Cold water wetsuit

[johnhermes]

What are your opinions on a cold water wetsuit. Not one of those 3/2's, but more like a 7mil. I had one a few years ago, but sold it. It was so hard to swim in it I decided that I was not going to dive in cold water. But now, the newer ones seem awfully flexible and stretchy.

[Grande]

I still have my old non-stretchy fullsuit, but will be getting a new stretchy one soon. I do have a newer rip curl springsuit that is made out of the new stretchy stuff and i can tell you it makes a HUGE difference. it even seems like they are warmer than a comparable thickness non-stretchy one . i havent done any cold water diving yet, do you really need a 7mil? i have surfed in 55* water and it was cold but manageable in a 3/2 with booties. how cold is the water bottom temp. in winter? seems like it would be around 60* most of the year.

[f94gator]

Maybe we just can’t take cold water, but a few years ago we went diving in a 3 mil suit in 65 degree water. We blew through our tanks very quickly and were very uncomfortable most of the time. I can’t imagine diving in 55 degree water without one hell of a wetsuit. When you’re submerged the whole time, the water does wonders for sucking the body heat away from you. That might be why you were able to surf with that suit but probably couldn’t dive.

Everybody’s different, though. You might be able to handle it. All I know is I certainly couldn’t!

[Grande]

wow that sucks, i guess i need a new suit then because i get cold pretty easy and definitely plan on winter diving. what mil suit would you suggest? seems like a 5mil would do it. i can see how anything thicker would make it not worth it.

[Steel Shootin']

From what I've heard, the Henderson Gold Core is hard to beat. My wife has the 3/2 Henderson, and it's very nice. The 7/5 I believe is rated for 45-60F, so should get you through the winter here in good shape. I am bouncing this around, as well.

[f94gator]

I rarely ever dive in cold water, so I don’t know. I can tell you that we went with a guy who had a 5 mil suit and he had no problems. 3 mil wouldn’t have been bad for 1 dive, but it gets to you after a while. After checking out several spots, up and down, up and down, midway through the 2nd tank it was really getting to us.

[GROUPER55]

I bought a cheap ass 7 mil one piece semi-dry w/hood from the Tackleshack a couple of years ago, and it is kick ass. The damn thing only cost me 125 bucks on sale. Then again, its probably hard to sell fat **** suits, that or maybe they felt bad for me :D

[rusty]

A hood makes a big difference...probably as much as an extra 2mil on the rest of your suit. Definately worth a try.

rusty

[dabulltrouble]

thats a roger on that hood.i quit diving in the winter about 3 yrs ago.when i did dive in the winter i couldnt believe how much warmer i,de be with a hood on...dave

[Steel Shootin']

I am reconsidering the gold core in favor of the hyperstretch. The GC is fine on my wife's 3mi, but I've heard it's pretty restrictive after some usage in the 7mil. I have yet to find one negative thing said about the hyperstretch, and is supposed to be much easier to don and doff.

[201proguide]

this topic came up on one of my trips to the local dive shop here in b-town. the manager there said that in the winter he uses and 5 mil wetsuit and a hood. thats all you need. he does tec and cave diving, and he's an instructor, so im pretty sure he knows what he is talking about. thats going to be one of my next purchases, after i buy my new spearfishing specialties speargun!

[Steel Shootin']

201PG: That's a good point as well. I was just talking to a guy that does a lot of winter diving who has always used a Body Glove 5m w/ hood for Winter hunting. So going up to a 7 may not even be necessary.

[Stone]

Originally posted by Scott
I am reconsidering the gold core in favor of the hyperstretch. The GC is fine on my wife's 3mi, but I've heard it's pretty restrictive after some usage in the 7mil. I have yet to find one negative thing said about the hyperstretch, and is supposed to be much easier to don and doff.

Sorry to restart an old thread, but . . .

I have a 7/5 mil Goldcore and a 3 mil Hyperstretch. I think a good fitting Goldcore is marginally warmer than the Hyperstrech because the slick lining acts like the wrist and ankle seals on a drysuit (very little water transfer. . . my arms and legs are nearly dry when I peal the Goldcore off). Also, I think the Goldcore compresses less at depth. Between dives, the inside dries very quickly.

Hyperstreches are 10 times easier to put on, easier to move around in, and (fit wise) are more forgiving if you don't have an off-the-rack body. The outside of the Hyperstrech scuffs much easier than the Goldcore, but that's pretty much a cosmetic thing.

Depending on a person's priorities, either one could come out on top (but probably not by much).

[Steel Shootin']

Stone, the only thing I can add is that I have talked to no fewer than 5 or 6 people who get frequent usage out of their goldcores, and they have said the same thing: The Gold Core seems like the greatest thing in the world the first twenty dives or so, but then it become a problem. It progressivly becomes harder and harder to put on. Have you had a lot of use out of yours, and have you noticed an increase in difficulty putting it on?

[Stone]

Originally posted by Scott
Have you had a lot of use out of yours, and have you noticed an increase in difficulty putting it on?
Scott,

I only have about 20 dives on the Goldcore.

This will be my first winter diving from my own boat, so I'll have the opportunity to put many more dives on the suit this season. I hope it doesn't get any harder to put on. I'm already spoiled with the 3 mil Hyperstretch.

[Brad B]

I have a 2-piece Henderson 5 mil Hyperstretch. The only time I have had both pieces on were a couple of spring dives. I can't remember what the temp in spring water is but I was roasting without a hood.With a hood it ought to keep ya toasty in very cool water. The suit is super easy to get on . The only problem with them is that contact with Velcro will cause them to pill up.It doesn't hurt the suit structurally,just makes it looked used. Since I am very new to this sport I consider it a plus if my equipment shows at least some wear.

[Capt.Gene]

Like hell you don't! Our gulf water gets down to about 51-53F most years. Five mm is pretty skinny for doing 3 dives in a day.
Henderson's new semi-dry has gold core panels in the don't -need- to -stretch parts and Hyperstretch arms and legs. Also it has an attached hood. It has a 7 mm body and 5 mm arms and legs.
If you have to ask, you cannot afford it.

[100days-a-year]

I've used a 2 piece 7mil Gold-Core with a 3 mil hood and 7mil G-C booties for winter diving the last 3 winters here.Warm as toast ,but takes a shitload of xtra lead to get down .Ditto on the semi-dry aspect of it to.Buddies dives a 5mil drysuit and hood .Can't get dressed without held it's so old and stiff(O'neil)LDS let me use a Hyper last winter for a few dives to eval for them .Fits lots better and more manueverable but not nearly as warm.Still beats the old stacking of 2 3/2s to get enough thickness for 50 degree water in Feb.

[ScottCarullo]

I just ended up with a new wetsuit after weeks of reading reviews of people who owned the suites and talking to some of my friends who have newer suits. About two weeks ago I had the opportunity to use my friends wetsuit which was a standard henderson 2pc farmer john / stepin 3mil with a 3/5mil hyperstretch hood. Felt like a dream. So good in fact I immediately went searching for one to own myself.

I tried on the Henderson hyperstrecth / gold core, and regular suit. Here is my feedback:
Hyperstretch felt best in the shop, took it into the pool to try water was 68deg - was a little nippy because it was a but too lose due to the strechyness of the fabric. Really bad thing is after wearing it on the pool for 15 minutes I notice slight wear on the shoulder where the bc touches. I also read lots of feedback where people say they love the hyperstretch but it is very fragile.
Gold core doesn't feel quite as great but it sure goes on easy in the store...nice. But, like the other person mentioned there are lots of complaints about people who wear out the lining before too long then cuss every time they have to put it on after that.
I bought and currently own the regular henderson. Costs $180 for the 2pc 3mil suit (the others mentioned above costs $320/$340) which is darn near half the more expensive suites. When I got in the water the regular one felt better. I know when I'm hunting I'll forget about the wetsuit anyway.

Save your money on a $300 plus suit - you could buy two regular Henderson 2pc 3mil suits and they feel like a dream. I found a local shop that actually had them for less than lesiurepro online. That was nice. My commercial diving friends don't have gold cores, hyperstretches or titanium this or that, they put on their stuff and kill fish - heck, several of them don't even use a BC...

Whatever you decide on make sure you have a good hood, anyone will tell you that most heat escapes there when diving.

Scott

[Nikki]

Scott -
FYI - Have about 50 to 60 dives on a Henderson Gold 5 ml, as I get cold easily. You're right, after about 20 or so dives, it gets "sticky". If you get the suit wet first, it generally slips on without too much trouble, but without it - a struggle. BTW - also sometimes the seams will rip, as not too much holding it together (one thread line and glue, no addl reinforcement of seams). Had it repaired once already. Dries VERY quickly!