Alor Liveaboard - Which Wetsuit?

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mantajohn

Contributor
Messages
267
Reaction score
61
Location
Newbury, UK
# of dives
500 - 999
i'm taking a liveaboard trip to Alor in Nov & and getting mixed messages about what thickness of wetsuit would be appropriate. i'm aiming to do all the dives every day.

I've a 3/2 ml that i use for the Caribbean/Indian Ocean, but talk of cooler waters/thermoclines is making me believe that it will be inadequate for Alor. My next suit is a 6.5ml semidry. But that might be over kill.

I'm thinking of buying a 5ml for the trip. Does that sound about right.

There are tight weight limits on the internal flight - so i cannot hedge my bets by taking a choice.

All advice appreciated

(apologies to anyone who finds this posting twice. i've also asked the same question on the Indonesia page. There seems to be a completely different readership on the liveaboard page to the country specific pages - so i thought i would try both)
 
Can't offer any direct experience on Alor, but in theory shouldn't be that different from Komodo where it's warm in the north and cold in the south. On my last trip to Komodo, my son and I wore 5mm suits with 3/5 hooded vests when in the south and were reasonably comfortable. My wife wore a 7mm all the time adding a hooded vest in the south. Hope you'll post a trip report when you're back. I'm thinking about a trip to Alor next year.
 
i'll definitely post a trip report when i return
 
i'm taking a liveaboard trip to Alor in Nov & and getting mixed messages about what thickness of wetsuit would be appropriate. i'm aiming to do all the dives every day.

I've a 3/2 ml that i use for the Caribbean/Indian Ocean, but talk of cooler waters/thermoclines is making me believe that it will be inadequate for Alor. My next suit is a 6.5ml semidry. But that might be over kill.

I'm thinking of buying a 5ml for the trip. Does that sound about right.

There are tight weight limits on the internal flight - so i cannot hedge my bets by taking a choice.

All advice appreciated

(apologies to anyone who finds this posting twice. i've also asked the same question on the Indonesia page. There seems to be a completely different readership on the liveaboard page to the country specific pages - so i thought i would try both)
I was in Alor and east. I used a 3mm/2mm wetsuit, and occasionally a beanie (thin skimpie hood). The coldest was 77F, the warmest was 82F.The divemasters were surprised I wasnt cold. I guess I would either use your 3/2mm with a beanie and some thin or thick vest (if you are usually warm), or your existing semidry. I suggest you use your semidry, esp if doing 5 dives a day. I dont think you need a new intermediate level of suit . Actually the suits dont weight that much, just bulky, so maybe can really bring more than one.
 
thanks for your adviice - just one question.... what is a beanie?

....it's somewhat like the top half of a full hood...covers the skull (hair) area and attaches with a chin strap.....meant for more tropical waters...they come in different thicknesses, just as a wetsuit does. I commonly dive a 3 mm one.
 

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