Looking for suggestions on proper wetsuit/exposure protection

[full fin]

Hello, I am going on a trip where water temps are around 77 degrees. I have a full 3mm and 7mm suits (that are rather stretchy and comfortable but not very warm) and a 7mm hood.

I am a pansy in water, so the full 3mm leaves me shivering at this temp. My options then are the full 7mm suit (seems overkill), the 7mm hood (also seems rather thick) or to buy a thinner hood or vest or ...?

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DarkAbyss]

My first wetsuit was a Mares 2nd Skin 6mm. I did some dives in places where the water temp ranged from 75 to 77 F (that's about 24-25 degrees Celsius), and it served me very well - but after an injury it became too big for me, which made the excessive water "circle around" over my back. The first dive was never a problem, but if I did multiple dives the same day, I eventually started to get cold. My second suit was a Fourth Element Proteus 5mm with a near perfect fitment. This suit had a special neck seal which limited/prevented water movement from the neck area to the back. My third and current suit is a Waterproof W1 5mm, as per now only used in water holding around 82F. Both the Mares and the Fourth Element suits had back zips, while the Waterproof have a front zip. I was very happy with the Mares and the Fourth Element and I am very happy with the Waterproof. If I have to pick one, it would be the Fourth Element for the looks and the fitment. However, the Waterproof is extremely easy to remove.

 

[Damselfish]

Assuming the problem isn't poor fit with what you already have, you could look for a warmer 3mm, or get a 5mm, or think layers. I would try layers, then you can customize as needed. Perhaps a vest or a core warmer over your 3mm would do the job. Another idea if you don't want to buy/haul along more neoprene, would be to rent a shorty at your destination to layer over your 3mm and see how that works out.

It's long been said you lose a lot of heat from your head, and more recently that's often reported to be urban myth. So if you feel you need a hood, it might be worth considering a thinner hood or neoprene beanie for more comfort. You could also get a vest or core warmer with attached hood, which should limit water flow better.

You could also consider a first layer of something like lavacore, though that's probably a more expensive alternative.

(Note that my bias is to use as little as I can. At 77 I'd be in my usual 1mm with a 3mm vest.)

 

[Trailboss123]

You sound exactly like me- LOL. 3mm leaves me shivering, 7mm is overkill. I own a 3mm, 7mm and a drysuit. Reality is that a 5mm is ideal at this temp and I have tried to avoid spending the money to buy a 5mm since I rarely dive these temps and thus have tried different variations with my 3mm wetsuit (vest, hood, hooded vest, gloves...)-- I have finally realized that a 5mm just needs to be in my exposure suit arsenal and am biting the bullet to buy one prior to my trip to Florida next month. I know I will have comfortable and enjoyable dives as a result. I am in this for the long haul, so I will always be able to use it in the future. Will bring 3mm hood, 5mm hood and 3mm gloves to supplement, if and as needed.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I agree with Trailboss: a 5mm is ideal for many of us in 77F water. Before I bought my 5mm, I tried adding a Lavacore hooded vest under my 3mm suit. Wasn't quite warm enough. So I bought a 3mm (neoprene) hooded vest and tried that under my 3mm suit. That was fine, and maybe if I am traveling somewhere water temps can vary in the range of 77-80 I might bring the 3mm suit and the vest, and decide on the spot whether to add the vest. But in the end, I spent more than I would have if I had just bought a 5mm suit. These days, the Lavacore and neoprene vests are gathering dust in my closet. Anywhere in the range of 77-80, I take the 5mm.

If it's just a few degrees below 75, I might use the 3mm vest under the 5mm. Below 72 and it's drysuit for me.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have finally realized that a 5mm just needs to be in my exposure suit arsenal and am biting the bullet to buy one prior to my trip to Florida next month. . . .

Florida in the winter screams "5mm"!

 

[stuartv]

Any temp where a 3mm leaves you shivering seems like a temp where a 7mm would be a good idea. Especially if you are going to be diving multiple days in a row.

If I were cool to a little cold, going up one thickness (from 3 to 5) would make sense to me. But, shivering would call for going up two thicknesses and probably a hood, too. Though I would probably only use a 3 or 5mm hood.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I'm a self confessed warm water wuss and get cold easily - perhaps it's because I just am used to hot temperatures year round

I am a big fan of sharkskin - I have a long sleeve version that has a thin latex collar to stop flushing. Wearing that and a 3mm would be marginal though for me though especially for continuous diving. I would rather wear a warmer suit and flush if I got too warm than wear a thinner suit and wish it were warmer, so in this case I'd err with a 7mm. Although I switch to a Drysuit at those temps

I can't comment on hoods as I really dislike them, they give me equalisation problems on occasion, but they do seem to keep you warmer

 

[Neilwood]

If the 3mm leaves you cold, then the simple and easiest choice is the 7mm especially if doing multiple dives. You can always flush it both before and during the dive if you are too warm.

The other alternative is the 3mm with a layer underneath if you think you will feel the cold.

A lot depends on how much you feel the cold. On one LOB ( Live On Board) trip we had some people in 3mm full suits, some in 5mm full, some in 5mm shorties and others in 7mm. Which was right? All of them because no one complained about the cold.

 

[Damselfish]

the trick with the "if it's too thick just flush some water through it" idea is, if you're in a hot sunny climate you're going to fry if you're in a 7mm _above_ the surface for any amount of time. Especially a pain if you're on a fairly small dayboat, especially if you're spending a surface interval on it. Or perhaps diving off an inflatable or small skiff like some liveaboards will use, although that's at least not going to involve a surface interval. It tends to be impractical or not doable to do much gearing up on some little boats and you need to do it before. So it's worth taking into account if you think you'll be doing anything like that. (Which might be an argument for a 5mm and just taking down the top while you're waiting vs. multiple pieces, but whatever makes it easy.)