Warm water wetsuits?

[4adventurelarry]

I'll be heading to Hawaii soon, which is quite different than diving off the cool waters of California. I have a 2mm shorty. Is that too thick? My wife has a 3/2 full length wetsuit. Too thick? Recommendations? Thanks!

 

[knotical]

Some hopefully helpful threads from ScubaBoard's Hawaii forum:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii/473937-wetsuit-requirement.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii/471702-air-water-temp.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii/470112-wetsuits.html

 

[btw2459]

Personally I would dive a full suit because of the possibility of jelly fish stings. You're wife's 3/2 is what I wear in the summer here in Florida.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Personally I would dive a full suit because of the possibility of jelly fish stings. You're wife's 3/2 is what I wear in the summer here in Florida.

Pretty cool that his wife's suit fits you! Seriously though, I agree 100% about a full suit. Whether it's a 3/2 , 3, or even a 1.5.

Full suits offer much more than temperature advantage. They protect from stings, scrapes, small.cuts, etc. . And on multi day multi dive trips cold, for me anyway, is cumulative. When I go to the keys, no matter what time of year, I am likely taking my 5 mil for a week of diving. First time I took the three and by the end of a week where I did fifteen dives I was on the verge of saying screw it. I can always pull the neck and let a little water in to cool down.

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[Hawkwood]

I was diving off the Big Island with knotical a couple of weeks ago. The water temps were only 77F. I was comfy in my 5mm. I'm too use to diving dry.

 

[miked]

Another recommendation for a full suit. What thickness would depend on the water temps (check some of our Hawaii based divers) and your tolerance for those temps. Enjoy your trip.

 

[knotical]

Depends a lot on your personal cold tolerance.

On those dives with Hawkwood, I was comfortable in a full fleece suit and beanie. A fleece suit is variously estimated to be the equivalent of between 1 and 3 mm neoprene. And they don't compress at depth. I'm quite sensitive to cold but a hood/beanie really makes a difference.

My computer differed from his a bit. Mine said 75° F.

 

[k_im]

on multi day multi dive trips cold, for me anyway, is cumulative.

X2 on what Jim says. I've noticed in Hawaii, the rental suits are 5mm and the DM's are wearing hooded vests, gloves and boots because 76 or 77 deg is still relatively cool water if you're spending a lot of time diving.



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[LowVizWiz]

The water temps were only 77C. I was comfy in my 5mm. I'm too use to diving dry.

Were you two diving in a hot tub? :shocked2:

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Hawaii water is not real warm, though certainly warmer than SoCal. Expect mid to upper 70's. I am comfortable in a mil fill wetsuit. Our trips there ( 12 so faqr)involve multiple days of multiple dives. People who do one or two dives on one or two days do ok in a 3 mil shorty, but if you are doing 8 or 10 dives in a week (or more), you will be cold in your shorty. My recommendation- your wife's 3/2 full body is a good choice, and you should get something close to it., unless you are only doing a couple of dives.
DivemasterDennis