Wet suit advice needed.

CochiseAC · May 13, 2007

I live in Virginia Beach, and the water here is pretty cold until around august, and it's still cold in August. I have an Oceanic Ultra 2 Shorty.

Basically I'm looking for a warm, yet as flexible as possible wetsuit for swimming in the ocean at the minimum an hour at a time. Currently the water temperature is 59F. My suit doesn't cut it.

Also, gloves, hoods, and boot recommendations would be great.

GONEHAWKN · May 13, 2007

i will start this one off by saying Bare Velocity Progressive stretch. they are a good suits for the money spent. i just sold a 7mm Bare suit only because i went dry(also Bare) my other 2 wetsuits are Bare Velocity's as well and i love 'em. i am sure you will get plenty of suggestions on this topic.

Bill

GONEHAWKN · May 13, 2007

oh, and welcome to the board.....

johnny_bravo · May 13, 2007

What thickness do you use right now? Do you use a hood? In that temp I would use a Henderson Gold Core full 5mm suit and probably a HGC 5/3 hooded vest.

Cheers.

-J.-

spectrum · May 13, 2007

johnny_bravo:
What thickness do you use right now? Do you use a hood? In that temp I would use a Henderson Gold Core full 5mm suit and probably a HGC 5/3 hooded vest.

Cheers.

-J.-

If VA is like Maine you are just getting away from you coldest water temps. What Johnny-bravo suggest may be a very nice combination for most of your year. It should do well in the 60's and above. It would avoid needlessly wearing the weight required for a 7mm. If you are serious about winter diving then a 7mm full suit with the same vest should do the trick for the rest.

A Bare 5/4 Velocity with the chicken vest is where I would start.

The wild card is your cold tolerance and what you do for that hour plus. If you are a sedentary diver, like a photographer I would go right for the 7mm since you will not be producing much body heat.

Pete

Igodeep · May 13, 2007

I would recommend a Waterproof wetsuit. They are much warmer than the Henderson's for the same thickness. The reason is that the suit allows very little water to flow through the suit. Once your body warms is up, the warm water stays in the suit. I own one of the 5mm Lynx suits, and I have dove it in 53F water for an hour. It starts to get chilly after a while, so I might go with a 7mm if I were you, or just go dry.

asmackofjellyfish · May 13, 2007

I'm with Igodeep. I live in British Columbia Canada where water temps are pretty cold year round. I dive a Pinnacle Polar 7mm with a 3mm shorty underneath. Without the 3mm i'm pretty cold but the water temp is also around 45. The suit has an integrated hood with front zipper, and ankle seals. They call this type of suit "semi-dry" but in reality you get just as wet, it just reduces the water exchange in the suit. I've been really happy with it and a suit of this type might be a good option for you.

Good luck

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