Wearing a thin wetsuit under a 5mm semi-dry wetsuit???

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divebrasil

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Location
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WHat do you think. I have a semi-dry mares isotherm 5mm wetsuit. But, now I live in LA area and it gets a bit colder than that. The ideal would be to have a 7mm suit, but I don't want to waste my 5mm and buy another one.
So I thought about buying a thin short john of like 1mm or 2mm to wear under the 5mm.
What do you guys think? Is it a good idea?
Where can I buy those kind of wetsuits?
Thanks
 
MechDiver:
I would get a vest to wear over it.

Over it? It's a lot easier to wear something under it. It's pretty think and also kind of loose. So I should wear something under it.

Thanks
 
I wear my hooded vest under my wetsuit. You can layer wetsuits, sounds like you need to if your 5mm is pretty loose, since they should fit snugly. You might try a 1mm skin with hooded vest and 5mm over that. That's a lot of layers, hopefully won't limit your mobility too much. Buy them at any local dive shop, online, or my personal favorite for wetsuits is Ebay. Good luck!
 
I'm also considering layering a one-piece over a shorty. My 7mm step-thru jacket can supposedly be used w/o the john, but the leg openings are pretty loose (to fit over the 7mm john). Seems like with a shorty under a one-piece all openings could be tight and you would end up with 3 suit options (Shorty, one-piece, combo). I'm thinking of going with a hooded one-piece, though. Seems to me any water cold enough to warrant a one-piece would also warrant the hood.

You are going to wear a hood and gloves, right?

You might consider going a little heavier than the 5+2 combo. I did some diving in Monterrey and San Diego with 7mm john, 7mm step-thru jacket, 3mm hood and 3mm gloves. The 7+7 was pretty nice. 'Course, I've never tried semi-dry, either.


Let us know how it works out for you.
 
3dent, I have gloves, hood and neoprene socks.
I dove with a 7mm rental last weekend in san diego and it was fine.
That's why I think a 1mm or 2mm under my 5mm semi dry shoudl be fine.

I am thing about getting my 5mm custom fitted for me. Do you know wear I could get this service?

Thanks a lot,



3dent:
I'm also considering layering a one-piece over a shorty. My 7mm step-thru jacket can supposedly be used w/o the john, but the leg openings are pretty loose (to fit over the 7mm john). Seems like with a shorty under a one-piece all openings could be tight and you would end up with 3 suit options (Shorty, one-piece, combo). I'm thinking of going with a hooded one-piece, though. Seems to me any water cold enough to warrant a one-piece would also warrant the hood.

You are going to wear a hood and gloves, right?

You might consider going a little heavier than the 5+2 combo. I did some diving in Monterrey and San Diego with 7mm john, 7mm step-thru jacket, 3mm hood and 3mm gloves. The 7+7 was pretty nice. 'Course, I've never tried semi-dry, either.


Let us know how it works out for you.
 
divebrasil:
...and also kind of loose. So I should wear something under it.
This mights be a little bits of zee problemo. Loose wetsuit mean bad shivers.
 
It's not a BIG problem. I've been diving with this suit for a long time. The only area kind of loose is a bit above the waist.
But it would be good to get it custom fitted. But I need to find a place that can do that with quality.


mempilot:
This mights be a little bits of zee problemo. Loose wetsuit mean bad shivers.
 
Ya, I got a two-piece Tilos that doesn't fit too good in that region. I get cold when I wear it. I'm not a big fan of the 2-piece ls shorty/farmer john's, but a 1-piece with a upper and hood under it works great.



divebrasil:
It's not a BIG problem. I've been diving with this suit for a long time. The only area kind of loose is a bit above the waist.
But it would be good to get it custom fitted. But I need to find a place that can do that with quality.
 

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