Newbie Gear

Hi All,

Not new to spearfishing, did RI in college, but it was all on borrowed gear.  I plan to primarily hunt halibut in shallow sandy areas like tomales bays and off the beaches around the SF Bay Area.

I'm mostly a tackle fisherman, but on the nice water quality days I'd like to be able drop in for halibut and crabs, used equipment or affordable gear is my target. 

So I'm 6'5" 230lbs
neck 17"
waist 35"
inseam 35"
chest 45/46"

I don't plan to do deep water dives, mostly 10-20ft, not that interested in getting into the kelp or the deeper rocky areas, since I'm not a very advanced.

So, with that said, what would be a good suit for a tall guy like me?  Sounds like 5 to 7mil, with a hood is safe bet?  I tend to be warm/sweaty, so leaning towards 5mil.  Again, I want to focus on affordability, than performance, since I'm not going to be putting hard hours in the suit.

And for a gun?  I was thinking the 31" custom would be the best gun for halibut in norcal, plus I traveled to FL or HI it could also get the job done on smaller species.

Thoughts?  Advice?  I'll be diving off a yak, I got my dive flag, float rope, booties, and gloves etc, just need a suit and gun for a part time spearfisherman!

Cheers,

Josh

i payed 160$ for a ful 7mm wetsuit at steeles dive shop in oakland , go check him out because i got most of my gear from him and saved alot of money because the other dive shops are expensive.

Welcome Josh,

I'd recommend a proper freedive suit.   The Freedive shop in Sacramento sometimes has some reasonably priced suits on special.  They may have some odd sizes on the rack for very cheap, but you need to go in to check.  http://www.freediveshop.com/

Personally, I would also rather look for a quality used freedive wetsuit rather than get a new scuba suit.  Like you, I dive hot too.  I've dove up in Norcal in a 5mm for up to 2 hours, and the only parts of me that were cold were my hands and feet as the gloves and booties were only 2-3mm...and hole-y. 

Here's a site with suits at competitive prices.  http://www.makospearguns.com/results.php?category=4

Mako is also a good site to get a gun.  I know many experienced divers in norcal that recommend a 75cm gun as the best overall gun.  Waters in FL and HI are going to be much clearer and a 75cm gun may not be able to get very big fish or fish that tend to stay out of range.  That size gun may only be good for hunting in holes and caves. 

Good luck,
Nate

I wear one of those Steele $160 7mm suit and I like it. I have had it for 6 years and I just patched my first hole I wear a 3 mm vest under it with neopreme socks. I try to exert myself as little as possible to coserve O2 and energy. The Scuba Max are good suits and I recoment a 7mm full or farmer john. You can always wear no gloves if you are too hot. I also shoot a jbl 31". I like it, good gun for the money. Buy your lead of CL for the best deals, sometimes wetsuits come up on it too. I took my first scuba class today, maybe we can dive together sometime!

bump! I'm in the same boat, hope you don't mind the piggyback? I have a 3m farmer could I get away with a 5m top/w hood to put over it?

yes....but don't plan on being in the water all day.

It sounds like you have a littel extra padding so I would use a 3m. I have always used a 3m and dive for hours ab hunting. Get a nicer 3m and it is still are cheaper and need less weight belt and move better. I have tried using 7m but don't see the need. Get a 3m and you'll be happier.

I'm real hot blooded so I am going to try the 3 mil top over my 3 mil farmer. That would give me 6 mil over the core and less floatation cause th arms / legs are only 3. An I correct assuming this.
 R

It sounds like you have a littel extra padding so I would use a 3m. I have always used a 3m and dive for hours ab hunting. Get a nicer 3m and it is still are cheaper and need less weight belt and move better. I have tried using 7m but don't see the need. Get a 3m and you'll be happier.

I need to try a 3mil. I think my 6.5 is overkill for my 2hrs of water time. I spend too much energy on my old suit movement wise , energy I could use for diving. Real freediving suits are probably lot less constricting.

I'm piggybacking also... and new to ab diving.  What is a farmer?  I am looking into buying a wetsuit soon as well; doesn't make much sense to keep renting at $40 a pop.

ive been stuck at sf bart and slept comfortably with no jacket while everyone else froze so maybe im a candidate for a 3mm , maybe ill rent to see.

my extra padding has its perks!

I would only rock a 3mm if I was surfing on top of a longboard in Santa Cruz. 3mm for diving sounds crazy to me. I have an EMS background and have been free diving for 7 years now. Abalone diving is not the place to become hypothermic. It is best to move slowley and efficiently to best conserve oxygen for an emergency situation. I think daily yoga would make one more flexible than shedding neopreme layers if flexibility is truley a concern. Perhaps this recomendation is for yaker that want to paddle for and hour or two to get to a dive spot. I have always found wearing my vest and sleves down to be the perfect ab paddling setup.

Look at that guys that was swept out to sea in Mendo this year. What type of suit would YOU want to be in????
I have refined my "sea blanket" to...
7mm suit
3mm vest with hood incorportated
5mm booties
1mm socks
5mm gloves
I wear 20 lbs of lead and I weigh 240. This is a perfect setup to me. I think recomending 3mm of neopreme in 55 degree water to a NEWBIE is a mistake! This comes from my personal experience so you hot blooded guys out there don't take it the wrong way!

I'm piggybacking also... and new to ab diving.  What is a farmer?  I am looking into buying a wetsuit soon as well; doesn't make much sense to keep renting at $40 a pop.

The farmer john is best suited for scuba diving and people that get cold. You do have to wear significant more weight to compensate. My 62 y/o pops loves his and uses it for clam digging too(bottom only). The bottoms are 7mm and the jacket goes to your midthighs giving you 14 mm of neopreme at your core.

i payed 160$ for a ful 7mm wetsuit at steeles dive shop in oakland , go check him out because i got most of my gear from him and saved alot of money because the other dive shops are expensive.

That shop looks like somebody ransacked it with a hurricane. Nice guy with good prices on so/so gear. I wouldn't trust that guy to rebuild a regulator for me. He might mistake a Funyun for an o-ring

Would you take your car to a shop if it looked like that?

money talks  , i aint scuba diving so i aint concerned about o rings but  far as the little freediving items i needed im glad i found that shop cuz he saved me at least a hundred dollers for some decent gear , thats another thing i liked , he dont try to sell u bullshit that u dont need like this other shop i tried in concord where dude tried sellin me a fancy snorkal for like 35 bucks

yea his shops a mess but he somehow knows where everything is , haha u cant even window shop that place cuz theres nothing but piles of product everywhere

I'm real hot blooded so I am going to try the 3 mil top over my 3 mil farmer. That would give me 6 mil over the core and less floatation cause th arms / legs are only 3. An I correct assuming this.
 R

3 + 3 don't make a 6 mm wetsuit.
Crucial areas of water entry at the neck, bottom of wetsuit top, arms/foot area and thru the zipper.  Never found a 3mil suit with good seals that prevent water entry.
Some of the better surfing suits that are 5 mm have good seals, but they are $$$$.
When water gets in, you will start to freeze.