California learning to dive questions

[Imapseudonym]

Hey everyone,

ill be starting my OW class next week here but had a few questions that I have been struggling with. I'm female 6' 160 pounds so consider myself an awkwardly shaped human . I've been talking to the dive shop owner recently about staying warm while learning to dive in california waters. Ideally, after certification I would like to do the majority of my diving in California as we live near Monterey.

The issue I'm struggling with is that I feel my cold tolerance is very bad. They provide 7mm farmer john type wetsuits for the certification process but I'm concerned that I will still be freezing. I'm going to rent one today and just do some swimming on the surface of the ocean to see how it feels. For those of you that dive in California, are those wetsuits decent enough to stay warm in our waters? I am really looking forward to diving in California I just want it to be an enjoyable thing for me temperature wise

 

[Jim Lapenta]

California water temps are similar to what we see locally in the spring and fall. At depth in some of our deeper spots temps are in the 30's and 40's. Many people dive 7 mil suits and are fine in water down to 50 degrees or so. I am not. Anything under 70 or so and I'm in a dry suit. For a couple reasons. A 7 mil is bulky and hard to move in. Can be a real pain to get off and on. IF it does not fit just right and seal well at the wrists, ankles, and neck you'll get water moving through the suit. That water will carry the heat away with it.
The last is perhaps the most important. Being an odd shape myself finding a stock wetsuit of any thickness that fits well was very hard. It's why when I needed to replace my 3 mil I went with a full custom suit from Wet Wear. A dry suit is more forgiving for odd body types, much warmer, and in the long run less expensive than a good 7 mil. You can get 15 years out of a drysuit with care. A wetsuit from most mfg's, if you dive a lot, is going to give you maybe 5 years. A very good wetsuit in 7 mil, full custom, good neoprene (G231 rubbatex for example) is going run you almost as much as an entry level dry suit.

 

[Imapseudonym]

I hear what you're saying about wetsuit vs drysuit. I'm just concerned because they're both a large investment for a hobby and I'm just thinking to myself what if I don't continue to dive after all of this. Granted every time I have dived I loved it. Is it weird for someone to just start off in a drysuit learning to dive? Looking at used drysuits I see there are some moderately priced ones for like the white fusions and bare some dui etc.

 

[Akimbo]

Females almost always have a hard time finding an ideal fit wetsuit off the shelf. Currently available wetsuit materials have pretty low compression resistance so a suit that is comfortable at 20' can be freezing at 60'. Add low cold tolerance and Monterey to the equation and you will be better off in a drysuit.

Are you training is Southern or Northern California? I recommend that you train where you plan to dive. There’s a big difference once you get north of Pt Conception.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

It's not weird at all for someone to start out in a drysuit, people in Norcal do it all the time.
People who have very low cold tolerance wouldn't even have a chance at all to get in the water if it wasn't for drysuits.
If you already love it then you know you'll continue doing it so just get the drysuit and be happy.

 

[scjoe]

JMJ inTorrance and M&B in Long Beach both make quality custom wetsuits. People who are prone to being cold usually go with a 7 mil Farmer John/Jane with skin-in. You end up with 14 mil on the upper torso, so you will need more weight. Some people go as high as 9 mil, but that is a lot of neoprene. If you are going to dive in a drysuit, I'd get my training in one.

When comparing wetsuit to drysuit prices, don't forget to include the cost of insulation, plus hood & gloves for the drysuit.

 

[Imapseudonym]

Females almost always have a hard time finding an ideal fit wetsuit off the shelf. Currently available wetsuit materials have pretty low compression resistance so a suit that is comfortable at 20' can be freezing at 60'. Add low cold tolerance and Monterey to the equation and you will be better off in a drysuit.

Are you training is Southern or Northern California? I recommend that you train where you plan to dive. There’s a big difference once you get north of Pt Conception.

I'm in San Luis Obispo County. So kind of central california if I had to select a location I'm about an hour away from Monterey. For the OW certification we'll be heading to the Channel Islands as people raved about it. The local areas around here from what I read are Morro Bay and Montana De Oro in Los Osos. Water temperature if I had to guess here would be 55-60 at surface. I did try on a few 7mm wetsuits but the ones for females are too short for me (because I'm super tall) and the ones for males are very baggy. We are north of Pt Conception for reference.

 

[Seymour Fisch]

The other replies, from experts, are great, but I thought I'd throw in my perspective as a newbie, still renting, and even skinnier than you.

The water temps around here (Vancouver) are similar, or maybe even warmer than what you're going to face. All the local divers are in drysuits, but in my OW class, about half the students were in 7mm farmer john setups, and about half paid extra for a "drysuit upgrade". Everyone got through the class fine, although the wetsuit folks were definitely cold at the end of each day, whereas the drysuit folks, even with leaks, and ill-fitting rental suits, were comfy (temperature-wise). If your dive shop offers some sort of rental drysuit upgrade, I'd encourage you to go for it. If they don't, though, I'd really hesitate to run out and buy a drysuit. I've never been in a heavy wetsuit, but up to 5mm (in the tropics), I found wetsuit diving to be effortless, whereas I feel very clumsy in a drysuit and am still working on basic buoyancy control. It's just a bit harder overall. If your shop is used to running all their OW classes with everyone in wetsuits, it can't be THAT cold, it'll be easier, and they may prefer not to deal with one new student in a drysuit. You can ask them. (They also might have other options to help you stay warmer -- maybe a liner of some sort?)

Being thin, it's easier to get cold, anyway, and a poorly fitting exposure suit makes things worse. If a wetsuit is even slightly baggy, it's a lot colder, as more water flows through it. For a drysuit, make sure you get a good fit at your neck and wrist seals.

Finally, I had to chuckle at your self-description:

I'm female 6' 160 pounds so consider myself an awkwardly shaped human .

6' and 160lbs works out to a BMI of about 21 or 22, which is just on the lower side of the most healthy BMI range. Why not consider yourself a "perfectly shaped human" or perhaps a "runway model shaped human"?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If you wanted a wetsuit for backup or maybe during the warmer months look into getting a 7mm freediving suit. They are generally slim cut for skinny in-shape freedivers both men and women.
They are not ideal for scuba and you can't really go deep (60' max for a few minutes) but for shallow stuff 30' - 40' they work fine. The material is really soft and the suits will compress easily at depth. If you take them too deep and stay down you will ruin them. They are made to go down and back up, not to stay down for any length of time. They are skin-in meaning they are open straight neoprene inside with no nylon fabric so they need to be lubed up to get in with a solution of hair conditioner and water sprayed out of a spray bottle. They are very warm and water flow is almost nil as the whole suit is pretty much a skin seal.
You can get one for about $400 through Freedive Shop.
They are metric sizes so for you that would be about a 56 to 58 cm

But for the money and being Socal waters are in the low 70's right now (so I heard) one of those might be ideal. It'll at least get you in the water, and you'll always have it as a backup or maybe for shore dives?

 

[Akimbo]

… I've never been in a heavy wetsuit, but up to 5mm (in the tropics), I found wetsuit diving to be effortless, whereas I feel very clumsy in a drysuit and am still working on basic buoyancy control…

I concur. I would dive a wetsuit any day over a drysuit… if I can stay warm enough. I am a mid-60s short male with a two piece 7mm custom farmer with no-zip jacket and skin-in wetsuit. I am perfectly comfortable on 2-3 dives a day in Monterey down to 30-40'. I am ready to abort the dive after a 10 minutes below 60-80' though.

Drysuits are virtually depth independent. My biggest problem with drysuits is overheating before getting in the water. They are definitely more cumbersome and complicated than a 2-piece 7mm wetsuit in and out of the water. Drysuits also require more maintenance. But none of that matters if you can’t stay warm enough.

Maybe Imapseudonym will get lucky and be able to get through her class in a rented wetsuit, temperatures are unusually high this year.