Full Suit or 2 piece for cold water

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Wbflyer

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Hello all,

Just got back from Kauai for diving and I have the bug again to start here in the PNW! Need a good 7mm and I have always used a 2 piece but hate the limited movement it creates. However, I've heard they are warmer.. I was thinking about the Pinnacle Cruiser and a 5/7 hooded vest. Thoughts?
 
If you are going to be diving in the Puget Sound, I would highly recommend a drysuit. I got certified here in Seattle and did four dives past that in 7mm 2-piece wetsuits (14mm over your torso). I am normally pretty tolerant of cold, but the diving was pretty miserable, especially during the surface interval and the second dive of two-dive days. Since then I got my drysuit certification and diving, even in February, is much more comfortable.

Just my 2 psi.
 
Hello all,

Just got back from Kauai for diving and I have the bug again to start here in the PNW! Need a good 7mm and I have always used a 2 piece but hate the limited movement it creates. However, I've heard they are warmer.. I was thinking about the Pinnacle Cruiser and a 5/7 hooded vest. Thoughts?


Please take a look at our 7 mm two -piece freedive suits. They are super warm and with no zippers and an integrated hood and smooth rubber interior, there is ZERO water leakage at zippers or around the neck and negligible seepage elsewhere. We use the best neoprene available - Yamamoto and it provides incredible flexibility.

https://www.makospearguns.com/Yamamoto-3D-Reef-Camo-2-Piece-Open-Cell-Wetsuit-p/m2y3drc.htm

M2Y3DRC-2T.jpg
 
The two piece will be warmer, but as was pointed out, you are going to be tested (miserable) between dives. Suit compression is going to reduce the effectiveness of the suit at depth. If you are able to scrape together the money, going dry would be the best investment long term.
 
i did my open water in a 7mm 2 piece right after bought a drysuit . wasnt even that bad of a cost.whites fusion .its no frills but is cost effective and does the trick
 
Diving local in PNW? Talk to your local dive shop. Local shops are a great local resource. When I travel, I research out and contact local dive shops in the location where I will visit for info.

I'm betting that if you are going to do local diving and want to enjoy it, there will be a drysuit involved. If you are just doing local refresh dives before heading off to a vacation in a warmer location, than a wetsuit will do.

14mm on the core sure sounds warm. But a 7mm full suit can be much warmer. How? Watch out at the arms, neck, and zipper. If they seal decent and don't allow excessive flushing of water you will be warmer. One of my coldest dives was in an otherwise warm wetsuit. Someone was helping me into the wetsuit and they folded the back of the hood instead of making sure it was flat. Made a channel smaller than that of your little finger. It just let cold water right into the back of the suit. That water flushing through the suit will negate the insulation factor. So I am going to say fit is way more important than if it is 1 or 2 piece.

There is also a semi-dry option. It is still a wetsuit. But like I was mentioned above about slowing waterflow the semi dry uses seals.

I would still recommend a drysuit. I live in AZ and my local ocean dives are southern California. I still use a drysuit. Last year I ran it until July. Last weekend I was out at our local lake, everyone of us was in a drysuit.
 
Great suggestions, I did have a tr-lam a long time ago from Bare and it felt like I was being squeezed to death. Maybe I need to try a neoprene one? Also, I am trying to decide if the amount of diving i do will justify the cost of a drysuit I will only dive 4 or 5 times a year here in the PNW since I live in PDX.
 
You should never feel "squeezed to death" in a drysuit.
 
FWIW I dove for 20 years in Puget Sound in a two layer 7 mm wetsuit. However, for various reasons those were 1 dive per day experiences. Bare and Pinnacle were my favorites.

Multiple dives per day in the middle of winter convinced me that a drysuit was the way to go. I prefer neoprene to shell shell suits, but I'm weird that way....

For 4-5 dives a year, you might just rent.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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