Wet Suit advice - Marsa Alam & Malta

[Chris W]

Guy's,
Looks like I'm off to Marsa Alam in June and Malta in September so I need a wet suit!
Any adivce on which type (shoty/full, 3mm/5mm) etc will cover me for both eventuallities.
Bearing in mind I don't have much 'natural insulation' and 'may' feel the cold a bit.....
Will be SD qualed before Marsa so will be diving to SD depths on both trips.

Cheers

[Maria CM]

Hi Chris,

On the Egypt side I would be in 3mm full length or 3mm shorty (though I know a couple of people still in 5mm!)

Can't answer for Malta I'm afraid - I could well be asking the same question about Malta for beginning of June...

best wishes,

Maria

[John Bantin]

I suggest you buy a 5mm long john that might be a little warm in the air in Egypt in summer and a 5mm jacket and hood that you can wear over it and enjoy freezing underwater at any depth below 20m in Malta in September. You could add an underlayer like a Chill Cheater too.

[paul_c]

not dioved in marsa but did dive at sharm and was too hot in feb/march time in my 5mm. ended up doing most dives in shorts n tshirt.

malta. my 5mm was about right, 7mm is far to much at that time of year. did 40m dive in 5mm and was still fine.

to warn you the jellys are like a matt sometimes around malta and you need a suit to keep them at bay in malta AND some form of head protection. i personaly opted for a simple cotton bandanna which is enoiugh to stop the stings instead of a full hood.

do take vinegar with you if you decided not to dive in a full length suit and head cover to counter the sting, they are nasty and we had a diver lose the enitre weeks diving as a result of a sting

[Richard Whitcombe]

5mm semi dry with 3mm shortie to put on top. 3mm hood and gloves.

That should do it. Personally id be tempted with a 7mm though.

No such thing as too warm on a dive from my experience.

I dove in Malta in an October and absolutely froze in 5mm. Im off to Egypt tomorrow and taking 3mm vest+5mm semi dry+3mm shortie. I'll still be cold most of the summer. Unfortunately luggage restrictions prevent me taking my drysuit.

[Dave Whitlow]

I did Malta in September (25c) and was very comfortable in 5mm semidry.

Red Sea in October (25-28c) was fine in 3mm full length. Some in 5mm were too warm and reverted to shorts and teashirt.

Last week in Red Sea (20-22c) 5mm semidry was fine, although guides on boat favoured drysuits.

Yesterday in Littleton (8c) drysuit was my choice also 5mm semidry with 5mm shortie also seemed to work. Hood and gloves were not optional.

As you can see from the earlier posts, it really depends how much you feel the cold and how much baggage allowance you want to use.

[John Bantin]

and how much baggage allowance you want to use.

Baggage allowance? Wear your semi-dry under your clothes when you check in and take it off on the plane!

[Dave Whitlow]

Baggage allowance? Wear your semi-dry under your clothes when you check in and take it off on the plane!

:) Fair point. Has anyone tried that (and succeeded)?

I wonder how far this idea can be taken?

I like the image of wearing the whole dive kit (apart from knives) and taking hand luggage for clothes and fins (might miss plane wearing fins) :eek:

[paul_c]

.

No such thing as too warm on a dive from my experience.




i have to disagree with you here. i personaly prefer to be a little cool on a dive not cold just cool. but i am like that all the time, i cant stand being hot in the car, in a shop or anything,

i find that my air consumption rates improve dramaticaly when i am cool as i feel much, much more comfortable, i feel much more comfortable in the water and generaly i feel much happyer.

[Chris W]

Thanks for the advice guys.
Another question though - what if I used a 3mm and one of those Oceanic/Fourth Elephant ;) lycra/thin undersuit things? would that give me any more thermal protection?

[Richard Whitcombe]

On the 1 dive ive done in my life where i felt a bit warm i simply flushed some water through the wetsuit to cure it.

As for wearing on the plane, my mate routinely wears his BC onboard (its one of those horrible T52 things that weighs about 6 ton).

As for me, i currently have 42kg of luggage to fit into 32kg allowance and 5hrs to do so.

[paul_c]

i know its a tad late BUT

http://www.firstluggage.com/

[John Bantin]

I've never called a dive because I was too warm in the water.

[Starnetman2001]

Thanks for the advice guys.
Another question though - what if I used a 3mm and one of those Oceanic/Fourth Elephant ;) lycra/thin undersuit things? would that give me any more thermal protection?


I dived 5mm for hour plus dives near Sharm in Jan. I used a thin rash vest for some of my dives and was certainly warmer with it on.

Also, I would use a longy anywhere. This adds a little more protection for arms and legs against jellies and other stingy things.

You can also cover your body body in thick white wax. Dosn't help with the warmth at all but will give your mates a laugh :D

David

[Chris W]

Thanks for the advice guys.
Now does anyone know anywhere in the midlands that stocks the Fourth Element Proteus?
My LDS doesn't keep a stock and will only order them in - which isn't much good as I need to try two sizes on and they appear to work on a non-return basis??

[PeteM]

Thanks for the advice guys.
Now does anyone know anywhere in the midlands that stocks the Fourth Element Proteus?
My LDS doesn't keep a stock and will only order them in - which isn't much good as I need to try two sizes on and they appear to work on a non-return basis??

http://www.fourthelement.com/stockists_england.php

[Tim B]

"I've never called a dive because I was too warm in the water."

A few years ago we cut a dive short in Abu Dhabi (middle of summer) -36C water temperature - a good deal hotter when on the boat!

Tim

[Blonde Jo]

We dived in Sharm in first 2 weeks of September last year. I wore a 3mm full suit, no gloves or hood. The water temp was an average of 27 degrees. I don't have any "natural" insulation, and only felt slightly cold on my last dive (I came down with a full blown cold 2 days later!!). The rest of the time I didn't find the cold to be an issue. My max depth on dives was 18m, but there were others on the boat going deeper than that wearing the same (or less) protection as me.

Jo

[toptribefan]

what if I used a 3mm and one of those Oceanic/Fourth Elephant ;) lycra/thin undersuit things? would that give me any more thermal protection?

That'll give you the thermal protection of a 3mm!! Those oceanic things have no thermal use at all - I use one in the pool for that reason.

[JTKKavanagh]

Just saw this one.

Went to Hurghada in february and after about 58 minutes got bloody cold in 75 degrees...and bored. That was in a 5mm long, maybe a hood will be effective?

If you are hiring have a look at what the guides are wearing and nick the idea.

[nicholasj]

I am going to use a 3mm shorty in Sarm in May and also in Malta in Sept. I used a 3mm shorty in Malta last September and was fine. I was one of very few with a shorty. Vast majority in Malta seem to use full 5mm in Summer. I hate them.

[Fish Brown]

The September water temperature in Malta is 25 degrees all the way down to 30 metres. A lot of divers wear 3mm shorties or 3mm full length and are warm enough.

Enjoy the diving in September, it is one of the best months to come.

[Richard Whitcombe]

If you are hiring have a look at what the guides are wearing and nick the idea.

Lots of the guides here (Dahab) are (sensibly) in drysuits currently. Water is 21 degrees. Ive been frozen on every dive so far in my 5mm semi dry, 3mm vest and 3mm shortie as a 3 piece.

[Dave Whitlow]

Lots of the guides here (Dahab) are (sensibly) in drysuits currently.

Guides on a Red Sea liveaboard a few week ago were also in drysuits. However, that doesn't make them "sensible" and, by implication, everyone else something different. Perhaps living in warm places make them more sensitive to the cold and that is the personal choice they make.

Water is 21 degrees. Ive been frozen on every dive so far in my 5mm semi dry, 3mm vest and 3mm shortie as a 3 piece.
By contrast, in 21c doing 3 or 4 hour long dives each day I was quite happy in my 5mm semi dry (wet suit or whatever you'd rather call it!) and never once yearned for anything more! Perhaps you should eat more pies and grow a warmer undersuit!

Today, recording 6c, the drysuit was the choice of preference for most folk although some enjoyed their diving in various wet combinations.

[John Bantin]

What's the best clothing to wear top-side in the UK at Easter? I guess the answer will be as varied as the answers will be the the OP's question!

[Eddie Clamp]

What's the best clothing to wear top-side in the UK at Easter? I guess the answer will be as varied as the answers will be the the OP's question!

Well done John - subtle and to the point! :p

[paul_c]

ive had to call dives because have cooked myself ina drysuit prior to entering the water.

not just a tad warm but total hear exhaustion. 5 days later and im still not back t 100%