What type of wetsuit do you prefer?

Ok, here goes.
I dive with a 7mm 2 piece wetsuit. It works for me. I used to have an O'Neil, but found it to be too restrictive. I went with a Henderson Gold Core and love it. I have 3 of them.
You might not get too cold in the water in a 3 or 5 mm at first because as a newbie you are working hard and burning up energy . You also probably won't spend too much time in the water because you are working harder you tire out faster. As you progress and become a more proficient diver, things get easier. Now that things are easier for me I burn less energy and I can stay in the water longer. Spending more time in the water while working less makes for a cold experience unless you are dressed for it.
The down side of wearing a 7mm is the weight belt you have to wear to stay neutrally buoyant. The thicker the suit, the more weight you have to wear. It doesn't bother me in the water, just when I am out of the water.
My girlfriend went with a henderson Hyperastratch and LOVES it. The flexibility is unparalleled. She does however wear a 2mm vest with it because she gets REAL cold no matter what at times. This helps a LOT.
If your weight fluxuates a bit from time to time definitely invest in a hyperstretch suit. Makes every outing comfortable, not just when you are at only one weight.
Tote

While I am not nearly as experienced as Tote, I'll toss my 2 cents in.  Newbie's opinion, so take it with a grain of salt:

Generally, for north coast diving, a 7mm suit is standard for comfort/warmth.  Skin-in suits are the warmest by far.  With proper seals, I have zero water entering my suit - no trickling or leaking.  A true skin-in cell is basically just the raw rubber - which will stick to your skin making it almost impossible to don.  This is also what makes this wetsuit so warm.  A traditional wetsuit lets some water in & traps that layer in between the neoprene & your skin, using your body heat to warm it up & act as a thermal barrier.  A skin-in or open-cell suit blocks the water out altogether.  Use a bit of conditioner mixed with water & it slides on no prob.  Once lubed, I can put my top & bottom on in maybe 20-30seconds.  Getting it off can be funny to watch if it's too form-fitting. 

Picasso makes great suits; however, the newer suits ordered from Spain don't use the Yamamoto rubber that used to be the standard.  They use a slightly cheaper grade called Sheika.  This material is even more flexible, but is a bit more spongy & compresses at depth easier.  This introduces 2 problems, less insulation at depth & buoyancy issues.  Both are noticeable, but not a huge problem... especially for the difference in price.  Picassoamerica carries the original Yamamoto rubber wetsuits (Roger bought up the old inventory when parent Picasso company in Spain switching wetsuit materials); however, it is also quite expensive.  Not happy with the new suits, Roger has been working with Yamamoto & is introducing his own personal line of wetsuits in the near future.  Omer & Sporasub both make good open-cell or skin-in lined suits.  Both work well for what their intended purposes.  Unfortunately, I'm between sizes for them - too large for a sz3 & the sz4 makes me look like a sharpei.  If you fit them, they're both quality suits & will serve their purpose with great results.  Eliossub makes excellent custom suits based on a thorough set of measurements.  They have many different options as far as material - Yamamoto, Heiwa(stiffer than both yamamoto & sheika, but more durable), Sheika, etc.... in different grades.  There are other cheaper alternatives like Oceanos(diveskin), but your results will vary greatly depending on the type.

Skin-in suits need a little more care as far as not ripping the insides; however, they are durable on the outside as the outer surface is lined with nylon similar to traditional wetsuits.  This provides the best of both worlds.  There are also some other alternatives out there for the outer surface.  There are suits with open-cell on both sides, referred to as "chicle" by picasso - literally bubble gum.  Great for bluewater diving or freedivers just looking for every hydrodynamic advantage.  Not good for divers in norcal since they are very fragile suits & very easy to develop rips in.  Another option is lycra instead of nylon.  Picasso has this option & it's purpose is to offer more flexibility while preserving a good deal of durability.  There are models like picasso's "shadow lycra" available, but probably better to stick to nylon since the difference is negligible.

The Henderson Gold-core is a nice suit & will work for many divers - but the price is quite high for what you get.  In addition, you have to purchase a separate hood since it's not integral to the jacket like most euro-suits.  Add it together & you could get 2 picasso suits for the ~ the same price.  There are many positive assets of the gold core, but having used both, even for the same price, I'd go for the picasso hand's down.

As far as using 3 or 5mm, it depends on what you're trying to do & your cold tolerance.  If you're gonna just grab 3 abs, it may work well.  It goes without saying, but the warmer you are... the longer you'll be able to stay in the water & the better your bottom times will be.  Increasing your breathhold is primarily based on how well you relax in the water.  This includes both mentally & physically.  If you're cold at all, your body tenses & the muscles draw oxygen.  If you shiver... even worse.  If I lived close to the water, I may try using a 3mm for a really quick dive.  Unfortunately, it's quite a ways to water, so I just use my 7mm & stay warm.  Like Tote said, 'As you progress and become a more proficient diver, things get easier."  This also means that as you learn to relax & conserve energy, your metabolism & natural body heat subsides a bit.  The extra insulation of a good suit helps complement this progression...  until you hit that bitter cold thermocline   

When crabbing or paddling long distances, I use just the bottoms of my wetsuit.  Otherwise I overheat too bad.  Works well.

Wow that’s pretty comprehensive overview fuzz.  I don’t know much about wetsuits, but what you wrote seems spot on for the Picasso I have.

I considered both Elios custom and divskin customs.  Elios was from Italy or Spain and diveskin from China(?).  Diveskin was dirt cheap too.  In the end, I went with a 5 mm Picasso for $170 plus shipping ($45).  I initially ordered the wrong size and had to ship it back.  The company gave me a credit for the return shipping AND covered the cost to ship me the right size.  I couldn’t believe it.

I think you are right about the sheika neoprene being very easy to compress and spongy.  Its much much spongier than my old suit.  However its super comfortable.  I just hope it “bounces back” to its orginal shape. 

I’m also wondering how long I’ll last before getting cold, given it’s a 5mm.  My old suit was a 6mm with zippers.  Supposedly I should be as warm, given there are no zippers on the Picasso and its near water tight.  However, doing it again, I’d probably order a 7mm.

Can’t wait to try it out.  Its collecting dust, as is my kayak.

Stuart

I've heard nothing but good things about Elios-sub, but a sz52 picasso fits me just right so figured I didn't really need a custom.

Diveskin is actually from greece.  Unfortunately I did try them since they were cheap.  Their "custom" heiwa suit doesn't fit me as well as an off-the-rack Picasso.  I got 2 suits from them - a 3mm & 5mm.  They haven't touched water.

Like you said, the sheika in the new Picassos is really comfortable.  The super flexible nature makes it fit really nicely.  Don't have it in 7mm, but do in 3 & 5mm.  No complaints so far other than the minor compression difference.  The downfall is supposed to be longevity of the suit/material, but I guess that's a test of time

Even the yamamoto rubber has been tested over time to compress permanently.  Like Bigeyedave mentions, the internal bubbles eventually compress and the material loses some of it's thermal properties.

Get out there & test it! 

  Newbie's opinion, so take it with a grain of salt:

Newbie what?  Newbie apnea suit maker? 

i use an omer farmer john and top wiht a beaver tail. its warm butis a pain to get on unless you have lube like hair conditioner. i can stay in about 5 hours on a good day just fine in carmel.

up north i always get colder a lot faster.

I am starting my Scuba class,I have a 'NRS' grizzly 3mm farmer john...i can fit in it
I am 6'6"-6'7" iss and 300lb....does anyone know of any companies that have big guy full sleeve 5-7mm suits


should I just get a grizzly 4-5xl top/jacket and try and make it work...my booties are size 16 3mm....the shop tried me for their other equipment and I will fit...flippers too...just the suit???
Thanks for any help...am at the book reading study phase...but want to get suit soon
Thanks
Craig
p.s did not want to start a new thread unless needed

I have the cressi tech suit in 7mm and have been happy with it. I got a killer deal on it for $189 new so that helps the equation, but I have to say that it's not as flexible as some of hte other suits mentioned already. but it does seem to be pretty durable with no exterior tears after a year and only a couple fingernail marks on the interior that patched up without a problem. If you can find it cheap I'd recommend it, but full price is usually in the upper $300 range and at that price I think there are better options. FWIW I've heard good remarks from others on the Mako suits and their pricing is very competitive.

In the spearfishing/freedive world I think Mako has an XXL, Polosub in Italy only does custom suits. There are a few suit makers in Santa Cruz / Monterey that do custom suits.

Only my opinion.
I've been diving in a mako Yamamoto for the last 2 years. Best suit I've ever owned...and I've had a few.

thanks for any help directed at my questions...
I'm having one made in bigfoot size here this weekend...still working on thickness and features...a decent first time diver entry level suit is my hopes

http://www.otterbaysuits.com/

For norcal/cencal I like a two piece freedive suit.  The price of top of the line off the rack suits and custom suits is the same, so I get custom suits.

Open cell + 7mm + Two piece = very warm and happy. 

www.freediveshop.com/index.php?osCsid=3d07ab6690e4850029cb4b0f029c9b9f&cPath=43_52
http://www.makospearguns.com/category-s/38.htm
http://www.imersion.us/index.php?lg=1&chx=20&fam=1
http://www.polosub.com/index_en.php
http://spetton-usa.com/wetsuits/
http://www.omerdiving.com/categories.php?categoryID=8
http://www.sporasubamerica.com/wetsuits-c-29.html?osCsid=098573e3f7ee2a9abb6c8ddb536accd3
http://www.roballen.co.za/
http://www.yazbeck.com/wetsuits/freedive-hunter
http://www.esclapezdiving.com/en/article-2-Wet_Suits.html
http://www.cressisubusa.com/catalogue/index.asp?settoreidxmacro=100&catmacroid=10
http://www.salvimarusa.com/category-s/1817.htm
http://shop.jblspearguns.com/wetsuits/

to name a few 

7mm Cressi technica:-) 

I started with a no name two piece 7mm suit 27 years ago and since moved on 15yr ago to a 7/5mm Excel one piece semi dry that works great for me both on and off the kayak. since it is one piece and the hood is attached I can unzip it across my chest and just flip the top back off my shoulders to paddle and stay cool and when its time to dive in just flip it back over and zip to seal. The 7/5mm suit is 7mm over  main body parts and 5mm in the arm pits and crotch for easy movement. since I have out grown my first Excel suit I have a newer one for me and my son now wears my old one so a suit will last a long time if taken care of properly, but these are nylon lined inside and out so they don't get cut up bad either