wetsuit thickness???

[large_diver]

Mobility vs. warmth. Some good points above about the fit of your suit -- even the thickest suit won't keep you warm if it doesn't fit well. I've heard many people say that if you're diving "wet", custom suits are the way to go. Apparently costs have come down for custom suits these days -- they may not be much more expensive than a high quality wet suit.

Many people over on scubadiving.com swear by Liquidfit custom suits -- you may want to check them out.

http://www.liquidfit.com/

Good luck.

 

[SubMariner]

Dry Suit.

~SubMariner~

 

[joewr]

Barbara and I each have 4, count'em 4, wet suits in the closet. And, since we do not dive in our own back yard, Northern California, we do not have a 7 mm wetsuit or any kind of dry suit! We use dive skins for really warm water--85 degrees plus; we use an O'Niell fleece for temps around 80-85 degrees; we use a Henderson 3.0 Gold for 75 degrees or so--and slip on a Henderson 3.0 vest if the 3,0 wet suit is not enough.

We also have a couple of 3,0 shorties in the closet, but retired those after a close encounter with a herd of jelly fish on St. Kitt. Even though we blew them out of the way with our aux air, we still got some stings--and I did not like the idea of using our air that way.


Now, if this sounds like overkill, I would agree, but like all good engineers, I like to optimize--and not be too cold or too warm.

The simple answer to you question is, however, a 7.0 is much too warm for most tropical waters--5.0 is the max I have seen--even in Hawaii in January. But that does not mean they are not used by someone there.

I have not the foggiest how a dry suit would work. I have only seen them off Monterey and places north like Bolinas. Does Submariner use a dry suit, say in the Carib or the warmer parts of the Pacific like Hawaii or Micronesia?

Joewr

 

[SubMariner]

Thermal protection is a somewhat personal decision; you can only guesstimate at what someone should wear in certain temps based on what your own personal comfort zone is. However, one person's "warm enough" is another persons "I'm freezing".

Since I tend to be hypothermic, I wear a drysuit in water temps below about 75F; it's much easier and more comfortable for me than layering on neoprene & diving wet.

Case in point: when I first dove the Wetmore in Tobermory, I wore a full 1/4" neoprene set up including hood, gloves & booties. My downtime? 25 mintues. I dove that same wreck a few years later in a drysuit and was down there 1.5 hrs. Same time of the year, similar water temps. But the 1st experience for me was cold & miserable; the latter very enjoyable.

FYI, I'm taking the drysuit to the Red Sea in March.

~SubMariner~

 

[ages]

You might want to seriously think about a dry suit!! They are the best thing since sliced bread!! And, depending on the temp of the waters, you can vary the amount of underwear you use. You can use anything from a skin to a large wooly bear in one! ages