Do I Need a Wetsuit in Hawaii?

[missnoname37]

I have only been diving in Aruba (am a new diver). I only dive in my bathing suit and t-shirt in Aruba as I find the water very warm....even diving 3 times a day. I am hesitant to go out and buy a wetsuit for Maui & Hawaii but the water is about 7 degrees cooler. Any suggestions? We have shorties and I am thinking those may be enough? I am a little person but I guess I have a pretty good "furnace" (for lack of a better word). I know my husband will need a wetsuit as he had to use the shorty in Aruba. Also, need a great dive operator for both islands. I prefer boats with a bathroom in them...yes it's a girl thing.

Thanks!

 

[GA Under Water]

When are you going?

I went in Jan-Feb and everyone said 3 mil would be fine. And some on the boat laughed when I was in a 5 mil. But I was the one grinning after the dives as everyone else was shivering in their 3 mil and I was snug.

 

[Hyper-limits]

I use a 3mm suit whenever I dive in Hawaii, I try to just dive in T-shirt and short but I got cold after 15 minutes and I'm a cold water diver.

Al

 

[seaducer]

Hmm, the Hawaii tourism board says the average temperature is 74F. That to me is cool enough that I want something when I am diving. I dive Bonaire, often with just board shorts and a rash guard. The water there is typically 80ish. So, I guess it will be up to you. When I was younger I would have gone in without a suit no worries. I might suggest bringing your shorty for the first dive. If you are warm, you can take it off. If you are cool, a 3mm full suit is not that expensive to buy, cheaper to rent.

 

[Thalassamania]

The water's pretty comfortable here, but a suit can help for a longer dive or multiple dives per day. I often swim and snorkel without a wetsuit, but some people find that they want one, even just for snorkeling.

 

[bmrwizard99]

I have dove off the East Coast of Mexico (Cozumel / Cancun / Mayan) without wetsuits in the past and have always used a 3 mil in Maui (been there in Nov, Dec, and Jan mostly). My kids 13 / 12 are new divers and we are heading to Maui again in Jan 09 and they will have combos 3 mil and 5 with the jacket on just so they are warm. Its always better to be warm when under the sea...

 

[NudeDiver]

I've never heard of anyone complaining about being warm underwater. I've heard lots of people complain about being cold under water. Draw your own conclusions.

FWIW - I wore a 5mm suit in Austrlalia on the GBR. Was I plenty warm? Sure. Was it more suit than necessary? Sure. Did I get cold, even after 5 dives/day? Nope. Did I get stung by anything? Nope.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I wore a 6mm suit in January when the temps were in the low 70s and was happy I brought the suit along. The other times I went the temps were 84. I was fine in shorts and T-shirt.

 

[Miller64]

I would like to ask pretty much the same question,except about Panama City and Destin Fla in late March..I have a 6 mil farmer john.I was thinking of getting a 5 mil one piece jump suite and using the 3 mil shorty if I needed..Do you think a 5 mil jump suite would be a good all around wet suite for Florida all season.Since I already have the 3 mil overall part of the farmer john..I will be mostly on the gulf side and around Destin during the year,,,,.any and all suggestions welcome

 

[ArcticDiver]

Assuming you are going in Jan - Mar time frame:

Based on experience over the past several Januarys the water temp will be in the mid-70s. Air temp will range from the mid-60s to the mid-70s with a possible excursion either warmer of cooler for a day or so.

That is very much in the personal comfort range where the number of dives done per day and per week plays as big a role as the temperature. I see people diving in everything from shorts and T-shirt to 7 mm with hood. Most people I've seen use a 3,4 or 5mm.

In addition to personal cold tolerance suit fit plays a big role.

Hope this helps.