Welcome to ScubaBoard, an online scuba diving forum community where you can join over 100,000 divers from around the world discussing all things related to Scuba Diving. To gain full access to ScubaBoard you must register for a free account.
As a registered member you will be able to:
Participate in over 500 dive topic forums and browse from over 3,000,000 posts.
Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
Post your own photos or view from 80,000 user submitted images.
Gain access to our free classifieds marketplace to buy, sell and trade gear, travel and services.
Use the calendar to organize your events and enroll in other members' events.
All this and much more is available to you absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact the ScubaBoard Support Team.
Basic Scuba DiscussionsHave a Scuba related question? Get a Scuba related answer here. Please note: This forum has special rules. This forum is intended to be a very friendly, "flame free zone" where divers of any skill level may ask questions about basic scuba topics without fear of being accosted. Please show respect and courtesy at all times. Remember that the inquirer is looking for answers that they can understand. This is a learning zone and consequently, any off-topic or overly harsh responses will be removed.
Noboundaries makes a great point. I took a gamble with a sizing chart and made out just fine, but I made sure to call and double check with them if I ordered it and it didn't fit that I could exchange it for the right size (even if that takes five shots...I just pay a bunch of pointless return shipping charges.)
The more I read about wet suit, the more I'm asking that question: Why Farmer John/Jane?
It's not handy. You absolutely have to wear the 2 pieces. Can't just go with one piece, 'cause you'll have either the arms or the legs uncovered.
A full suit and a hooded vest is way more practical. The water is warm and cozy, go with the suit. The water get a little chilly bellow 60 had the hooded vest.
I used farmer Johns until one piece suits became popular. The one piece suit is lighter and seems just as warm. Because it is one piece, it does not let cold water in as easily as a farmer John. I cannot imagine diving in SoCal with less than 7mm. I sometimes use a hood, but more often use a hooded vest with the 7mm.
The more I read about wet suit, the more I'm asking that question: Why Farmer John/Jane?
It's not handy. You absolutely have to wear the 2 pieces. Can't just go with one piece, 'cause you'll have either the arms or the legs uncovered.
A full suit and a hooded vest is way more practical. The water is warm and cozy, go with the suit. The water get a little chilly bellow 60 had the hooded vest.
Primarily cost. The Henderson Farmer John is a couple of hundred dollars less than the AquaLung SolaFX. If you are going to buy a wetsuit and believe a drysuit might be in the future, there's no point in spending any more money than necessary on the wetsuit.
A full suit and a hooded vest is way more practical. The water is warm and cozy, go with the suit. The water get a little chilly bellow 60 had the hooded vest.
I too am partial to a full suit layered with an appropriate vest.
Spend the money for a custom suit! You will never go back! 36 measurements and it fits right and it is comfortable down to the low 50s because it fits! People don't come in one size and wetsuits don't either!
Wisconsin water is alway cold. Before I had my dry suit we would take a turkey fryer out to the dive site, heat up the water, soak the wet suit, gloves, and hood in hot water and put everything on before it cooled off. Just before we got in the water we would pour more hot water inside the suit and gloves. Everything was nice and toasty at first and there wasn't that shock of having 50 degree water flood into the suit.
I've used my Henderson Hyperstretch 5/7 in 54 degree water and have been just fine. PapaBear is right in that having the right suit for the conditions you are diving in is very important. If you are miserable with cold while diving then diving isn't going to be much fun. Make the investment in a suit that is going to fit the conditions you are diving in.
That said, I've just invested in a Mares Polarfit drysuit. I don't get cold while diving, but the cold between diving gets me singing the California Rasins theme song...
__________________
“Sharks are critically important members of the marine food chain. If we destroy them for short-term gain, we risk the biggest long-term loss imaginable: complete destruction of the ecosystem and, ultimately, of ourselves”. -Peter Benchley, Author of Jaws.
Henderson 5-4-3 wetsuit
Linear Mode
