Westsuits

[tompson]

Hi Guys,

Passed my PADI Open Water and looking to get equipment of my own now.

A friend of mine has a surfing wetsuit the same in the link below.

http://www.ripcurl.com/products/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=370&text=&imageid=2233&box=&shownew=

It fits me perfect but I am not sure if a surfing wetsuit would be suitable for diving. It is a 6x4mm or 5x3mm thickness and I will be looking to dive mainly in the med ie Malta and not really in the UK.

Could you guys let me know if I can wear a surfing for Scuba or not?

Thansk in advance

[scubaclogger]

The main differance between a suit for diving and surfing is the surfing ones usally have a coating on the chest area that prevents the boards slipping when you are paddling out. As for the thickness, i was wearing a 5/3mm in the uk this year in water temp of 17 degrees so it should be ok for the med but i don't the temps out there.

[Adrian Kelland]

Malta can be cold too, depending on the time of year, I'd use, and have used, a dry suit at least to April. I've not been there later so can't fairly comment.

I would want about 16mm of neoprene semidry over the torso for most if not all season in the UK.

Adrian

[Janos]

Chap in our club (a keen surfer) tried using a surfing wetsuit but soon got himself a diving one.

Diving suits are considerably thicker, and tend to have better seals. Being warm is the difference between a good time and a miserable time. If there's one thing I wouldn't skimp on, it would be the suit, but YMMV

Janos

[PeteM]

Chap in our club (a keen surfer) tried using a surfing wetsuit but soon got himself a diving one.

Diving suits are considerably thicker, and tend to have better seals. Being warm is the difference between a good time and a miserable time. If there's one thing I wouldn't skimp on, it would be the suit, but YMMV

Janos

Also surfing wet suits are often made of a different type of neoprene.

Surfers do not have to deal with pressure so the bubbles in the neoprene are often made bigger. This makes the suit more flexible but the increased pressure at depth can crush the bubbles far easier. Consequently your 5mm suit on the surface because a 2mm on the bottom.

Diving suits on the other hand have more but smaller bubbles which resist crushing better but need more thickness for a given amount of insulation.

[purple vonny]

I've been wearing a surfing wetsuit for summer Med and Red Sea diving for a couple of years. It's a 5mm body, 3mm arms and 4mm legs. For anything over 24 degrees it is fine. Early season in the Med, I wear a dry suit and late summer I layer up the surfing suit with a shorty.

http://www.wetsuitoutlet.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=22_68&products_id=128

I like the flexibility of thinner arms and the extra warmth on the body on a surfing wetsuit.

The temperature in the Med will vary between 16 (or less) degrees up to 28 degrees so you need to consider that you might need more than one suit.