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BG next to product categories at left indicated that there is a Buyer's Guide available.
Wetsuits
Wetsuit Buyer’s Guide Water conducts heat about 25 times faster than air, and therefore even what we think of as warm water can chill a diver very rapidly. A wetsuit is designed to keep most of the water away from the diver, substituting a layer of small air bubbles embedded in a matrix of neoprene rubber. It is a close fitting garment, and the fit is very important. Any residual airspaces inside the suit will fill with water. In principle, the body warms that residual water to body temperature, and as long as the exchange of that water with the outside is minimized, it works. However, the more there is of it, the more heat you will lose warming it up, and the more likely that there will be some ongoing exchange. There are perhaps 30 grades of foam neoprene on the market, and only a few are really suitable for divers’ wetsuits. Foam neoprene can be made by “chemical-blowing,” “air-blowing,” and “inert-gas-blowing” (in order of increasing quality for wetsuits). The result is a closed-cell foam—the individual bubbles do not fill with water when the material is immersed. Bubbles of different size can be created in the blowing process. In fact, larger bubbles can produce a material which is more insulating and lighter weight, and wetsuits made for surface water activities such as surfing, water skiing and boating are made of such material. These wetsuits are not suitable for diving, however, as the larger bubbles will be crushed after a few dives, and the suit will lose its warmth. A diving wetsuit should be made of a top-quality inert-gas blown neoprene with fine bubbles. All suits sold by Aqua Safaris are so made. The air which provides insulation also provides buoyancy, and you will need to carry weight to compensate for the buoyancy of your wetsuit. Note that even the best neoprene materials still compress with depth. Thus, both the insulating capability and the buoyancy of wetsuits decreases with depth. It is one of the main reasons that you need to adjust the amount of air in your BC as you change depth in order to remain neutrally buoyant. Wetsuits are available in a variety of material thicknesses and styles to suit different diving needs. Divers vary widely in their tolerance of cold water and ability to stay comfortably warm. Remember that diving differs from most other water sports in that a diver is usually in the water for an extended period of time and is typically not exercising hard and generating extra heat. As a diver, you need more insulation at warmer water temperatures than you may need for swimming, surfing or boating. A good general guide for the use of different suit thicknesses is as follows:
Below 50° F, a drysuit is preferred for its warmth, freedom of movement and comfort. Below the lower limit for each suit, a diver may be quite chilled at the end of a typical dive. Above the upper limit, a diver may overheat with moderate exertion. For cold water diving, you should always add a hood or hooded vest. Typically about 40% of heat loss can occur through your head. In cold water, booties and gloves are also needed to keep your hands and feet warm. Most thinner wetsuits are made in a one-piece design. 6.5 and 7 mm wetsuits are available in both one-piece and two-piece configurations. A one-piece suit is typically about 25% lighter and may have less leakage than a two-piece suit. Two piece suits use a “farmer-John” (or “farmer-Jane”) style of overalls (ankles to shoulders but not covering arms) with a separate jacket on top. The double layer of neoprene over the torso provides increased insulation which usually makes up for the slightly higher leakage, and it may be easier to achieve a good close fit if you don’t have an “average” body shape and size. All wetsuits use neoprene which has a thin layer of nylon fabric bonded to both surfaces. This helps both to protect the rubber from abrasion damage and to make it easier to slide into the suit. Some instructors suggest wearing a thin lycra undersuit, but Aqua Safaris disagrees with this practice. A wetsuit is warmest when it is closest to the skin, and any extra layers tend to trap additional water which can chill the diver. For tropical dive conditions, you may also want to consider “diveskins” or thin wetsuits. There are two types. Lycra diveskins provide no appreciable insulation and are used to provide protection from the sun and stinging marine life (jellyfish, sea nettles, coral). Polartec diveskins are made of hollow fibers which provide some insulation—approximately the same as a 2 mm neoprene wetsuit. However, they provide little buoyancy and tend to be colder out of the water, as they absorb water which then evaporates. A 0.5 or 1 mm neoprene suit can provide good protection against wind chill and rain above water in addition to some insulation and general skin protection underwater. Disclaimer: The information provided here is intended solely to help in product selection for trained and certified divers and is in no way intended to substitute for formal training and certification. |
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Two-Piece 6.5 mm Wetsuit
One-Piece 5 mm Wetsuit
One-Piece 3 mm Wetsuit
One-Piece 3 mm Shorty Wetsuit
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