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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / September 2005Should I purchase a full-length wetsuit?
I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. I know the water temp will be about 75-78F. I have sufficient "insulation" so that I wear only a bathing suit in water to 78F and stay for about 1 hour. I'm a weanie-warm-water diver so I'm not used to wearing any neoprene at all. I have a 2/3 shortie. Knowing much of the diving off the Kona coast is macro-related, is a shortie enough for repeat dives, i.e. 2-3 tanks per day for 3-4 days or should I shell out for a full-length suit? I know warmth is a subjective quality but is there anyone in cyberspace who shares my thermal properties and can give me pointers? TIA, Jo > I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. I > know the water temp will be about 75-78F. I have sufficient "insulation" [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > anyone in cyberspace who shares my thermal properties and can give me > pointers? If you have to ask the question, the answer is probably yes. More than that, buy the wetsuit as soon as practical and get some time in with it before your trip. It will affect your buoyancy. Lee "Jimini" <jimini@telus.net> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. I :know the water temp will be about 75-78F. I have sufficient "insulation" so [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] :warmth is a subjective quality but is there anyone in cyberspace who shares :my thermal properties and can give me pointers? Buy one. If you're too warm, it cost you the price of a wetsuit. If do needed it and didn't get it, you messed up your vacation. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. I > know the water temp will be about 75-78F. Only if El Nino hits. > I have sufficient "insulation" so > that I wear only a bathing suit in water to 78F and stay for about 1 hour. Then why are you asking? > is there anyone in cyberspace who shares > my thermal properties and can give me pointers? Buy you a 1 mil suit (like what I use). It'll be more than adequate given your description of your blubber and 78F tolerance. The suit will be for protection against the razor sharp LAVA ROCKS when you are diving in the abominabe Kona surges. Warmth is secondary. If that's not sufficient, the dive shop should throw in a shortie, free or at a small fee. It's much cheaper that way, it'll more scratch/cut resistent than your 1 mil or your skin. Been there. Done that. -- Bob. >I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. I >know the water temp will be about 75-78F. I have sufficient "insulation" so [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Jo I would suggest you get a 3mm farmer john style. This way you can use it with or without your original shortie suit. You then have three different configurations for a suit. If the water is cold enough the extra layer over your bodys core will help keep you warm.I just got back from diving in Newfoundland on a couple of wrecks from WWII the water temperature at 85ft was 44 degrees. I dove both wrecks wet but was using a full and shortie 7mm suit. For a total of 14mm on my body core. It was a bit uncomfortable at first but I got used to it before we reached our planned dive depth. The descent through a thermocline I noticed a major change in the temp. and the total dive time was twenty five minutes. I am sure if it was am longer I would have started to feel the effect of hypothermia. Wear a full suit at all times for a number of reasons.... 1) avoid cuts and scrathes from coral or other obstacles when you might accidentially bump into something sharp. 2) a full suit will help or extend your air time, I've found out. If the water is not in the 80's, your body will use up more oxygen to keep warm and shorted air time or "down time" on your dive. > >I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. I > >know the water temp will be about 75-78F. I have sufficient "insulation" so [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > five minutes. I am sure if it was am longer I would have started to > feel the effect of hypothermia. One other possibility is to buy what I call I think was called a polartec suit. Basically it is a lined lycra skin with no buoyancy to it and then layer it under your shorty. It should definitely make a diference in warmth without changing buoyancy. Other than that buy a one piece. Better safe than freezing on vacation. >Wear a full suit at all times for a number of reasons.... > [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] >> five minutes. I am sure if it was am longer I would have started to >> feel the effect of hypothermia. > >> >I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. I > >> >know the water temp will be about 75-78F. I have sufficient "insulation" so [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >> > > >> >Jo Listen to the advice given so far about the one piece. Buy the one piece! You can always unzip it, or stretch the neck to let water in, to get cooled down. But if you don't have enough protection, there's nothing you can do about that, and you'll potentially ruin your vacation. Don't forget that as the days of diving go by, your core temp drops. Lots of people start out a dive week without wearing a hood, but finish up the week with one on, even in warmer waters. There's a reason for that. >> >> >I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. >I [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >down. But if you don't have enough protection, there's nothing you can do >about that, and you'll potentially ruin your vacation. A light 2 mm one piece would probably work for Kona, if he is, as he claims, "well insulated". Pack the shorty and he's set. >Don't forget that as the days of diving go by, your core temp drops. Lots >of people start out a dive week without wearing a hood, but finish up the >week with one on, even in warmer waters. There's a reason for that. I have some pictures of me on our trip on the late Wave Dancer. I can look at them and know what day they were taken by what I'm wearing. Skin to polartec to polartec and shorty to polartec, shorty and hood. You're right, it can get damned cold in the tropics if you don't take care of yourself. Our favorite dive operator in Kona says "don't even think of diving in only a polartec here".  Signaturedillon Pain is Nature's way of saying "that was stupid" I forgot to mention the hood. Excellent point and eithe a light hood or a bonnet make a huge difference to me. >>> >> >I'm planning on diving the Kona Coast in late November-early December. >>I [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] >Our favorite dive operator in Kona says "don't even think of diving in >only a polartec here". >I forgot to mention the hood. Excellent point and eithe a light hood >or a bonnet make a huge difference to me. I agree. I addition to keeping the head warm, a hood keeps cold water off the neck and improoves the neck seal for you setsuit. Personally, I use a hooded vest in temps such as the original poster is considering. SignatureCharlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA (hammond@not@peek.ssr.hp.com -- remove "@not" when replying) All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's. hammond@not wrote: > >I forgot to mention the hood. Excellent point and eithe a light hood > >or a bonnet make a huge difference to me. > > I agree. I addition to keeping the head warm, a hood keeps cold water > off the neck and improoves the neck seal for you setsuit. Nonsense. A hood is good to protect the loss of heat, even in VERY warm water diving, whether you wear a wetsuit or not. Ever since I was on the Tahiti Aggressor, and purchased THREE hoods that had a shark's fin on top (because I thought they were $17 each but turn out to be $70 each <G>) Sue and I wear those hoods on every dive now, in warm or cold water. It's particularly good to wear a shark hood when you are diving with sharks because they get curious and come to look you over and you wouldn't have to chase them. As a matter of fact, it's good to dive anywhere with FISH. None of them ever saw sharks blowing bubbles out of their mouths like we do, and so they come to investigate. I think Dan Bracuk too a pic of me in Cozumel in one of those hoods. That's why Dan even got a picture of a seahorse in one of those dives that he had never seen before. :-) The THIRD hood I have has TWO protruding fin-like objects on top -- but they are not supposed to be fins, but the horns of the devil. I have never worn it to know how sharks and fish react to the Devil, but Chris Pflaum did, on the Tobago liveaboard. If he is still around, he can tell you about it. Ah, that reminds me ... hoods are particularly good for those without an abundance of hair on top of their heads. da Feeesh. "Reef Fish" <Large_Nassau_Grouper@Yahoo.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :Nonsense. : [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] :but turn out to be $70 each <G>) Sue and I wear those hoods on :every dive now, in warm or cold water. Admit it Bob, you wear them to look cool, not stay warm. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > "Reef Fish" <Large_Nassau_Grouper@Yahoo.com> pounded away at his > keyboard resulting in: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Admit it Bob, you wear them to look cool, not stay warm. That's the trouble with you Dan, jumping to conclusions without any evidence to support it. If what you said were true, I would not have several NON-Tahiti hoods in my scuba closet; and no one would have seen me wearing hoods diving in Cozumel and on the Cayman Aggressor BEFORE I bought those hoods in 2003. I've been diving with hoods in warm water for years before that -- but NOT wet suit! Those shark hoods do look better than my other hoods, and since I had paid $70 for them, why should I NOT wear them, but not for the reason YOU speculated. -- Bob. > Ever since I was on the Tahiti Aggressor, and purchased THREE hoods > that had a shark's fin on top (because I thought they were $17 each > but turn out to be $70 each <G>) Sue and I wear those hoods on > every dive now, in warm or cold water. Which one of you has two heads? > > Ever since I was on the Tahiti Aggressor, and purchased THREE hoods > > that had a shark's fin on top (because I thought they were $17 each > > but turn out to be $70 each <G>) Sue and I wear those hoods on > > every dive now, in warm or cold water. > > Which one of you has two heads? Sue can wear all three without my help: the red-devil one on her head, and the matching shark-fin ones to keep her chest warm. > Sue can wear all three without my help: the red-devil one on her > head, and the matching shark-fin ones to keep her chest warm. Actually, a woman's chest is the warmest part of her body, as it has the most insulation. Optimally-designed woman's wetsuits should have cut outs for breasts so they don't overheat. > > Sue can wear all three without my help: the red-devil one on her > > head, and the matching shark-fin ones to keep her chest warm. > > Actually, a woman's chest is the warmest part of her body, How would YOU know? > Optimally-designed woman's wetsuits should have cut outs > for breasts so they don't overheat. That's true, but only in Warm Water diving. I have a Cozumel documentary video that actually showed several well-insulated wimmin scuba divers diving in them. :-) >> Actually, a woman's chest is the warmest part of her body, > > How would YOU know? a) it's very close to the body core and heart b) it's padded with more insulating fat than other parts of the body If your experience with women tells you that their breasts are always cold, perhaps you're the underlying cause of the frigidity. >>>Actually, a woman's chest is the warmest part of her body, >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > If your experience with women tells you that their breasts are always cold, > perhaps you're the underlying cause of the frigidity. why would that not surprise anyone? > >>>Actually, a woman's chest is the warmest part of her body, > >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > why would that not surprise anyone? Where have you been? Did they let you out of the funny farm to see who's still worshipping whom? > Where have you been? Did they let you out of the funny farm to see > who's still worshipping whom? Tiger farm. Bob is a tiger rancher, raising the beasts for their semen to sell on the Chinese market as an aphrodesiac. If you've ever tried to "milk" a tiger, you'd be as impressed as I am. > > Where have you been? Did they let you out of the funny farm to see > > who's still worshipping whom? > > Tiger farm. Bob is a tiger rancher, raising the beasts for their semen to > sell on the Chinese market as an aphrodesiac. If you've ever tried to > "milk" a tiger, you'd be as impressed as I am. Greg, you're just trying to have Bob Crownfield to snnounce you as Clownfield Bob> And thus you win "The Laugh of the Day Award" !! periodically awarded in the Idiots' Mutual Admiration Society, which had a Chapter in rec.scuba. The only semen Bob Crownfield milks was his own, and it dried up by the time his Mental Age was 10. I think he was 30 or 40 by then, if you the calandar count. -- Bob. |
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