Wetsuits for Red Sea in March

[adamsh]

Hi Guys,

I have asked this question on many forums and am just trying to work out what the best course of action will be.

I plan on diving in Sharm at the start of march for one week, it will be 2 dives a day.

I currently have a 3mm Shadow Titanium 3mm 1 Piece, after reading many sites I realise this may not be enough for that time of year. Should I purchase a 5mm wetsuit or should I purchase Shadow Titanium 3mm Shorty to wear over the top of my full suit? (giving me 6mm round the chest).

Would I notice the difference if my legs and arms were only 3mm and the chest was 6mm?

Cheers
Adam

[David Wallace]

Depends on whether or not you feel the cold  

I dont and I did a March Livaboard wearing a 5mm one piece and was comfortable. Water temp was 22 degrees and air temp was between 18 and 22 degrees although it felt colder in the wind.

3mm is possibly a bit thin for that time of year, the Shadow shorty over your existing 3mm is a good compromise which I have seen many people use successfully.

Let us know how you get on

Regards

David

[Noel Johnson]

Dawn and I were there in April and took 3mm full suits. If needed we also took a 3mm shortie and the 7mm semi dry waistcoat from my beaver suit but were fine most of the time in just the 3mm suits. As David said though it's all about whether you feel the cold or not.

HTH

Noel

[Moray]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Skipper @ Dec. 28 2003,23:55)]Depends on whether or not you feel the cold  

I dont and I did a March Livaboard wearing a 5mm one piece and was comfortable. Water temp was 22 degrees and air temp was between 18 and 22 degrees although it felt colder in the wind.

3mm is possibly a bit thin for that time of year, the Shadow shorty over your existing 3mm is a good compromise which I have seen many people use successfully.

Let us know how you get on

Regards

David

I agree with David, take a 5mm! 3mm is more suited to water temps of approx. 25C. At 20-22C you will want the extra 2mm. Take in to account that you will more than likely be doing daily multiple dives.

just my $0.02
moray

[Simon A]

I did my initial open water dives In Sharm at the end of march this year. I was diving in the school's 5mm 3/4 suit (was old and probably closer to 3mm) and was ok for the 30'ish min qualifying dives but once I got onto longer dives I found a full suit much more comfortable.

Simon A

[Reeve]

<font color='#000F22'>While in sharm last March myself (got a good deal due to gulf war), I took my 2piece semi-dry. Personally I thought on the longer dives &gt;45m it was required. Also took a rash vest to use with the bottom half, but found this a little too cold.



gareth

[Mark Davies]

<font color='#000080'>How about trying some of Reed's Chillcheater clothing to combine with your 3mm? It's very thin and lightweight (so great when packing your bags) but provides thermal protection equivalent to 3mm of neoprene. It's less bouyant as well, so you should be able to keep your weight down.

Find it on www.chillcheater.com

It's the future of diving! (Just don't let anyone come near you with a camera!)

[For pity's sake Gavin, don't post it again!]

[DanE]

Mark,

do you know how the Chillcheater stuff compares to Fourth Elements similar (Thermocline, I think) stuff? &nbsp;I was thinking of getting some to wear under my wetsuit for the red sea in week and bits time.

Chillcheater seems a lot cheaper

dan.

[adamsh]

thanks for the replys guys,

So far my options are

Oceanic 3mm (which I already own) + 3mm Shorty (£52, might be a little over bouyant)
Oceanic 5mm escape (£145)
Oceanic 3mm (which I already own) + chillcheater stuff (£100)

Guess i'll start saving my pennys and see what I can afford nearer the time, my main reason for going with Oceanic is because i find their wetsuits to be comftable and not too brightly coloured.

Adam

[Mark Davies]

<font color='#000080'>Dan,

I haven't used the Fourth Element stuff so can't give you a comparison. All I can say is that I was more than happy with the Chillcheater when I used it in the Red Sea for the first time in November. And besides that, their service is astounding! You can order on-line and everything is made to measure, based on measurements you take yourself. I put my order in at about 4.00pm on a Wednesday night and my clothing arrived at 7.30am on Thursday! Unbelievable!

Adam,

I see you've put £100 for the Chillcheater above. Were you thinking of the full suit? As an alternative I got the short-john and the T-shirt at £50 each (ish). This gives even more flexibility with the option of 3 layers (equivalent to 9mm neoprene) over the torso. This should be enough for anything.

I've put in a full review in this section earlier in the year if you want more information. Unfortunately some bastard insists on posting a picture of me modelling the stuff at every opportunity, so you'll have to endure that! One spin off is that you get to be voted the biggest pervert on YD!