Wetsuit Recommendation Big Island in June

[Steve Risley]

Debating between 2/3mm shorty or 3mm full to wear shore diving on the Big Island Hawaii in June. Plan to do 2 morning dives for 4-5 days. Probably will not exceed 80ft. We don't get cold easy, but wanted to get some opinions for those who have dove in Hawaii.



Any thoughts?

 

[KevinNM]

In December in Kona I saw someone diving in multiple layered 7mm suits and someone else in shorts and a tshirt on the same dive. The "average diver" on that trip wore a full length of some thickness, but as I was running a drysuit I have no idea how thick most peoples suits were.

If you don't get a good answer you could try calling Jacks' Diving.

 

[hazmat]

I get cold easily and was fine in my 5mm full. You're looking at about 75˚ water. People who dive there a lot, like divemasters, seem to wear at least 7mm full all the time. 75˚ really isn't that warm.

---------- Post added May 18th, 2015 at 01:31 PM ----------

Just noticed you said June. I was there in Dec. Not sure if the water is any warmer in June.

---------- Post added May 18th, 2015 at 01:34 PM ----------

Aaaaaand no it's not. Just remembered I dove off Lanai in June and it was the same 75˚.

 

[diversteve]

If it was just the temperature, I'd wear a t-shirt/board shorts. (I don't own a shorty) It should be close to 78^o. Maybe a little warmer since shore dives are shallower generally. Kailua-Kona Sea Temperature June Average

But it's the sharp lava you have to consider. Old Airport Beach for example is a lot of rough entry. None of it is much better than worn down lava though. Both along the "beach" and in the water.


At other sites even though it looks like there's a beach, there's lava just offshore. And it can be murky if there's sand also nearby. So I'd wear a long suit just to protect your shins/ankles. Here's not the best example from Mile Marker 4 but you can see the "ridges" of lava within about the 1st 20 feet or so of shore.


If you kneel at Two-Step getting out you're going to regret not having your knees covered. There's short urchins in the cracks. Not sure if gloves are allowed there but it wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

Wear your full 3 mm suit. You will be diving on consecutive days, and it's amazing how quickly that saps the body's heat. I used a full 5 mm suit when we lived in HI, and I was OK for the most part. My husband was an instructor there, and he and all his colleagues wore full 7 mm suits year-round, occasionally with hooded vests. Most customers were fine in the 3 mm rentals, although the slimmer girls used to shiver a bit in the summer, and a whole lot more in the winter. Of course, customers with their own gear wore all sorts of combinations, from the "Canadian wetsuit" (shorts and no shirt - invariably the favored configuration of Canadian divers from the Pacific) to tropical drysuits.

 

[freewillie]

I would consider myself average in terms of cold tolerance. I don't get that cold that easily but for Hawaii I always dive a 3 mm full suit. For the first couple of dives it's fine but I did find myself at the end of about 3 days diving on a longer dive around 60 minutes getting a little chilled for the last 10-15 minutes even at a shallow depth of about 35 ft.

 

[Damselfish]

Hard to guess thickness for someone else, but I'd wear something full for protection from lava.

 

[jonhall]

Dove around Kona (SW side of island) in mid-Feb. in 2013. Water temp was 75 on all boat dives I did. From what I've read, the temp only fluctuates a few degrees throughout the year on the big island, so it may be a few degrees warmer in June.

I did 3 days of 2 tank dives, at 60-80 ft., and a night manta ray snorkel. Used my 3mm full suit for all and was fine.

Whatever you wind up wearing, enjoy!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I had 75° during January on my first trip to the Big Island. The next two trips were in the summer and we enjoyed 84° each time.

 

[Steve Risley]

Thanks, seems like it's unanimous to wear the 3mm full for the added protection. Appreciate everyone's input.