Drysuit or Wetsuit?

[cardzard]

I use only a dive skin most of the year for exposure protection.
IE sun,jelly fish and any thing else that runs into me.

3/2 wetsuit for springs and colder water.

 

[TTSkipper]

I will be in FL 1st Week in Dec. I will be diving in the Keys and possible Fort Lauderdale/West Palm area. What weight suit would you recomend. This thread seems to suggest a 3mil but I wanted to make sure that you are all taking about Keys/Atlantic coast diving. Also do you recomend a shortie or a full suit?

Thanks,

TTSkipper

 

[_Kurt_]

That way you can tailor the layers to the conditions.

 

[adder70]

TTSkipper once bubbled...
I will be in FL 1st Week in Dec. I will be diving in the Keys and possible Fort Lauderdale/West Palm area. What weight suit would you recomend. This thread seems to suggest a 3mil but I wanted to make sure that you are all taking about Keys/Atlantic coast diving. Also do you recomend a shortie or a full suit?

Thanks,

TTSkipper

I believe the Keys stay warmer than West Palm gets. I would expect a shortie or no suit would work there. You could probably call a dive shop in the Keys and get an up to date opinion on current temps and suits required.

I would say a 3mm is good for winter in West Palm, maybe with a hood or thin vest. I often use a hood, or my 5mm hooded vest, in the springs, and on a cold Feb day I used it and felt just about right at 80ft in West Palm.

 

[AquaDog]

not because the water is that cold but because we (my police dive team) frequently dive in contaminated water. We have the option to dive dry or wet depnding on the conditions of the water when we arrive on-scene. The Gulf does get chilly in the winter months here (upper 50's-lower 60's) so sometimes the drysuit is the way to go.
For recreational dives, I prefer to dive in a wetsuit.