Wetsuit/drysuit - warm air/cold water

roteirod_93 · Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1

Hi! I'd like to recommend you ScubaPro wetsuit. I bought it on Dipndive a while ago and I am completely happy with it. It offers comfort and precise fit, very warm and durable. Great choice for reasonable price

d0uglass · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 12:10 pm Post subject:

There's a big gap between shorty wetsuit conditions and full drysuit conditions. A 3/2 or 4/3 full wetsuit ought to cover it. 4/3 will get hot if you're not falling in the water at all, but it will keep you safer if there's an emergency and you have to be in the 50 degree water for a while. I'd probably go with a 4/3.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

There's a Kokatat GoreTex dry suit for sale in the iW classifieds at well under half price. Yes, it's comfortable at 80 degrees with no insulation under it, but you wouldn't want to put wear and tear on an expensive suit for those air temps even in cool water; a much cheaper neoprene suit would work fine.

In your 75/50 scenario, I'd be in a serious suit because of the threat posed by a swim. I HATE the icy spinal taps 50-degree water produces in falls in a steamer, so I'd be in some kind of dry suit. (Do Not Fall is not in my vocabulary.) If I got too warm, as I did Tuesday in a neoprene dry suit at 62/58 because I was sailing alone 'til dark and dressed for it, I'd dunk my head more often. If I had been in my Kokatat, I'd have burped ALL the air out to minimize its insulation. (If I get chilly in it, I just blow some extra air into it so the GoreTex stands off the fleece underneath. Either adjustment is easily and safely done in the water in seconds.)