Wetsuit question

hi there,

I had a .5 mm before...cant remember who made it though, sorry. You should be able to find something...but I´d suggest interwebbery, as long as you have an address for shipping. Actually, I just remembered, I picked it up in Mermaids in Bangkok, so you could call them and ask.

But really, you want to get your suit based on what thermal protection you will need, not on any bouyancy issues. No matter what suit you wear, it should be possible to get your weighting and trim correct. I personally switch between a 3mm and a .5mm in the tropics....sometimes that 4th dive of the day gets well chilly. Or, you could think about getting a hooded vest too, covers just your head and torso, and that would be perfect to wear under the 1mm if it gets too cold.

Make sure that a 1mm is enough for you before buying one. Hopefully not to cause any offence, but sometimes the fairer sex struggle a bit in colder water...not like us stoics...we´d rather turn to ice then call a dive because we´re nippy. Also, just some random advice that you didnt ask for....I would get a full suit, not a shorty...especially if you go for the 1mm...warmer but importantly, better if you run into some annoying stingers.

Hope that helps, enjoy yourself,

Ferg

Thanks Ferg, have sent you a pm.

with a new suit you will have also bouyancy problems.
you have to learn to controll your bouyancy anyway. buy a suit that covers your needs (protection, warmth, ....)
but i'm one of those girls who are freezing under water.

Happystar, what Ferg said. You need to wear a wetsuit that is appropriate to the temperature of the water you are diving in, regardless of how much lead you need on your weightbelt. If you are diving in warm, tropical waters and have plenty of time for your body to warm up between dives, a .5 mm may be exactly what you need, but if the water is cooler, or if you do a lot of repetitive diving, it may not be what you need at all. So the first question you should ask yourself is where you plan to be doing your diving and get a wetsuit that makes sense for that water temperature. Then work on your buoyancy as a natural consequence of becoming a good diver. What I mean is as your experience and confidence in your dive abilities grow, you will need less weight. Maybe the issue isn't the wetsuit but the normal newbie buoyancy thing.

Beyond that, I own three .5 mm wetsuits myself. One is an Oceanic, one is a Radiator, and the other is a ScubaPro. They are all full-body suits, and are really meant to function like skin suits to be worn alone against jellies and other stingers, or to be worn under a shorty for more protection to exposed arms and legs. They don't keep you very warm at all, although I just had a diver who needed one under her shorty to give her just a bit more added thermal protection.

Hope you find what you need.

Q.

I have a scuba-pro .5mm shorty that has a reflective liner. Love it. I wear it under my 7mm.

Your instructor sounds like he/she is new to diving or a complete idiot.

Did they also tell you that by not using a BCD or regs and just wearing togs your bouyancy reaches perfection? Its called swimming.

May I ask where you learnt happpstar? Please tell me it was Koh Tao and vindicate years of misanthropic postings by me!

I second you, mucksavage. Happystar's instructor is a prat. He should have been able to weight her properly based on the thickness of the wetsuit. Next time, Happystar, make a guess on how much weight you need to add (your PADI OW book has a section on weights) and then do a buoyancy check on the surface before you go down, adjusting as necessary. Your instructor should have run you through that drill. Shame on him.

Buy your wetsuit based on the temperature you're usually going to be diving in. If you want a half mil suit, search for 'dive skin' or 'skin suit' or 'sting suit'. I tend to dive in a t-shirt and my speedos myself whenever possible, but I have found that a .5 mm scuba pro dive skin (or even just a lycra sting suit) and a 3mm shorty will do for me down to about 23 degrees C (I'm a girly), if that's any help. I have a 5mm wetsuit for colder dives, and that takes care of me down to about 18. If the water gets any colder, I'm staying home.

I agree with the above comments about needing to learn to control your buoyancy. If you're having problems when wearing a 3mm suit, you need more practice, not a thinner suit!

If you're only diving in the tropics, a thin wet-suit, or even a lycra suit would be fine. I'd advise against a shorty though - it's useful to have at least your legs covered to provide protection against scratches from coral or other underwater hazards, particularly if you ever do any wreck diving.

Thanks for all replies! will work on my buoancy