wetsuit pros and cons

[BladeRunner]

Hey all I wanted to know what the pros and cons are between a farmer john and a high waist pant in a two piece apnea suit?

Blade Out

[basco]

I prefer high waist. I used to use long john, but the breathing resistance is much much less in high waist trousers than in longs john. AND you dont have to take off the whole wetsuit when nature is calling..
The long john is a bit warmer. Mostly because it's harder for the cold water to enter the trousers, but if it's tailormade that shouldnt be a problem with high waist. I dive in really cold water, and I have cut down all my long johns to high waist..

but maybe if you are from Australia or somewhere where it's really chilly, you might need all the heat you can get :P

[Walrus]

Hi All,
I prefer the high waist also.
Does make it much easier to drain the lizzard like DSV said
Can also change pants without taking the top off. I swap between 5mm pants for warmth, and 3mm pants for performance.

I also use a 3mm vest when it's colder, so with the waist pants you have more choice. Less wetsuit for deeper dives, or when it's warm.

It's possible that the farmer John does seal a bit better but I don't have this problem. Less breathing resistance is good for performance.....

Probably find that the Spearos prefer the Long John, specially if they go in cold water. They are often in the water for 4+ hours and every little bit help I guess.

Cheers,
Walter

[Walrus]

Oh yeh,

If you do decide on the high waist, I'd recommend getting a vest too. The Long John gives you double thickness on your chest & back, this is where you need it most.

So when it's cold, vest does help a lot....

[basco]

or you can do like me, buy long johns, and cut them so that you have high waist trousers and a west. You can also use the west as a very attractive latex-top when you go to the beach. The girls love it! hehehe..

[icarus pacific]

If you're going to do the up and down for numbers thing then go for a high waist. (Waste?) If you're going to do any other diving, then go with a Farmer John. Several of the better suit manufacturers make the upper portion of the Farmer John a tad thinner so you're not constricted as much as a full thickness suit and you still get some benefits of having the "vest" attached.

It's been my experience that the less parts and pieces you put together to make a full coverage suit, the better and the more coverage, the better. There's not a lot of sense in having a suit then having to get a vest with the seam break that forms a water passage and leak. And if you have to take a leak, well then you have a bit of a burden for a couple minutes to take the thing off and put ona agai. Big deal- a couple minutes of time versus the overall warmth for an hour or so.

Picasso, OMER and Cressi all feature this construction as does BlueWater Hunter and I hear Xcel is going that route too.