warmest wetsuit available

rcc36 · Jul 18, 2007

Hi all,

I'm looking for the warmest wetsuit (7mm, possibly thicker) available.

I live in San Diego, CA, and although the waters here aren't too chilly relative to the other places in the world, it's still too cold for me to scuba dive comfortably with the 7mm wetsuits that I rent. I'm 5'3" and 115 lbs. I think the problem is that I'm really skinny and I basically have no body fat for insulation.

I've been looking around and I've read about the Pinnacle Merino wool-lined wetsuits and the Picasso suits (are freediving suits any different from scuba diving suits?), but I haven't had a chance to try any at depth yet.

Given my size, it's also pretty tough for me to find wetsuits that fit.

I've considered drysuits, but I don't have the money to invest in one.

Does anybody have any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.

ShakaZulu · Jul 18, 2007

Go down to Aqua Tech Dive Center, rent a XCEL "Polar Quad Density 8/7/6/5" and tell me what you think....

http://www.xcelwetsuits.com/

http://www.divecenter.com/

Oh, and welcome to the board btw.....woohooo!!!!!!!

Notso_Ken · Jul 18, 2007

rcc36:
Hi all,

I'm looking for the warmest wetsuit (7mm, possibly thicker) available.

I live in San Diego, CA, and although the waters here aren't too chilly relative to the other places in the world, it's still too cold for me to scuba dive comfortably with the 7mm wetsuits that I rent. I'm 5'3" and 115 lbs. I think the problem is that I'm really skinny and I basically have no body fat for insulation.

I've been looking around and I've read about the Pinnacle Merino wool-lined wetsuits and the Picasso suits (are freediving suits any different from scuba diving suits?), but I haven't had a chance to try any at depth yet.

Given my size, it's also pretty tough for me to find wetsuits that fit.

Does anybody have any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.

If you don't find a wetsuit that fits snugly, it isn't going to be warm, no matter how good a suit it is. I believe that ANY 7mm suit (in decent shape, that is) that fits you properly will be warm enough for your area. I dive in a 7mm (2 different brands) in water around 36-45*. The secret? The suit fits snugly and doesn't let water flow between the suit and my body.

Ken

Damselfish · Jul 18, 2007

Nothing will be very warm if you can't find something that fits. You might want to look into a custom suit. Here's a recent thread with some suggestions. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=191967

cold_water · Jul 18, 2007

Notso_Ken:
The secret? The suit fits snugly and doesn't let water flow between the suit and my body.

Ken

I agree completely. When I rent, I normally end up with the farmer John, two piece stuff. In comparison to that, I find that the single-piece full body suit lets a lot less water through. My cold water wetsuit is a Whites 7 mil semi-dry (which is really just a wet suit the way it should be). It has some seals inside the arms and legs and the collar seals quite a bit if you don't wear a hood under there. Even with a hood, it still seals pretty well and water flow is to a minimum.

Note that I bought this a few years back and I don't know if whites still make wetsuits or if they only make drysuits anymore. In any case, I'm sure most other companies have something similar. My two cents would be :

-one piece
-"semi-dry" (although probably not all that necessary)

I dive this in Quebec all season long and I've met people who dive under ice with the same setup, although, then, they usually pour a bucket of hot water inside before descending.

Charles

Puffer Fish · Jul 18, 2007

I would agree... fit is everything... I like Oneal suits, but they fit me well. Newer materials make that easier to do - wife has a XS scuba 7mm with the super stretch stuff and finally is warm in one...

Thalassamania · Jul 18, 2007

The warmest wesuit, without question, will be a custom made Rubatex GN-231N, Skin two side, farmer john, attached hood, no zippers. There are many good sutom houses, not all are willing to do skin two side. Expect to pay $800 to $1000 and to go in for measurement and at least two fittings.

Stu S. · Jul 18, 2007

Thalassamania:
The warmest wesuit, without question, will be a custom made Rubatex GN-231N, Skin two side, farmer john, attached hood, no zippers. There are many good sutom houses, not all are willing to do skin two side. Expect to pay $800 to $1000 and to go in for measurement and at least two fittings.

Yep, that's the one. I used a similar suit, less the built-in hood, with Rubatex material back in the 1970's and 80's. It had a nylon faced neoprene on the inside, skin outside. It kept that extra-dense Rubatex flexible. It was custom made and good down to about 40 degrees F. I tried 38 and that was tough. There were a number of tricks that guys who had the rubber on two sides had to do to get one on. They cussed it. It was probably warmer, though. I haven't seen one in years

See if you can handle a sample of that Rubatex suit. It is nitrogen blown material. If you can get an idea about how it flexes with nylon on the outside and inside, you'll have a feel for it.

Here is a link to a firm that can make you a genuine Rubatex suit.

http://www.wetwear.com/rubatex_g-231n.htm

The nitrogen blown neoprene is superior.

Hippocampus · Jul 18, 2007

Hi,

I have had the same problem as you and I am the same size, 5'3" and 111lbs.

I tried four different wetsuits before I found one that fit, I had to get a junior suit, the Bare Alpine in size 14 (for 14 year olds hehe).

It fits very nice and very snug and I dive it up here at the north coast and it's nice and warm...if you want warmer...drysuit, that's what I am considering right now because I started taking loads of pictures and it gets cold really fast that way.

Paco II · Jul 18, 2007

I have a Pinnacle Merino Elastiprene 7mm, and I love it. It's very warm. That being said, layers are the key, inside the suit and out. In my Monterey diving, I wear a 7mm step-in hooded vest over it. If the core suit is a little too bulky, you can wear something underneath, like the Pinnacle 3mm vest or torso heater.

Also, I am a big fan of purchasing items like this from Leisure Pro, since they have their PFF guarantee on most of these types of items. You should check it out.

warmest wetsuit available

Please register or login

rcc36

New

ShakaZulu

Contributor

Notso_Ken

Contributor

Damselfish

Contributor

cold_water

Registered

Puffer Fish

Captain Happy

Thalassamania

Diving Polymath

Stu S.

Guest

Hippocampus

Registered

Paco II

Contributor

Similar threads