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Which is going to be warmer?

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Kajojek

Well-Known Member
Oct 9, 2008
62
10
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It is very hard for me to find a proper wetsuit since I am pretty tall and skinny. Therefore I decided to order from DiveSkin - Quality Neoprene Products as from the reviews read here, they seem to be very good. Here comes my problem, what is going to be warmer, a 3 mm open cell suit of 5 mm nylon one? Did anyone one have an experience before? Most of the time I dive in Poland where the temperature is 16-22 degrees C.
 
I would say a tailor made 3ml open cell suit would be quite a bit warmer than a 5ml nylon suit. Ideally for those conditions you'd want a 5ml open cell suit tailor made though. Why not try Elios?
 
I would love to but they are a little too expensive. I would surely buy an Elios suit if I wasn't still growing. (I'm 16 now so I will probably pop few more centimeters)
 
I think the three mil open cell would probably be warmer than the 5 mil nylon, but I don't think either will be warm enough for those temperatures.
 
I have a 5mm nylon inside and out MTM DiveSkin. I can do 2 hours in 8 to 10 degrees C in comfort. In water of 16 to 22 degrees C (60 - 70F) you could practically dive in a bikini. I'm gonna disagree with everyone else and say the 5mm nylon lined is the better suit. My experience is it will be warmer (get seals on the wrists, ankles and face of the hood) than the 3mm open cell plus it will be a much tougher suit.

Dave
 
Old Man Dave said:
I'm gonna disagree with everyone else and say the 5mm nylon lined is the better suit. My experience is it will be warmer (get seals on the wrists, ankles and face of the hood) than the 3mm open cell plus it will be a much tougher suit.

Dave
Click to expand...

Dave

I think we both agree here, I also have both suits 3 mm and 5 mm, with nylon and without on both thickness, the 5 mm is always warmer (IMO).
 
I'm going to vote for 5mm nylon outside. The only time it might be colder is in the wind on a boat and that is easy to handle with a windbreaker. If your not swimming a lot, 20 is about the lower limit for 3mm. It is very easy to cool off in a wet suit.
 
I don't know what suit you're looking at, but just skimming through the Oceanos website I see plenty of suits that are 5mm thick with slickskin coating on the inside and nylon on the outside.

It won't matter so much what the outer lining is as long as you get some kind of opencell, or slickskin, on the inside.

I would not buy a suit with a nylon lining on the inside- no matter how thick it is. I've done that already and they are not as warm as an opencell/slickskin lined suit.

Jon
 
Thank you for the replies,
I would order the "Black Seal" probably. But now I'm confused "rubber outside nylon inside- open cell Heiwa neoprene" So is it open cell or not? From the post read here I thought they only have open cells for 3 mm.
 
Forget the "Black Seal" and go for one of their spearfishing suits instead.

They give you options for inner lining and thickness in these suits- they will all have nylon on the outside. You want to choose "slick" for the the inner lining and 5mm for a suit thickness for the area that you dive.

Jon
 
Reactions: Mr. X
I had the same problem and found Hammerhead has some on sale that fit tall thin guys like me (6'2",175lbs). I ordered a 7mm L Long. You might have to email them to find your size the web site doesnt always show what they have.
Jason
 
I recently bought a 5mm nylon suit (Xcel) and a 3mm open cell (Yazbeck). The 5mm is substancially warmer. Incedentally it's also easier to put on and more durable.

Don't get me wrong, the Yazbeck is an excellent, flexible, well cut, comfortable suit, it just can't comptete in warmth with a suit that is 2mm thicker.
 
There does seem to be some debate about internal nylon lined v smooth skin?
I have been using smooth skin inside for a few years but before that I always used nylon lined, unfortunately I have never owned the two types at the same time.
However I dont recall being cold in my nylon suits but I can say they are easier to put on.
I guess it depends on just how cold it is where you dive & if you exert a lot of energy when diving or just float around on the surface?
My next suit will be custom fit nylon inside & outside with neoprene seals on ankles & wrist mainly because I feel they last a lot longer & are easier to get in.
 
On that same topic of 3mm and 5mm, would you change your size when moving to a 5mm? i.e. order one size bigger..I just moved to the US and for the first time i will wear a 5mm suit. I used to have the cressi world comp 3.5mm which i loved because its warm and has metallite lining on the inside which helps you wear it with little hassle yet performs like an open cell in terms of warmth..so i ordered the same one in 5mm..got it last night...that thing is verrrrry thick compared to what im used to..im scared to put it on i might not be aable to take it off should i have ordered one size bigger? or is this just the normal "adaptation to change"
 
I would expect a simple nylon outer, open cell inner spearo wetsuit, e.g. Elios Econoline, to be cheaper than a "double lined" nylon suit. It's really supposed to be a cheap & cheerful (but effective) solution for spearing, IMHO. I wouldn't expect to pay a premium for open cell.

I did the Chicago triathlon several times. One year, you had to run about a quarter mile from the swim get to the transition area. I made the mistake of leaving my nylon-lined Quintaroo longjohn suit on during the run. The run caused all the water to be squeezed out of the suit so when it came to slip if off the darn thing didn't want to budge off my calves -- incredibly frustrating when time is of the essence and you're getting hot and you have to wrestle a tight, "dry wetsuit" off.

I had an unusually awkward couple of seconds getting my open cell spearo suit on today. Foolishly, rather than make up a fresh batch of lube I just topped up the old stuff with water -- it was way too dilute. I've used just water before but you need more of it.

BTW what are folk using for wetsuit lube these days? One large bottle of Tescos cheapest obnoxious-chemical filled apple shampoo (35p/55p?) lasted me several years. Think I'd prefer to move something a little more natural/organic/healthy this time. Any suggestions?
 
Reactions: scottwilson
I use whatever the girlfriend leaves lying around the bathroom or cheap conditioner from Morrisons.
Ive also used the soap out the dispencer at work which wasnt great, washing up liquid is a no go for me as the bubbles played havoc with my ears as well as the funny sensation of the bubbles up against ur skin

as far as wetsuit goes- neoprene inner nylon outer, very warm and can take a beating, I startered off with a 5mm surf suit which was just too cold
 
Reactions: Mr. X

I was just wondering how many of you guys who favour the smooth skin inside design have actually tried a custom made suit with wrist & ankle seals?
I dont mean a scuba suit but a mtm suit from divskin or Elios?
 
Last edited:
Reactions: Marwan
I had a reversible suit from Elios for a while. It was 5mm with a nylon inner lining and a smoothskin outer lining. I was always warmer with the smoothskin next to my skin compared to th nylon next to my skin. Eventually I sold it and went back to a basic opencell/nylon suit for the best in durability and warmth.

I've had wrist/ankle/waist/face seals on a couple of other suits (Picasso, Cressi) but they also had slick coating on the inside to go with it. The seals were nice, but the slick lining was even nicer. Combined they proved to be a very warm combination.

I started getting a rash from whatever cheap hair conditioner I was using and have now started using body lotion/water lube to suit up.

Jon
 
Reactions: Mr. X
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