60-68 degree water - semi-dry or drysuit?

[krawlings]

im a single tank. but i plan to move into doubles which means deco.

I would then go the Dry Siut derection . Spennd the extra money . atahe long hangs can realy suck the heat out and you are not moving to much to heat up your muscals . Best of luck

 

[Scott L]

im a single tank. but i plan to move into doubles which means deco.

It also means you will be seriously over-weighted at depth utilizing a 7mm wet suit when compression is factored in. AL doubles only in most cases. Dry suit's do not present this issue near as much...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Drysuit for me in anything under 72. I will dive a 5 mil with a 2 mil core warmer down to 68 but it better be a hot day and no more than 2 hour long dives. The drysuit is so much wamer and the learning curve is not that big with a good mentor or instructor. And I don't find a drysuit harder to gear up in. In fact it's easier for me. No pulling and tugging a wet suit over wet or dry skin, slips right on and off, and with a self donning option don't need anyone to zip me up. And best of all after the dives I dry my hair or on warmer days let the sun dry it, slip the suit off, and drive home in my undies warm and DRY!

 

[herbdb]

If you were not considering doubles and longer deco dives, I would say go for a 7mm farmer john. But hanging at a long deco stop at those temps would be miserable at best.

I dive a 7mm merino lined suit at 50 degrees, but only for a couple of 40-45 minute dives in a day. Jims description of his drysuit dives sounds pretty nice in comparison.

 

[stevensamler]

im a single tank. but i plan to move into doubles which means deco.

When you plan to switch to doubles you may opt for the ds, because of longer bottom time and planned decos.

 

[Hatul]

I also think just adding a hooded vest should be enough, unless you're doing technical dives.

 

[RonFrank]

Surface temps make a huge difference. If its 70F+ you get out of the drysuit between dives. It's hot! If its 60F outside Dry is nice, maybe a bit warm. If its in the 40F's air temp a wetsuit is cold death, and after one dive you become miserable and your feet become ice bricks. The drysuit OTOH is comfy in and out of the water. Below 40F is hypothermia time wet!

I dive a drysuit in any water below 75F. Its a bit more work, but worth it.

 

[MADiveGirl]

The flexibility of the drysuit is a turnoff for me and it being harder to maintain trim and buoyancy. But i want to make sure i make the right choice.

I am as newbie as they come, but have been swimming in a wetsuit for years (triathlete) so I was VERY concerned about this issue when I was drysuit shopping. For a variety of reasons I got a trilam, and the flexibility simply was a non-issue. Actually, as someone else also mentioned, I think I've got more physical flexibility in my drysuit with a thick undergarment than with a 7mm with a hooded vest.

I've got to also say, some of you are polar bears! I was cold in a 7mm with a (albeit very thin) hooded vest during my checkout dives in 72F water. Fine for the early dives, but at the end of the day I was shivering and miserable during my safety stops. With my drysuit and undergarment, I was toasty during my drysuit training dives in 46F. Amazing.

 

[tomfcrist]

bouyancy aside, a semidry suit is more than adequate for that temp range....heck i dive one into the low 40's.......Remember that the dryest suit in the world wont stop your face from freezing. Brainfreeze sucks when diving

 

[eelnoraa]

How many dives do you do? If only one dive, they it really doesn't matter much. If multiple dives, you will feel the cold on surface interval and subsequent dives. I would say just go with dry anyway. A decent used drysuit isn't more expansive than a semi dry. It will take you much further in your diving career.