchinup]

Ok. Let's all agree to disagree 1 st rule of diving. Next wetsuit in warm water is fine. Drysuit in warm is fine. Wetsuit vs drysuit depth doesn't matter, the negative weight of your rig/tanks is what matters, Depth only matters if you are deep enough to compress the neoprene enough to lose the insulating effect for the water temperature you are in. Where the wetsuit vs drysuit argument comes into effect is in the rig you are diving. Can you swim up your rig from depth??? Two al80's from 100+, why sure you can swim up. Just drop weights, inhale, swim, easy enough. Now 2 lp 108's nope, you better have a drysuit/lift bag to help. So that is how you base exposure suit so you all are technically right. This being said I agree with GUE/UTD never dive steel tanks in a wetsuit, but this is for MY comfy feeling.

 

[rddvet]

I think this thread is ready to be locked. The OP doesn't need any advice any longer. With all the hot air you guys are blowing back and forth and up his ass, he's probably warm enough to just dive in swim trunks.

 

[Adobo]

This being said I agree with GUE/UTD never dive steel tanks in a wetsuit, but this is for MY comfy feeling.

Is that what they say?

Neoprene compression becomes more acute the deeper you go. Some steel tanks are more inherently negative than others. Nitrox and air are heavier than trimix.

I thought the idea was to also consider all of these factors (exposure protection susceptibility to compression at depth, gas density, tank buoyancy characteristics, planned depth of the dive) to choose your configuration (tanks, gas, exposure protection).

I can see why you wouldn't want to dive double 130s filled with 32% to 100ft while wearing a wetsuit. I don't see why its a big deal to dive double faber lp85s filled with 32% on a shallow shore dive. And though I haven't done the math plus a weight check in this configuration, I suspect one could dive double faber 85s filled with 21/35 to 135 ft along with a 40 of 50% in a wetsuit just fine.

 

[LiteHedded]

Is that what they say?

Neoprene compression becomes more acute the deeper you go. Some steel tanks are more inherently negative than others. Nitrox and air are heavier than trimix.

I thought the idea was to also consider all of these factors (exposure protection susceptibility to compression at depth, gas density, tank buoyancy characteristics, planned depth of the dive) to choose your configuration (tanks, gas, exposure protection).

I can see why you wouldn't want to dive double 130s filled with 32% to 100ft while wearing a wetsuit. I don't see why its a big deal to dive double faber lp85s filled with 32% on a shallow shore dive. And though I haven't done the math plus a weight check in this configuration, I suspect one could dive double faber 85s filled with 21/35 to 135 ft along with a 40 of 50% in a wetsuit just fine.

you just dont want to dive a rig that will require someone to do a body recovery if the elbow on your wing pops off. that's about the gist of it. this used to happen quite often
OP is talking about a cave dive though, which is why most people are gently (or not so gently) suggesting a drysuit with light undergarments, because it's hard to swim a rig up through 20' of limestone

 

[Adobo]

you just dont want to dive a rig that will require someone to do a body recovery if the elbow on your wing pops off. that's about the gist of it. this used to happen quite often

Agreed. My only point was, there is probably a more methodical way to determine if you are at risk for this situation than to use a rule of thumb like "no steel tanks with wet suits".

OP is talking about a cave dive though, which is why most people are gently (or not so gently) suggesting a drysuit with light undergarments, because it's hard to swim a rig up through 20' of limestone

Yeah, I realized what forum this question was in after I replied. I'm an ocean diver who has been cave diving on only a few occasions. Usually, I try to make it a habit to listen instead of speak on topics I don't know very well. But sometimes, the keyboard is faster than the brain.