suit for evily cold Australian waters..?

[theslyfox01]

G'day guys, I've returned from my Thailand trip which was fantastic, but now I'm back to the reality of diving in shorts and a T-shirt won't quite cut it.

I live in Melbourne where the surface water temp. ranges from 21 degrees celcius down to around 12 degrees in the middle of winter. :wacko: which sounds bloody nasty too me, I'm about to run down later tonight and pick up a bargain wet-suit, its on special but I'm wondering if it will be enough to keep me half-warm in the colder months (I might just have to give up and hire a 7mm suit when its right in the middle of winter)

The suit im looking at is a 'Northern Diver 5mm semi-dry, titanium, with hood.'

The reason I'm interested is because im on a budget and its a bargain - around $US 140 brand new.

Do you think I can get away with this semi-dry 5mm for most of the years diving, or do I need to save up for alot longer and get myself a 7mm suit..?

Dry-suit is out of the question since the $$$$ arn't forthcoming.

Thanks for any advice

PS a guy told me some people who have real trouble in winter with the cold in there wetsuits actually stick hot water bottles in their suit on there stomach to heat them up abit more.. anyone know about how effective that is? ta

 

[Soggy]

People dive in New England in the 50s all the time with 7mm wetsuits quite comfortably. One suggestion is carry a bottle of hot water (not scalding) with you and dump it in your suit before and after each dive. This will help keep you a little more comfortable at least. Leisurepro has Bare one-piece 7mm for $150 US, which isn't any more money than a 3mm. Any colder than 45-50 degrees, you'll need a drysuit.

 

[RPanick]

If you think 12C is cold in Winter, try where we are in the North of the US where 17C is the summer warm.

Problem is, you really need two suits. A 3mm for summer, and a 6mm for winter. Your at that range where one isn't going to cut it for both. You might be able to get away with a 3mm if the cold doesn't bother you much, then you can dive in the nice weather and maybe only miss a few months of diving.

Spring diving here is right around 12C and I'm fairly comfortable with a 6mm two piece suit. Of course, I'm fairly tolerant of cold. By summer when it hits 17C I end up unzipping and pumping in water to cool off. At 21, I would overheat in my heavy wet suit.

That's one of the nice parts of a dry suit, your thermal protection is managed by the underwear you go with. You want to be warmer, wear more. Price is definitely an issue though.