Thickness dilemma

[LuckyLuke]

Hi guys,

My wetsuit finalni arrived - waterproof w8 7mm. I also got the chance to try on the 5 mm waterproof 01 vest, which goes over the wetsuit.

the original idea was to biy the 7mm and a 2mm vest as an undergarment. But now I really like this 5mm vest with hood.

Would a 5mm suit in combination with 5mm vest be enough? I tend to be on the colder side, and summer diving temps on depth are around 16C. The official manual says the 5mm suit is good from 16-24C (without the vest), and this combo would give me some flexibility if im diving in shallower waters (I would just use the suit, without the vest).

if in use the 7mm suit with the 5mm vest, I should be really warm, but im affraid I would need a boat load of weights...

Can anybody share their toughts or experience?

Thank you!

 

[stuartv]

Only you can say what is warm enough for you.

If the warmest water I dived in on a regular basis was 16C I would dive in a drysuit all the time. Or a semi-dry, if I couldn't do a drysuit for some reason.

Waterproof does have a brand new model of semi-dry. The SD Neoflex. It looks really nice. I really, really like my Waterproof W7 5mm. I have been debating ordering a SD for myself, just to see whether I prefer it to a drysuit for those certain dives that are cold but not TOO cold.

 

[LuckyLuke]

I tried the semidry, but the fit is totally different then the W8. Bomb suit, but not for me.

Bottom line, my question is basically if i should go for the 7mm with 5/7 hood, or the 5mm with the 5mm vest with hood. The vest doesnt fit the best, but on the other hand, the hood that would go with the 7mm is also a bit loose around the neck (but i think i could easily alter the hood, its just one seam). For that extra warmth, i could always put a 2 mm vest under the 7mm suit...

 

[stuartv]

Well, only you can decide what is warm enough for you. But, personally, a hooded vest is my absolute last resort. I don't really like hoods, so I want to put them on last before I splash and take them off as soon as I get out of the water. A hooded vest makes that not work.

Some people seem fine with just pulling their hood down around their neck. I don't like that, as it just feels like too much stuff around my neck. I usually feel like I'm being choked a little bit with a hood pulled down like that.

So, for me, it would be the 7mm suit with a 5/7 drysuit hood (i.e. no bib). The Waterproof H1 no-bib hood is actually what I normally use with my wetsuit or my drysuit.

 

[LuckyLuke]

you kinda summed up my toughts here.

On the hood - does a no bib hood work? I tought you need to have a bib, which you tuck in the suit...

 

[stuartv]

you kinda summed up my toughts here.

On the hood - does a no bib hood work? I tought you need to have a bib, which you tuck in the suit...

I have never owned a hood with a bib. So, I guess I cannot really say how different they are.

But, I have done my share of diving in water as cold as 39F - all while using a hood with no bib. I have never once thought to myself, "I wish this hood had a bib!"

My current main hoods are the Waterproof H1 5/7 no-bib, and the Bare Ultrawarmth 7mm Dry Hood (which has no bib).

The dry suit hoods still cover your neck. They overlap the neck seal on a dry suit or the neck area of my wetsuit.

What they don't do is have a bib that flips up all over the place if it's not tucked in. And they don't have a big thing that has to be tucked into the inside of my suit, creating channels between the suit and the bib for water to flow in/out. And they don't make it hard for me to turn my head because the bottom portion is tucked into my suit. And they don't make it where I have to don my hood before I can even finish donning my wetsuit, and I can't take it off until I can unzip the top part of my wetsuit.

I don't have any experience to say whether I would be warmer with a bib or not - and I have no plan to find out. If my suit and a no-bib hood are not warm enough, I'll go to my next warmer suit.

 

[LuckyLuke]

fair enough, thanks for your input. What you said actually makes a ton of sense - especially taking into account that hate integrated hoods, because i cant turn my head around

Thanks for the help!

 

[Celt]

Hi guys,

My wetsuit finalni arrived - waterproof w8 7mm. I also got the chance to try on the 5 mm waterproof 01 vest, which goes over the wetsuit.

the original idea was to biy the 7mm and a 2mm vest as an undergarment. But now I really like this 5mm vest with hood.

Would a 5mm suit in combination with 5mm vest be enough? I tend to be on the colder side, and summer diving temps on depth are around 16C. The official manual says the 5mm suit is good from 16-24C (without the vest), and this combo would give me some flexibility if im diving in shallower waters (I would just use the suit, without the vest).

if in use the 7mm suit with the 5mm vest, I should be really warm, but im affraid I would need a boat load of weights...

Can anybody share their toughts or experience?

Thank you!

What you need to do with a wet suit is trap a small amount of water between the suit and your skin, and most importantly keep it there. A hood attached jacket over the pants is critical to do this. If you need to use a zip, you also need neoprene under the zipper. Photo of my preferred wetsuit, made to measure 2 piece, with no zipper. With booties and gloves this suit is very warm. It’s 7mm. I’ve used a lot of wetsuits in cold water.

 

[jordaof]

Fortunately I have some kind of abnormal situation on my body where I can dive with no problems without a wetsuit at water cold as 15 degree celsius "59 fahrenheit" , I rarely use a wetsuit, my wetsuit is 5 mm, and most of the time is on the truck of the car, I only use a 3 mm cap on my head, that gives me even more resilience to cold, the drawbacks of this situation is that.. sometimes.. I can get cut, and have less buoyancy at the surface, generally water between 17 to 18 degrees celsius "62-63 fahrenheit" is the sweet spot to be on the water, from 2 to 4 hours.

 

[buddhasummer]

Manufacturers temp ranges are a guide at best and in my experience usually very optimistic.

I too feel the cold and 16 degrees for me is drysuit temp not a wetsuit. In a two piece 7mm, 14mm on core, hooded farmer John, 18 is my lower limit.

Cold tolerance is so subjective, almost impossible to give meaningful advice.

Nothing IMO ruins a dive than being cold.