Cozumel--thickness of wet suit

[wonderwoman9000]

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be going to Cozumel in two weeks (mid to end of June) for a dive. What thickeness of wet suit would you recommend? An instructor told me to consider 5 mm since he'd wear a 3 mm, and he's a man. He said women get colder, so he thinks 5 mm is good. Others have told me you don't even need one except to avoid abrasions. I'm a slender to average size woman if that helps. Thanks!!!

Susan

 

[Charlie99]

Your profile doesn't have any info on number of dives.....

If you are a new diver, your dives will both be short and you will be exerting yourself more than you really need to. Both of these mean that less than normal amount of wetsuit would be fine.

A thinner wetsuit means less buoyancy change with depth, making buoyancy control easier.

I'd suggest 3mm full suit or a 3/2 (3mm on the core, 2 mm on the arms and legs). Add a hood or beanie if you find yourself getting cold.

Charlie

 

[El Orans]

For local Cozumel (including proper exposure suits) info, just follow the path or have fun along the way by clicking on any of the given links:
ScubaBoard.Com > Regional Travel & Dive Clubs > North America > Mexico > Cozumel.

 

[azsilver]

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be going to Cozumel in two weeks (mid to end of June) for a dive. What thickeness of wet suit would you recommend? An instructor told me to consider 5 mm since he'd wear a 3 mm, and he's a man. He said women get colder, so he thinks 5 mm is good. Others have told me you don't even need one except to avoid abrasions. I'm a slender to average size woman if that helps. Thanks!!!

Susan

Susan,

Welcome to SB!

We both wear Bare 3/2 VELOCITY FULL WETSUIT.

http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/bareshop/divedept.asp?dept_id=25010

We dive mid to late April in Cozumel. The water temp is usually around 78 degrees. We dive for 8-9 days, 2 Tank dives a day and with each dive over an hour. We also do some night dives which are over an hour per dive.

We found that the Bare 3/2mm full wetsuit is great. I also wear a polypropylene dive skin under my wetsuit too and a full 5mm hood. My husband wears a beanie and no dive skin.

But we have seen some divers wear 5mm and even a hooded vest under a 3mm full. And some wear 3mm shorties...but more wear 3mm full wetsuits.

A lot depends on how long will each dive be, how may dives a day, how many days will you dive and how cold you get when you dive.

Just remember when you dive you lower your body’s core temperature. The longer you are in the water the more this occurs. Our body temperature is almost 100 degrees and water temperature at anything less pulls heat from our body.

I hope this helps.

Have a great time diving!

AZDivers

 

[DiveMaster176493]

thinner the better for control and comfort. cozumel is nice wished i was going back soon. i would try a lycra skin. take 1-3 mil max as back up. you need to own different sizes so you could consider it a investment. also the 3mill can be worn over the lycra.

 

[scubawife]

How much diving will you be doing and do you tend to get chilled easily or are you comfortable with minimal protection? In Mexico and the Caribbean in the summer I wear a 3mm, and midweek I often add a core warmer or full 1mm under it. I usually do 3 dives a day and I'm on the towards the thin end of average size. I get chilled easily and prefer to be warm and comfy and enjoy the dives then care that some people might only be wearing a skin or 1mm. For a 2-3 dives/day full week of diving I usually see about half the divers wearing a 3mm.

 

[Rondo]

I just got back a couple of weeks ago,I wore my .5 mm neoprene full skin the whole time and was toasty,I also travel with a 3 mm vest and a 3 mm beanie that never left the room.

Whatever you decide I'd recommend full coverage,some folks that wore 3 mm shortys got hit by the thimble jellies which were in full force when I was there,they may have disapated by now.

The other advantage to a skin beyond the bouyancy issues is a .5-1mm rarely needs to be stripped off between dives,I'm often very comfortable with it on while going to the next site,those with 3mm suits can't wait to get them off,with a 5 mm you may die from heat and dehydration before you get to the zipper.

My computer shows 82-84 deg. on all dives most were 83.

If you're planning on buying a new suit the 3/2 is a good suggestion it will give you the most adaptability,that and a full 3mm.Ofcourse this all depends on you. 5mm= bad idea

 

[Christi]

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be going to Cozumel in two weeks (mid to end of June) for a dive. What thickeness of wet suit would you recommend? An instructor told me to consider 5 mm since he'd wear a 3 mm, and he's a man. He said women get colder, so he thinks 5 mm is good. Others have told me you don't even need one except to avoid abrasions. I'm a slender to average size woman if that helps. Thanks!!!

Susan

Hi Susan,

Your exposure protection decision should be based on the following:

1. Water temperature? (It's 80ish by the way)
2. Do you tend to chill easily?
3. How many days will you be diving?
4. How many dives per day will you be doing?
5. How long will your dives average?

In order to help you determine this if you've never dove in a tropical environment, you should think about these things:

1. Water temperature in your local dive environment?
2. What exposure protection do you wear there?
3. What type of diving do you do in your local environment?

Cozumel is drift diving, so very little energy exertion is required. However, as AZDiver said, the longer you are in the water and the more dives you do, you core temperature is affected.

With all of this said, MOST people get by with a full 3mm or less here in the summertime.

I hope that helps and I hope you have a great vacation!

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board Susan.
I wished I had a better answer but it really depends on you. I was in Coz 3 weeks ago and used a fleece lined skin and was confortable. My wife uses the same but adds a bennie cap, both for warmth and to keep her hair in check. I have a friend who dives a full 5mm and a hood in 80 deg water and still comes up cold, so it just depends on you. If you decide to go light, I would suggest a light hood or bennie, they help a lot and are small enough that packing them is no big deal.

 

[Martha]

The first time I dove in Coz, I just used a dive skin and I was cold most of the time. This time around, I'm going to use a 3mm wetsuit and I think it'll be perfect. Of course, like the others said, it mainly depends on you and if you get chilled easily.