For those who use more then one suit at what temp and environment do you switch

[Littlerayray]

I dive the st lawrence river where there is no thermoclines. I just recently bought my first dry suit I have been diving with a 7mm farmer john. which equalso 14 mm on my core. I used this wetsuit in 36f water for over 45 minutes at a depth of 45 ft this spring and I was cool but not chiled. We thumbed the dive when my buddy who was in a drysuit got cold. Last night I was diving in my wetsuit in 50f water at a depth of 30 feet for 75 minutes near the end my feet were getting uncomfortable. I drove home without changing which was a five minute drive to change in the house it was only 10 degrees Celsius air temp. I know a lot of people who dive dry year round and a few who dive wet and just stop diving the only reason I want the drysuit is to prolong my season. As its uncomfortable changing when it's near freezing out. That and the icy cold trickle of water that crawls down my back every once in a while is a shock and coming out of the water dry is something I'm looking forward to. Any tips or tricks that people could pass along with a drysuit is appreciated I'm not a tek diver don't want to be a tek diver just want some tips and advice as to what I'm getting into oh its a neoprene drysuit

 

[tbone1004]

for me the air temp is actually what dictates my exposure protection. If it's cold at the surface, I'm in a drysuit, if it's warm at the surface I usually dive wet if it isn't too cold in the water. For 50F I'd be dry year round unless the air temp was over about 75F. Adjust your undergarments and bubble size appropriately based on how cold you are.

While you aren't a tech diver, I'd consider getting a Deep Sea Supply backplate with the extra weight plates. Will allow you to remove minimum 16lbs off of your weight belt from what you're diving now.... Stab Jackets also don't usually play nice with drysuits in cold water because they restrict the size of the bubble since they have to be cinched down which can push the bubble into your legs. That's bad news.

 

[Storker]

Stab Jackets also don't usually play nice with drysuits in cold water because they restrict the size of the bubble since they have to be cinched down which can push the bubble into your legs. That's bad news.

Tell that to the 70-80% of the divers around here who use a jacket BCD / DS combo with no problems. And I think you'd be hard pressed to find even one among the BP users who switched from a jacket BCD to a BP because of that.



---------- Post added October 30th, 2015 at 04:34 PM ----------

But to answer the OP instead of derailing the thread on the first page:

My first suit was a neoprene DS. Diving wet isn't a realistic alternative around here, since water temps seldom rise above 10-15C (50-60F), and air temps above 20-25C (70-80F) are equally probable. That suit worked quite well, but since it was rather snug I decided to buy a trilam suit with room for thick undergarments for use in the fall, winter and spring. Since I haven't been able to sell the neoprene suit, I use it in the summer.

Right now, I switch from my trilam suit with drygloves to my neoprene suit with wetgloves when the water temperature reaches some 10C/50F. Above 10C, the neoprene suit with thin wool underneath is a lot more easy to dive, with nearly no air migration and great mobility, below 10C I prefer to be able to don some solid, thick underwear to stay warm throughout the dive, so I'm using the trilam suit.

 

[Littlerayray]

I currently dive with only 16lbs of led and could probably reduce it to 14 lbs I use a lp 108 steel and a Faber 116 hp steel with my farmer john around here you have people who use bcds with singles and only use the wings when diving with doubles like I said cold isn't much of a factor for me except last night when the winds were howling and I got out of the water I'm sure at greater depths I will need more insulation. I have the plastic cuffs on my drysuit so the only part of me that will get wet is my head unless their is a leak

 

[Storker]

around here you have people who use bcds with singles and only use the wings when diving with doubles

Heh. Around here, I think I've seen every conceivable combination of gear - except wetsuit plus jacket BCD. 99% of the folks dive dry. Recreational doubles are rather popular, I'd guess some 20-30% use those. Most of the twinset divers use a BP/W, but I've seen a jacket BCD for doubles. Some of the twinset divers use a LH/BO config, others prefer a conventional short hose/octo config. Of the single tank divers, most use a jacket BCD, but some - like me - prefer a BP/W. I don't think I've seen a jacket BCD + LH/BO setup, but among the single tank divers on a BP/W you'll find both LH/BO setups and short hose/octo setups.

the only part of me that will get wet is my head unless their is a leak

Which is why I know only one active diver around here who dives wet. When it's a little nippy, he gets pretty cold after the dive, while the rest of us are fairly warm.

 

[tbone1004]

Tell that to the 70-80% of the divers around here who use a jacket BCD / DS combo with no problems. And I think you'd be hard pressed to find even one among the BP users who switched from a jacket BCD to a BP because of that.

because others do it that way, because we've always done it that way, and because my instructor told me so has no bearing on it being the best option.... Stab jackets exist for two reasons. They are cheap to make and allow dive shops to make a high margin, and "we've always done it that way". Nothing else. Not derailing the thread, at all, but the statement I made is 100% true whether you have 8 or 8000 divers doing it that way, that doesn't mean the statement isn't true.

 

[Storker]

I didn't say "because we've always done it that way". I said "use a jacket BCD / DS combo with no problems"

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

80F and up I use a 2mm shortie or a 3/2 mm long.
68F and up I use a 6/3 mm suit
60F to 68F I use a 7mm suit
60F and down a 4MM compressed neoprene drysuit.

Half the benefit of a drysuit is out of the water. When it's a cool windy day it's a lot nicer to be wearing toasty underwear instead of a cold wetsuit. This applies to getting dressed for the 2nd or 3rd dive.
I own a Bare 4mm Compressed neoprene Drysuit with a neoprene neck seal & latex wrist seals.
There is no need to break the bank with"drysuit" underwear, Marks will have most of what you need a lot cheaper. In water above 50F I just use Marks Work Warehouse micro fleece long johns. In colder water I wear Mares 100g drysuit underwear($75) and if it's really (Toby) cold I will wear the long johns under the Mares. On my feet I wear a pair of Marks Nu heat socks. You will get cold if you wear too much underwear. You should wear something similar to UnderArmour (again a lot cheaper at Marks) as a base layer to wick the moisture away. I use a pair of mares 6/5mm Tri gloves and have never had cold hands, so I haven't needed to get dry gloves.

You may find out that you won't need as much weight depending on your drysuit. 14mm is a lot of rubber. On the BC issue, I own both a BP/W and a Aqua Atomics Omega back inflate BC. The Omega is usually the one I grab, so it all about preference.