Wetsuit Thickness versus Temperature Guide

[HilaryRN71]

Oh, yes, I have not used a shorty since I had to come up through a "herd" of mushroom jellies...

joewr

Ouchie!! Yup....thus the comment on exposure protection. I came up in La Paz once with sort of jelly thing leeched on to my neck. It left a welt for days. NOW I wear a hood and gloves on most dives, too!

 

[Code Monkey]

What are the temperature ranges for:

A lot of people will tell you that it varies but I'll bet there's an average that people can use to start calibrating their own list (just like with how much weight you use with each wetsuit). Toward the calculation of that average, here are the numbers for me and my family:

3mm full 74-82
5mm full 72-74
7mm full 64-72

Just a note: we all wear 3 mil beanies, even when there's no other exposure protection. My 7mm is a Bare Arctic SGS semi-dry but I'm also starting to dive colder temperatures with it.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Thanks for all the info, folks.

I just completed OW in a scuba park near Terrell, Tx. The water temp was 47F. I wore a 7mm farmer john with a 7mm step-in jacket over it. Also wore 5mm hood and gloves, plus 32 pounds of lead strapped around my waist. Ahhh...good times...good times...NOT!!!

As mentioned above, I was looking for that "one magic suit". Not going to happen. In an 80F pool, I used a 3mm shorty and started to get chilly only when I surfaced an hour later.

Water temps in Texas lakes for spring-summer-fall tend to be around 70. Therefore, from the above, it appears a 7mm full wetsuit is the starting point. When I head south of the border (Cozumel, Cancun), I'll invest in a shorty (a friend of mine dives sans wetsuit there).

If I dive with a 7mm in warmer waters (80F), would I be too hot underwater? Or, is that just a dumb question? I'm ignoring the comfort and flexibility issue here.

I should have mentioned my physique earlier, as that has an impact: 175 pounds, 5'11", 55 years old. Yes, I'm just starting this sport at 55; better late than never.

 

[FishDiver]

A lot of people will tell you that it varies but I'll bet there's an average that people can use to start calibrating their own list (just like with how much weight you use with each wetsuit). Toward the calculation of that average, here are the numbers for me and my family:

3mm full 74-82
5mm full 72-74
7mm full 64-72

Just a note: we all wear 3 mil beanies, even when there's no other exposure protection. My 7mm is a Bare Arctic SGS semi-dry but I'm also starting to dive colder temperatures with it.

I am an absolute cold wimp on dry land but tend to more cold tolerant than average in the water. I wear a hood for protection unless it is uncomfortably warm.

5mm full 68+
7mm hooded 58-68

 

[joewr]

If I dive with a 7mm in warmer waters (80F), would I be too hot underwater? Or, is that just a dumb question? I'm ignoring the comfort and flexibility issue here..

UW would probably be okay, but predive and SI would be nearly unbearable in most tropical places! You sure would not need the gloves and hood that you normally use! At the very least, if you head to the tropics, rent a suit!

55 years old. Yes, I'm just starting this sport at 55; better late than never.

Hey, 55 is young! I am in my mid-60's and consider "old" to be somewhere around 105; so, in 50 more years, you can consider yourself "old". At this point, you are just "experienced"!

joewr...

 

[ClayJar]

It seems to me as if the thermal capabilities of wetsuits decrease drastically whenever a diver becomes a drysuit owner. Do you think it's drysuit squeeze?

I've been diving from low 50s (and a couple minutes below that) to upper 80s in a 5/4 with a thin hooded vest. It was too thin in the 50s (and 40s!), and it was too much when it was almost 90 (and brightly sunlit at about 3fsw), but it worked for everything else for me... but I can stay much warmer dry now.

 

[TSandM]

When we were in Indonesia, we had people on the trip diving 7 mil wetsuits in air temps in the high 80's and water temps in the high 70's. I was diving a 3 mil suit with a 2 mil hooded vest in the same temperatures.

 

[joewr]

When we were in Indonesia, we had people on the trip diving 7 mil wetsuits in air temps in the high 80's and water temps in the high 70's. I was diving a 3 mil suit with a 2 mil hooded vest in the same temperatures.

Hi,

We have been on boats like that...and the DM's were locals who did the dives in shorts and tee shirts...

As the Romans used to say, "De gustabus est non disputandum," or in the President's English, "To each his own."

joewr

 

[ColdAsIce]

Water Temperature Scuba Suit Guide: How thick of a wetsuit do I need?

 

[chemechie]

If I dive with a 7mm in warmer waters (80F), would I be too hot underwater? Or, is that just a dumb question? I'm ignoring the comfort and flexibility issue here.

Yes, you can be too hot with a wetsuit - I once overheated with a 7 mil farmer john in 85 degree water & couldn't function until I took the upper piece off. Also, the style of suit can affect mobility - I use a 1 piece 5 mil most of the time because I don't like the reduced range of motion a farmer john gives. I dive a 5 mil year round; water below 55 I use a 2 mil shorty underneath.
I fully realize I am rather crazy - I have dove this 5/2 combination in water as cold as 33. I dive year round from the shore in Ohio and have done dives with air temp as long as 15 with blowing snow - in a wetsuit! You know its cold when your gear freezes to the car after the dive
I am finally thinking about a drysuit after using a buddy's that makes cold dives, like last weekend here, much easier to recover from.
As others have said, even warm water gets cold if you are in long enough.
The only time I would consider a shorty is a boat dive with great conditions. I use my 5 mil even in warm water in case for protection from rocks, metal, who-knows-what buried in silt, jellyfish, etc. I also always use gloves and boots for the same reason.