Drysuit in Red Sea in February

[Canard]

After 26 years ill be going back to dive the northern wrecks and reefs in Late January 2018! think ill take my trilam, how would a lavacore fair under it anyone?

I was very comfortable in my Trilam last February using only a light base layer. Didn't bring my major thermals (Weasel). Other divers were in 7mm and got chilled.

 

[rosco-dive]

cheers, 99% of my group are taking 5mm or 7mm semi dry, I love my Trilam so will just take some thin base layers, They all think im mad but our summer sea temp is 18 and I uses a lavacore and merino thin top under that which works

 

[Canard]

cheers, 99% of my group are taking 5mm or 7mm semi dry, I love my Trilam so will just take some thin base layers, They all think im mad but our summer sea temp is 18 and I uses a lavacore and merino thin top under that which works

They will all be jealous, especially after a windy zodiac ride. You'll be sipping hot tea while they wrestle out of those wetsuits Enjoy! I'm jealous of the idea of summer sea temps of 18, we're lucky if it gets past 11 in August.

 

[chillyinCanada]

It's hard for me to believe that folks with a drysuit would prefer to take a wetsuit. I was there last December, the weather was warm and the water wasn't that cold but the wind was cold even when we weren't moving on the zodiac. Sure once we got dry it was all good again. A drysuit on that trip in early December, might have been overkill. In February, it will be a completely different case.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's hard for me to believe that folks with a drysuit would prefer to take a wetsuit. I was there last December oh, and the weather was warm and the water wasn't that cold but the wind was cold even when we weren't moving on the zodiac. Sure once we got dry was all good again. A drysuit on that trip in early December, might have been Overkill. In February, it will be a completely different case.

My wife and I will be there in a couple of weeks, with drysuits. I'm freaking out a little, though, as last week my wife's suit developed a leak, and it just came back from repair today. Now this weekend we get to test it out. Did you bring a wetsuit as a backup?

I just started a specific thread on "drysuits, travel, and liveaboards" in the Exposure Protection forum if you or anyone else wants to reply there, since it's not specific to the Red Sea: Drysuit, Travel and Liveaboards - advice?

 

[AJ]

It's hard for me to believe that folks with a drysuit would prefer to take a wetsuit.

To me it;s not a matter of preferring a wetsuit, but my drysuit became semi wet last trip after the first dive. Not so nice for the rest of the week. It lost it's advantages and became a disadvantage and a more of a struggle than a pleasure. However, I prefer drysuit over wetsuit anytime when the facilities (dry room to gear up) on the boat are right. First time it worked out good, last time bad. It's a bit of a gamble unless you know the boat.

 

[Lorenzoid]

So, we indeed used drysuits for our Dec. 9-16 liveaboard. The water temp and air temp were both around 73-75F, but the wind was unrelenting and intense at times, and some of the wetsuit divers felt chilled. The evaporation from a wet wetsuit can chill one pretty well during zodiac rides. After the dive, while some divers went straight for the warm towel and hot chocolate, we stepped out of our drysuits and enjoyed soft drinks. I didn't even bother changing out of my fleece for the lunch/dinner after the dive--just straight from the dive deck to the dinner table. With the near-constant wind, nobody was ever too warm. Be sure to bring a light jacket for Dec.-Feb. trips.

 

[rosco-dive]

Thanks for the update, I may have a smug look on my face then looking forward to it only 22 days to go, not that im counting ! and my twinset and nitrox are all booked woop woop

Were doing the northern wrecks and reefs, are there many zodiac rides ? or can the boat mainly get near most of the sites?

So, we indeed used drysuits for our Dec. 9-16 liveaboard. The water temp and air temp were both around 73-75F, but the wind was unrelenting and intense at times, and some of the wetsuit divers felt chilled. The evaporation from a wet wetsuit can chill one pretty well during zodiac rides. After the dive, while some divers went straight for the warm towel and hot chocolate, we stepped out of our drysuits and enjoyed soft drinks. I didn't even bother changing out of my fleece for the lunch/dinner after the dive--just straight from the dive deck to the dinner table. With the near-constant wind, nobody was ever too warm. Be sure to bring a light jacket for Dec.-Feb. trips.

 

[Freewillow]

Thanks for the update, I may have a smug look on my face then looking forward to it only 22 days to go, not that im counting ! and my twinset and nitrox are all booked woop woop

Were doing the northern wrecks and reefs, are there many zodiac rides ? or can the boat mainly get near most of the sites?

Not a lot of dinghy rides. The boats are on top of the wrecks and drop divers on the sites close to Sharm El Sheik. The dingy rides are garanteed on BDE ( Brothers Daedaleus and Ephlinstone ) and the cruise in the south.

Just be aware that in Jan/Feb water is around 20/22°C and cold winds are NOT rare.

 

[rosco-dive]

Cheers for the info, as ive said my trilam suit will be with me at all times any fool can suffer !