more wetsuit advice

[tstormdiver]

thanks again! It will be for trips, going to coz in feb, im less worried about warmth, I will check out used stuf!

I know its easy to say you're not worried about the cold, but keep in mind that you lose body heat 25 X's faster in water than in the air. When you're colder (whether you really feel it or not) your body turns up the furnace to make sure your vital organs stay warm by increasing your metabolism. By increasing the metabolism, you will consume air much faster, making for a shorter dive. By getting a suit of the proper thickness to keep you warm, you will be able to enjoy the your dives more! Just saying,......

[Mark Derail]

I know its easy to say you're not worried about the cold, but keep in mind that you lose body heat 25 X's faster in water than in the air. When you're colder (whether you really feel it or not) your body turns up the furnace to make sure your vital organs stay warm by increasing your metabolism. By increasing the metabolism, you will consume air much faster, making for a shorter dive. By getting a suit of the proper thickness to keep you warm, you will be able to enjoy the your dives more! Just saying,......

Ditto, now with more italics, underline and bold.

Cozumel in June/July, just a bikini you'd be ok, but even so, the risk of injury on corals is high. Especially where's the current. The "wall" in Cozumel is a drift dive. Which is fun! Get yourself neutral, and fly over the corals, no need to paddle. Done right, a dive can last easily an hour.

Remember, it's when you're topside, with the wind, that you'll get cold. If you can't fully recuperate your lost body heat, you'll never last another hour for the second dive. I was overheating 15 mins after the first dive, and stripped to my boxers. Sylvie was chilled. By the time we got to our second dive, she was warm and anxious to get back in the ocean.

IOW, you won't overheat in the ocean with a 3 mil or a 3/5 mil combo. Topside you can peel off half.

If you get the skinny 1 mil and you're cold, just too bad, so sad.

[starrlamia]

Thanks Mark and tstorm. From everything I read most people recommended a 3 or 3/2 so i was just going from those posts, but I will look into the 3/5 if I could use it in Ontario in the Summer it would be perfect.

[knotical]

An option for warmer water diving is fleece suits. They're roughly equivalent to a 2mm neoprene suit. They are inherently stretchy so they conform to a wide range of body shapes. Other benefits: they are neutrally buoyant, allowing you to wear less lead, and they don't compress at depth like neoprene.

Examples include Oceanic's LavaCore and Henderson's Polyolefin.

[DiveMaven]

Check out the closeout suits on ScubaToys' website. I've snagged a couple of brand new suits for less than 1/2 the original price there. And they usually have Henderson suits on sale, so for the "hard to fit gal", that's a bonanza!

[leoconnor]

I dive a 3/2 Oceanic Ultra.. It fits well in the bust without crushing me and isn't unmanageable in the arm/leg length. (i'm 5'4").

The other thing you might want to consider if you tend to get cold like I do:

Body Glove 3mm Barrier Front Zip Wetsuit Vest 1325 with reviews at scuba.com

After a few days diving, I really appreciated having a warmer core!

[Ayisha]

Thanks Mark and tstorm. From everything I read most people recommended a 3 or 3/2 so i was just going from those posts, but I will look into the 3/5 if I could use it in Ontario in the Summer it would be perfect.

bold added

Oh my, no. Most divers in Ontario use a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit at least, if not a drysuit. A 7 mm steamer (full wetsuit) plus a vest or core warmer is more versatile than a farmer jane/john style. The Great Lakes can still be as low as 38F in the summer at depth. The highest temps would be the St Lawrence River or quarries in the later summer, which can go to mid-70's. Most divers still use a 2 piece 7mm or drysuit.

The fit and comfort in every way is extremely important. Size charts can't really give you answers, just a ballpark guess. The only way to know for sure if a suit fits you is to try it on and look at it and move in it. It needs to be snug to keep you warm, but not too tight or restrictive - the same is true for the hood, gloves and boots. If they are loose, you will have too much cold water transfer, which will keep you cold. It needs to fit you well all over. Good luck!

[starrlamia]

thanks (sorry been in bed with pneumonia, ugh)

bold added

Oh my, no. Most divers in Ontario use a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit at least, if not a drysuit. A 7 mm steamer (full wetsuit) plus a vest or core warmer is more versatile than a farmer jane/john style. The Great Lakes can still be as low as 38F in the summer at depth. The highest temps would be the St Lawrence River or quarries in the later summer, which can go to mid-70's. Most divers still use a 2 piece 7mm or drysuit.

The fit and comfort in every way is extremely important. Size charts can't really give you answers, just a ballpark guess. The only way to know for sure if a suit fits you is to try it on and look at it and move in it. It needs to be snug to keep you warm, but not too tight or restrictive - the same is true for the hood, gloves and boots. If they are loose, you will have too much cold water transfer, which will keep you cold. It needs to fit you well all over. Good luck!

[narcedoutscuba]

Hi Im looking for a Wetsuit for a friend She a big time cave diver in mexico so she needs a 5mm or 7mm
She is 4'11" and weight 97ibs she is a little girl but can carry more then her weight in tanks and gear
is there any divers out there about the same size what wet suit are you wearing

[starrlamia]

just thought I would update, I got a 3mm Aqualung quantum stretch wetsuit that fits so well, this thing is super stretchy and very easy to get on!