Ordered my dive wetsuit......

Awesome Joel! Look foward to diving with you. Just remember can you load a speargun? I am learning the technique. Let me know when you bribe Fuzz for some lessons cause I'll throw in.


I am diving with an auqalung 5mm hyperstretch type material with a 5mm hood vest of the top. 7 mm booties and gloves. When I dove at Elk I was sweating in my suit. on a couple of the dives I tried to let some water under my vest too cool down. The diving was 20ft or less.

-Brian G

....Thank to Fuzz for da help 

Here's a newbie question: Can I use my 7mm for scuba diving as well?

i use my 6.5 mm freedive suit for scuba as well and the thicker the better because down deep it gets cold!

if i did more scuba i would want that extra .5 mm for sure.

john

Thanks for the link Mooch.

I have a couple more questions to add to the mix:
1) For someone like me who's carrying around a little extra stuff, would it be better to buy off the shelf or to have  a wetsuit custom made?
2) What are the advantages of 1 piece vs. 2 piece and vice versa?
3) Does color matter all that much for spear fishing?  I've seen a lot of guys go with the camo.  If color does matter, is it alright to go with a normal black wetsuit and then buy one of those covers that you can wear over the wetsuit?

i think a custom suit is the best but for guys who carry extra weight leakage is not as much of an issue. if you are bony thin then you are bound to get cold and gaps in the suit.

when i was at the dive shop selling suits, the suits that came back were mainly guys who were thin and got cold too fast due to being thin in a suit that had gaps where water would pool a lot.

im in process of getting my extra "stuff" now and it feels good when i am in the water. better than when i was lacking more "stuff".

if i were you a custom suit would be a nice treat but im pretty sure you'd get by just fine without one. if you buy one at a shop make sure they let you in the pool with it, that way youll know exactly how it feels in terms of movement.

a 2 pc suit, keeps your torso warm with 2 layers yet your arms and legs have a single layer. my buddy alain uses a 1 pc suit and does fine. can carry less lead too. i use 2 pcs because mine is skin in.

as far as camo, guys in every shade of suit can take a fish and its been done for years. even bright pale guys in blue water can take fish. if anything maybe fish see more solid shades like a big black seal. i read somewhere that the idea with camo is to break up the shapes and supposedly it helps. when i see my diving buddies in camo underwater it works for me, its harder to spot em as they bland with the terrain. i just look like a big seal: )

When I dove at Elk I was sweating in my suit. on a couple of the dives I tried to let some water under my vest too cool down. 
-Brian G

That will all change once you get comfortable with everything. You struggle more as a newbie hence you burn more energy and heat up. You will work a lot less at it the more you do it and your energy expenditure will be minimal. That is when you will be glad you have the suit you have.
Oh yea, and in APRIL too!!!

...I need to start paying some attention to my dear old mountain bike, my snowboard and my trusty old back pack

If you have a carry case for the snowboard, it could be very useful for spearguns when you travel somewhere to shoot fish.

An external frame backpack is essential for holding all your gear for when you have to hike in to a remote spot for abs or lobsters or whatever. 

...I need to start paying some attention to my dear old mountain bike, my snowboard and my trusty old back pack

If you have a carry case for the snowboard, it could be very useful for spearguns when you travel somewhere to shoot fish.

An external frame backpack is essential for holding all your gear for when you have to hike in to a remote spot for abs or lobsters or whatever. 

Thanks for the tip...unfortunately, I don't have a snowboard bag....and my backpack has an internal frame  .....I figure I can get Fuzz to carry all my stuff....and reward him with a can of spam

 i use a 2-piece. each piece is 3mil so i end-up with 6mil over my torso, upper legs , upper arms and 3mil on my lower legs and lower arms. it keeps me plenty cozy for extended freedive sessions. then i wear just the farmer john part when kayakfishing. 7mil restricts movement, requires more lead, and is not necessary for us portly types.  i have never known anyone who had to buy a custom built suit . i think they make factory sizes for just about everyone. twice a year i do a camping/abdiving trip with a bunch of guys from the hells angels and those guys come in all kinds of strange sizes and i know for a fact none of them has ever owned a custom made suit.

I am one of the "low tech" guys in terms of a wetsuit. I just wear a cheap scuba suit for free diving. The ones you can buy for $150 while on sale in a local store. I usually stay in the water for a minimum of 3-5 hours, so far haven't felt cold or anything so no need to change.
The reasons I'm not too fond of opencell free diving suit are 1) you have to lube yourself, really weird and inconvenient. Sometimes after I get in the water, I decide to get up and try a different spot. I don't like to drive my car with my wetsuit on. If you have an opencell suit, it would be a pain to take it off then later putting it on again. 2) easy to tear 3) if you have to pee the open cell would be aweful 4) expensive 5) unless you are lucky to have a dive shop nearby that carries your size, you cannot try it on. Buying online is a risk, especially from overseas. You may end up with $300 of neoprene that is completely useless to you.

there are actually a lot of advantages to a open cell suit, some being that its actually easier to take on and off once you have it on, i also move from place to place and after wearing the suit in one location i can get out of it, drive an hour and slip it back on. for those who get cold easy, heat retention in an open cell suit is much better.

another big advantage to an open cell suit is that once you try one on in the ocean you will probably never want to go back to a wetsuit that has the closed cell because of the freedom of movement. when they glue that layer over the neoprene in a standard dive suit that material restricts and limits your ability to move. By having an open cell suit your range of motion is a lot better and there is no pinching or grabbing while wearing it. It almost feels as if you have thicker skin because your body is kind of sliding around in it.

i used a regular suit for years and i hated putting it on especially if it was already wet. after trying the open cell suit i could not use the other types now. for heat retention, comfort and easy of use i prefer the open cell.

maintenance of these suits does require more care, open cell suits cut easier and you make the repairs with neoprene cement. hanging of the suit , top should be hung by the beaver tail and the farmer johns by the shoulders as usual. rinse them well and use antibacterial soap. i just buy a gallon from smart and final. smells ok still and yes i do pee : )

john

  Darn you mooch. I just skimmed through all these posts to find info about a FREE, dive suit. I never found it...you're such a tease

FF

:smt013Darn you mooch. I just skimmed through all these posts to find info about a FREE, dive suit. I never found it...you're such a tease

FF

I guess I'll have to re-word it 

Oh I see where you are going with this; it's all about the diver guy with 3 butts in the +30# range that pulled up at MBK saying he tagged them in 70' of water. If you ever want to go ab diving up north I up for it, any deeper than 20' my ears give me problems. Good to see you again at the derby, let's go fish sometime.

Solsrf1/Mike

Oh I see where you are going with this; it's all about the diver guy with 3 butts in the +30# range that pulled up at MBK saying he tagged them in 70' of water. If you ever want to go ab diving up north I up for it, any deeper than 20' my ears give me problems. Good to see you again at the derby, let's go fish sometime.

Solsrf1/Mike

Mike,

Actually, I'm hoping to do more spearing than ab diving but if there happens to be any abs in the area, I'll wouldn't pass up the chance to try and get some 
Mike, PM me your contact info - always good to have a diving companion.

I'm still drooling on that halibut you caught at MBK 

See you in and on the water soon!