boots and gloves - 5mm, 7mm, or ... ?

hi. i am looking to get my personal gear package. live in the pacific northwest. trying to decide if 5mm is fine for my boots and gloves or if i might want to get 7mm boots. i get very cold very easy, but i'd like to be able to use them year-round.

i think that 7mm gloves would be too thick, but what about 5mm ones? also, for those of you that have 7mm boots, do you ever get too hot in your 7mm?

any input is appreciated - thanks!

I'm in SoCal, so our water is a little warmer than yours (tho not by much!).

7mm boots are fine. I doubt you'll ever get too hot in them up there, unless you're standing in the parking lot. You'll appreciate the warmth at depth, too.

I get away with 3mm gloves, but they're Henderson Insta-Drys and are VERY warm gloves. I wouldn't want less than 5mm gloves up where you are. 7mm, however, gets really tough to work in.

So I'd recommend the Henderson Insta-Dry 5mm gloves, I think. YMMV.

I wear the Pinnacle Merino-Apex 6mm boot. In 49 degree water my feet are ok. I have not used them in anything over 74 degrees yet but my feet have not been hot.

thelawgoddess:

hi. i am looking to get my personal gear package. live in the pacific northwest. trying to decide if 5mm is fine for my boots and gloves or if i might want to get 7mm boots. i get very cold very easy, but i'd like to be able to use them year-round.

i think that 7mm gloves would be too thick, but what about 5mm ones? also, for those of you that have 7mm boots, do you ever get too hot in your 7mm?

any input is appreciated - thanks!

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RU diving dry? IMO that is the best solution to the diving you do. 7mm gloves are too thick. I don't even like 5mm gloves, but I do use them when the water temps are below 60F. 7mm boots are fine, and the only issue you would have IMO is that you will need to potentially get larger fins.

I'm from Jersey, but I lived in Oregon for two years, and from what I can remember, the water was always freezing! I don't think you can go wrong with 7mm boots. Even in the tropics, I can't remember a time when I ever felt too warm in my gear. Worst case scenario is you let a little water in if you find yourself too warm. It beats being cold.

As far as gloves go, I use a 5mm glove for dexterity purposes. In 45 degree water, I find that after about an hour, my fingers start to go numb on me. 7mm would be a better choice, but they're often cumbersome to deal with. If you do any tropical diving, the 5mm will be too thick for you, but you can pick up a cheap pair of reef gloves for less than $20.

You'll be surprised how little the water temp changes at depth when you dive year round. If you plan on diving deep, you'll often find very little difference between the water in June or in November. Soon enough, you'll end up in a drysuit too.

Good luck,
J.