Exposure suit

My wife and I will be going to Maui and Tahiti in May. I'm thinking about buying a 2 mm shorty for this trip. Does any think a 2mm shorty will be enough? What are some of your suggestions? Thanks for the help.

I would get a full 3mm suit or better for Maui. It's not exactly warm water diving like Tahiti. Plus if you plan on diving repeatedly then you will get cold no matter what the water temp is. I use a 3MM full suit for most of my diving. If it's 85 degrees or warmer I use a Fleece ( 1MM) . I always use a full suit neck to ankles. To me I just feel safer. You never know what you will encounter out there in the deep blue sea.

Hi, Gang!

I have to agree with Debraw: a full suit, no matter what the thickness, is appropriate. Although Hawaii does not have all the soft stinging things that much of the rest of the coral reef world has, there are things that can "get" you.

I do not know what your tolerance for cold is, but I use a 3mil Henderson gold for May-Sept in Hawaii waters (water temp = ca. 79-83 deg F) and a 5mil much of the rest of the year (water temp - ca. 72-78 deg F).

Be sure to do the outer wall of Molokini! And have a great time!

Scorpionfish

A 2 or 3 mm suit would be adequate. However, with things in the water and doing multiple dives a full length suit is better. Also consider even wearing a hood. A person who does multiple dives over multiple days never fully warms up and by wearing a hood helps to keep some warmth in.

Most of the diving I've done on Maui has been in about 75 degree water, regardless of time of year. Tahiti was also in the high 70's in September, when we were there. I wouldn't do that in a shorty, myself.