Well, that was a bust...

[Hepcat62]

If I'm reading correctly and this was a 7mm jumpsuit, your idea about it being too tight may be more likely (though your description sounds pretty much EXACTLY like what I felt in my scenario). I think a farmer john type suit would be more likely to be related to my explanation.

Regardless... I hope you can figure something out so that you can enjoy our California cold-water diving.

 

[rollerboi]

I always have someone zip up my 7mm wetsuit for me. It allows me to splay my arms and get my shoulderblades in, which then lets me expand into the arms. It's just easier. Plus, the drysuit divers I dive with all ask my help in zipping up as well. The thickness and the strength of the zipper just make it more convenient for someone else to zip you up.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

My brother is a PSD/EMT diver from Texas and had been a certified diver for over ten years. He came out to California once for a vacation. I took him out to one of my favorite wreck dives and let him borrow one of my wetsuits. He's a few inches shorter than I but more muscular, so I thought it would fit him. We got in the water and he freaked out. He began hyperventilating and pounding the water with his fists. After several minutes I was able to calm him and take him back to the dive ladder.
I told him to climb back aboard my boat while I mad a short thirty minute dive. When I surfaced he was just getting back in the boat. I asked him what happened and he said it was his first time in a wetsuit. I was shocked. He said all the dives he had made were in warm lakes in Texas.

 

[H2Andy]

sounds like you didn't try out the suit in the shop

remember, never go on a dive trip (this means boarding the boat) with any piece of equipment you haven't tested to make sure it works

 

[rstofer]

The size charts are a joke. I had to buy my wetsuit one size up and it is still pretty snug. If I had bought the size indicated in the chart I would never be able to breathe.

Two piece Farmer John wetsuits are around $230
Henderson 7mm Thermoprene 2-Piece Wetsuit.

Richard

 

[CoralSeaMan]

I used 7mm suits for 5 dives. My 4 open water dives and after a trip to the Carribean 1 more dive. All 5 dives were sol miserable (trouble breating, pressure on stomache, heat stress, etc.) I just bought a dry suit. In the last few years, the materials used for wet suit construction have changed markedly and I am a lot more comfortable generally underwater so I could probably wear a 7mm and enjoy myself. But why? A dry suit is lot more comfortable.

 

[spectrum]

Hoomi

Here are some tips on wet-suit fitting that may be helpful.

For your next foray into cold water diving I"d suggest some shore diving. This will let you isolate the boat from the suit and let you build on success. it will also put less $$ at risk.

Where you live does the fresh water get cold enough at depth for a good first pass?

Pete

 

[Hoomi]

The closest diving to Tucson is either Roosevelt Lake, north of Phoenix, or Mexico. Roosevelt Lake is cold; from what I hear, colder than the waters off Southern California. The Sea of Cortez varies; when we've been down there, the temps at the bottom were in the 80s. As I mentioned previously, our LDS gets very little demand for cold water equipment, so they didn't even have a 7mm suit in stock.

Next time I go out to try a cold water dive, I plan to make sure the time-table is a bit more relaxed. No, I didn't try it on in the shop, and I really should have (reference back to the comment about never again trusting size charts). We were pressed for time to get my son the places he needed to go that evening, but even then, it's hard to say if a quick zip-up would have been enough to say whether I'd have gone for a larger suit. I might have ended up thinking the tight fit was normal, and still been in the same condition.

Looking at those tips for wet-suit fitting, the one I rented missed on several criteria. The zipper was stretching the material, and it was hindering my inhaling. As far as the mobility, it felt impaired, but again, that may have just been normal for a wetsuit. Something that thick isn't going to move as freely as a lycra rashguard.

The Body Glove (which was the brand the shop rented) size chart said an XL should fit 6' - 6'3", 195 - 215 pounds. I'm 6'2" and 200 pounds, but the chart doesn't address at all how the weight is carried. Muscle is denser than fat, and therefore will produce more weight with less bulk than that middle-aged spread that haunts many of us. Someone who is 6'2" and 200 pounds of lean, toned muscle isn't going to have the same proportions as someone who is 6'2" and 200 pounds of average tone.

I'm not shifting blame; the shop gave me the size I thought I needed, based on the chart. It was my own durned fault for not trying it on, and letting the schedule get too tight to take more time in San Diego to prepare for the dive.

I might see about trying a dive in Roosevelt Lake with one of the shops in Phoenix sometime, before another California trip. A bit shorter drive, at least.

 

[merxlin]

If I can make you feel any better, we did dives Sat and Sun at the wrecks and the kelp beds, and had 15ft viz and green water both days. On the 1st dive Sat, I also had my dive buddy ( a guy from the shop that I have never dove with) do the a similar thing. He was using his normal suit but had added a 1mil skin. Got in the water and felt like he couldn't breathe, and went into a full panic. We got him back to the boat and he ended up sitting out both dives.

 

[scubadada]

Sorry the trip out on the Marissa did not work out, lots of lessons here for many people. I learned to dive in So Cal but did not dive there for an extended period. I bought myself an inexpensive, good fitting Akona 7mm wetsuit before resuming diving in San Diego and wore it with a 5/3mm hooded vest. I was comfortable down to high 40's for several years. Bought a better 7mm on sale a while ago and am even more comfortable. Next step for me, assuming I continue to dive in cold water, will be the plunge for a drysuit, what all the locals wear. Live and learn, it's good to be warm and comfortable.

Good diving, Craig