Lavacore instead of wetsuit for 77F 25C water?

I will be going to Maui, Hawaii in January and want to be comfortable in the water. I mostly snorkel on the surface with dives to the reef from 10 to 30 feet (10m) depth.

I just returned from a trip and was a bit cool after an hour in the water on cloudy days or when in bays with cold-water springs. I was fine on sunny days. January water temperature is predicted to be about 3 degrees cooler at 77F (25C). I wore board shorts, a 1.5mm neoprene T-shirt, and a long sleeve hooded lycra rashguard. I would rather not add more buoyancy since I'm diving so shallow. I want long sleeves and a hood for sun protection.

I recently learned about Lavacore and Sharkskin garments. They use a fleece lining inside a stretchy water resistant membrane. The idea is the fleece holds water in place, the membrane keeps flushing to a minimum. Since they don't have foam, they are neutral buoyancy. Claims of warmth are equivalent to a 2-3 mm wetsuit which would be great for my use.

We tend to try out different beaches, go to town for lunch, etc. so having an insulating top over board shorts is a lot more convenient than a full wetsuit.

Any experience with these types of garments?

Follow up to my original post.

I found a Lavacore hooded jacket for a great price on e-bay. I've used it on one trip to Hawaii Island and one to Aruba. I think most of the pros and cons I read are pretty accurate. Unfortunately I think it's a lot better for surface snorkeling or scuba diving than freediving.

Pros:

• Goes on easily and is very comfortable. It is a stretchy fleece lined softshell fabric.
• When wet still goes on pretty easily.
• Very soft and flexible- no restriction to turning my head unlike a neoprene hood.
• About equal in warmth to my 2 mm shirt worn with separate Lavacore hood.
• Due to the fleece lining, no issues with ear squeeze.
• Can be used under or over a neoprene suit for added warmth.
• Clings fairly well and if water does get in it doesn't slosh around.
• When dry, lighter and less fragile for packing than a neoprene wetsuit.
• Neutral buoyancy and doesn't compress at depth. This would be a benefit for SCUBA.

Cons:

• Since the design results in the fleece lining filling with water, the warmth definitely has a limit.
• When floating on the surface under the hot tropical sun it doesn't warm up as much as black neoprene.
• When wet it's incredibly heavy. I don't know if that has much effect on swim or dive effort. It holds so much water that I use a dry bag to carry it after diving even though I squeeze the water out.
• Seems to loosen up during the dive. After an hour or so if I'm swimming or diving with arms outstretched water wants to flow in the sleeve.
• If used under an open-cell neoprene suit it would probably not add any warmth due to the water moving about. Over may work- I'll try that soon.
• To dry for travel I roll it up in a towel and press on it to transfer most of the water to the towel, then hang it overnight. Otherwise it will still be pretty wet.
• The biggest con (for freediving)- Neutral buoyancy. It took me using this to realize just how important the flotation of a neoprene wetsuit is.

I love my Lavacore hood. I'm tempted to buy some of their shorts if I can find a good price. But for even shallow reef freediving I want a neoprene top at the minimum for the buoyancy.