wetsuit purchase for newbie

[forestfish]

Okay, here is my story - my hubby and I are in the process of getting our PADI OW cert (should be done by mid Sept). We are going to Australia the second half of November, and want to dive the Great Barrier Reef. I am leaning towards getting a 3mm wettie (no shorties for me, gotta protect myself!). Would it be better to buy a wetsuit while in Cairns? Or should I trust the Instructor here in Chicago-area?

I don't mind renting a suit for the training dives, both in the pool and at the quarry. But for diving on the reef, I want my own. I figure that my hubby and I will be able to dive in Hawaii, off Baja, or Carribean about once every 18months or so (we have young kids, so schedulingis an issue).

I have no desire to dive Lake Michigan - no wrecks for me please, just pretty fish and the like.

 

[WellBelowH2O]

Okay, here is my story - my hubby and I are in the process of getting our PADI OW cert (should be done by mid Sept). We are going to Australia the second half of November, and want to dive the Great Barrier Reef. I am leaning towards getting a 3mm wettie (no shorties for me, gotta protect myself!). Would it be better to buy a wetsuit while in Cairns? Or should I trust the Instructor here in Chicago-area?

I would buy it here--get it sized properly and ensure that it fits well before you go on your trip. My philosophy is to leave anything you have to worry about at home BEFORE you go away. No sense having to run around to get a WS while you're there when you can do it here .

 

[spectrum]

If you don't want to dive near home and only plan to dive every 18 months how do you expect to become safe competent divers? I would seriously consider your commitment to diving and decide if it really is a fit at this time in your lives. I may get blasted for saying this but I just don't get it.

As for the suit buy before you go and shop for some appropriate local gear as well. With the right protection you should be able to find enjoyable water you can affort to dive more frequently.

Pete

Okay, here is my story - my hubby and I are in the process of getting our PADI OW cert (should be done by mid Sept). We are going to Australia the second half of November, and want to dive the Great Barrier Reef. I am leaning towards getting a 3mm wettie (no shorties for me, gotta protect myself!). Would it be better to buy a wetsuit while in Cairns? Or should I trust the Instructor here in Chicago-area?

I don't mind renting a suit for the training dives, both in the pool and at the quarry. But for diving on the reef, I want my own. I figure that my hubby and I will be able to dive in Hawaii, off Baja, or Carribean about once every 18months or so (we have young kids, so schedulingis an issue).

I have no desire to dive Lake Michigan - no wrecks for me please, just pretty fish and the like.

 

[Doc]

I am leaning towards getting a 3mm wettie (no shorties for me, gotta protect myself!). Would it be better to buy a wetsuit while in Cairns? Or should I trust the Instructor here in Chicago-area?

A question that I too would always answer with a Buy your own right at home .

But... In your case, diving every once in a great while, varying local conditions where you are going...

If there are no unusual body shape issues (you figure it out) you will be better of renting locally if available.

Reason 1: Wetsuits shrink while hanging 18 months in your basement between dives.

Reason 2: Sea temps varying from 78 to 86 degrees can be found in viable "pretty fish" destinations. You might need different suit thicknesses. Only an ongoing log of your experiences will be your guide as to what you, individually will require.

Right here in Richmond Illinois, we have one great manufacturer of suits http://www.uswetsuits.com/ Great polarfleece and ultra fast custom cut srvc. They made me a suit in two days a couple of weeks ago.

But the best suits I have ever found are from http://www.wetwear.com/sportdivers.htm The full leg/arm zippers are worth their weight in gold.

On your schedule, I would rent. With my body shape/size, I can not.

 

[SwimsLikeRock]

If you don't want to dive near home and only plan to dive every 18 months how do you expect to become safe competent divers? I would seriously consider your commitment to diving and decide if it really is a fit at this time in your lives.

I think there's a lot of us who have no diving ambitions beyond our annual escapes to the Caribbean wherein we float around in 30 feet of water with the rest of the scuba weenies.

 

[jakubson]

Okay, here is my story - my hubby and I are in the process of getting our PADI OW cert (should be done by mid Sept). We are going to Australia the second half of November, and want to dive the Great Barrier Reef. I am leaning towards getting a 3mm wettie (no shorties for me, gotta protect myself!). Would it be better to buy a wetsuit while in Cairns? Or should I trust the Instructor here in Chicago-area?

I don't mind renting a suit for the training dives, both in the pool and at the quarry. But for diving on the reef, I want my own. I figure that my hubby and I will be able to dive in Hawaii, off Baja, or Carribean about once every 18months or so (we have young kids, so schedulingis an issue).

I have no desire to dive Lake Michigan - no wrecks for me please, just pretty fish and the like.

A reasonable quality 3mm fullsuit can be had for about $100 (Tilos 3/2 for $89, Bare 3/2 for $119 at Scubatoys, as an example). Compared to the cost of a trip to GBR, this is noise. Even if the suit shrinks in 18 months, you can go on your GBR trip knowing you have a suit that fits.

By the way, I am still using my 11 year old 3mm suit.

 

[jakubson]

If you don't want to dive near home and only plan to dive every 18 months how do you expect to become safe competent divers? I would seriously consider your commitment to diving and decide if it really is a fit at this time in your lives. I may get blasted for saying this but I just don't get it.

Pete

Pete,

I think you need to understand that different people have different desires. I know that you are excited about diving, since you just got certified 2 months ago, but I think you need to respect the fact that others may have different life situations than you, and may be looking for a different diving experience. Taking refreshers locally before each trip, and diving within their experience limits, I see no reason why forestfish and her husband cannot be safe competent divers.

 

[forestfish]

If you don't want to dive near home and only plan to dive every 18 months how do you expect to become safe competent divers? I would seriously consider your commitment to diving and decide if it really is a fit at this time in your lives. I may get blasted for saying this but I just don't get it.


Hmmm...well, I wouldn't mind diving closer to home, but the cold weather here in the north is not an exciting thought, and finding a good babysitter is stretching it a bit. I expect to become a safe competent diver by being cautious, and probably doing refresher courses. Does diving fit into our lives? Sure, just not on a monthly basis. We like to vacation where it is warm, and we like being in the water. But due to family obligations, we can't go as often as we would like. That it our sacrifice. It doesn't make us any less "committed to diving".

 

[forestfish]

Okay, so I am going to buy myself a wetsuit here in Illinois. Should I just buy it from the dive shop (where we are getting certified)? Or should I get sized there, and then order online?

I tried on one already, and nearly cut off my circulation. Obviously, it was too small.

How often do you need to use a suit to keep it from shrinking?

 

[WellBelowH2O]

Okay, so I am going to buy myself a wetsuit here in Illinois. Should I just buy it from the dive shop (where we are getting certified)? Or should I get sized there, and then order online?

If you get sized at the shop, buy it from them. There's nothing worse than taking a shop owner/worker's time and then using what they helped you figure out to your benefit and not theirs. Otherwise, look at some size charts and buy it online without using the shop. Find someone with a good return policy though in case it doesn't fit.