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

[divebrasil]

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.

[divebrasil]

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

[Foo]

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!

[O2BBubbleFree]

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]

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,

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.

[mempilot]

...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.

[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.

This mights be a little bits of zee problemo. Loose wetsuit mean bad shivers.

[mempilot]

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.

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.