Dive skins/3mm - shorties/full?

[Bacon Bits]

Alot of questions pop up in my mind as I prepare to go diving on my first cruise (Century-Western Carribean). What are the recommendations dive skin or 2-3 mm? Shorties vs. full? Booties or forget about them! So many questions so little time to remember them all! (Murphy's Law applies here, the one question I forget to ask or get answer is the one I would find I need at 30 ft in Paradise!):rolleyes:

[steveaaaa]

Just a skin for abrasion. If renting gear than forget the booties as you will end up with southern fins.

Steve

[karen2cruz]

Did WesternCaribben this April. We wore dive skins and were plenty warm. Dove to 90 ft too. We took our own mask, fins (and booties), and snorkel. A 3mm shortie would be Ok too, if that is what you have. Love our dive skins though. Worth the investment.

 

Have a great cruise

[Bacon Bits]

Thxs Stevaaaa and Karen, have a 3mm full suit , wife's gonna probably use that and planning to invest on a dive skin for myself. But tell ya all one thing, not looking forward to lugging all this gear around on and off the ship at each port of call dive!

[markb]

My gear bag is a few years old, with just hand carries and a shoulder strap (no wheels) I found an old, small, fold up luggage carrier. Kind of looks like a fold up wire hand truck that I keep in the bag. It is very light weight, folds and unfolds in a snap and I use 2 bunjee cords to secure the dive bag to the gizmo. This works like a charm for transporting my bag of gear between points a and b.

[steveaaaa]

I too have the same bag and I also use the fold up wire thing with wheels and bujee's but next month on my cruise I am trying something new.My wife and I bought these rolling duffle bags for $15 each so we can roll them like a suitcase when needed.We are also going to lock them and check them thru as straight luggage.I will remove the BC valves and I will hand carry my mask in my reg bag so they don't get crushed.We bring all gear except tanks and weights.

Steve

[alsanto]

We have taken our gear on 2 different cruises.... We have a large about (30inch) Pullman style that we pack with all our diving stuff in it, 2 dive backpack-2 BCs-2 sets fins-2 masks-2 diveskins -2 sets booties and all the other little things. and our Regs & my camera stay with us, Later when we feel like unpacking we load up the dive gear backpack & were ready to go. We love the dive backpacks. they are so easy to get around with, and were glad we got them.

 

Nita & Bob

[Bacon Bits]

Thxs for that info, (Nita and Bob), dive backpacks,eh? Never seen one, where do u get one? Or are these just oversized backpacks that would fit regs, fins, BC, mask and etc.?

[alsanto]

Any dive shop should have them. They are made by Armor. These are oversize pack, made for divers/snorklers, they have pockets on each side for your fins. the packs are black with the Dive Flag on the fin pockets

 

try this link......

http://ebestsourc.zoovy.com/product/DIVESPBACKPACKFLAG?META=bizrate-DIVESPBACKPACKFLAG

[Bacon Bits]

Thxs for the link, looked at it, would a full size "wing" BC fit into the main compartment? It would seem that it would as well as fit the reg, mask, snorkel, dive skin, gloves....and the list goes on....Figured if it did may buy two of them for the gear this way "I" don't have to carry both sets! LOL

 

George

 

PS, but not too thrilled about advertising that it contains dive gear with that big dive flag.....but I guess I'm a "picky" kinda guy!

[alsanto]

That's why we have 2 of them. One for DH & 1 for me...... we carry our own stuff. :rolleyes: My thought was for him to carry 1 on his back & the other on his chest...... :D he didn't go for it ;) and as far as advertising what's in the bag we only pack them when we go diving (the night before) they are just so easy to deal with and carry. :D

 

Nita

[Bacon Bits]

So, you have him carrying them like a "pack mule" eh? LOL, don't give my other half that idea will ya? Those gear bags look great.....will consider them along with maybe ones with roller wheels......LOL...maybe one with a chair built in....maybe one with a cooler bag too! LOL

[dmdiver]

hubby & i both have 3mil full suits and in bahamas i actually was a bit too warm (way unusual for me). we always wear them as protection from abrasions or nips.

 

as for booties, we didn't take ours to bahamas and wish we had taken our own fins & booties. the shop used the fins with the built-in shoe and they weren't that comfy. booties and strap-on fins take me a bit longer to put on, but we both would have been more comfortable. we just were too unwilling to pack an extra bag.

[Bacon Bits]

Thxs for the tip, gonna go searching for diveskins for this trip...and will bring out our "northern fins" with us... We're packing a dive bag as it is what's a few extra pounds among friends! LOL

[JDK01269]

Our first cruise is the first week of December. Our ports of call are Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman, & Mahahual/Costa Maya. Our excursion plans are to dive, dive, dive, and oh did I mention dive??? I just bought my little brother a 3mm shortie on Ebay (new) and was thinking about getting one for myself too. We are inexperienced divers so I really don't see us going very deep for an extended period of time... I get cold pretty easily and would like some suggestions on what I should buy? Will a shortie be enough to keep me warm? I've seen a lot of pictures online with divers only wearing bathing suits... but I assume that is not in December??? Would a full 3mm suit be too much? Any suggestions?

[Woodsmaster]

We use the Armour dive bags. They fold up when not in use to a very manageable size. You unfold them and you can put all of the dive gear for one diver in one. I fit a Zeagle Ranger XL, wetsuit XXL, full reg set, Oceanic V12's, safety sausage, booties, mask, save a dive kit, back up mask, and squeeze in a towel, and some fruit from the ship. I also take a dry bag. Clothes, socks, shirt, towells, dive logs.

 

If you are not making multiple repetitive dives three or four days in a row, a skin may work, if you get cold easy...go to 3mm. My son dives in a 2mm, daughter has a full henderson 3mm hyperstretch, and I dive with either a 3mm shortie or a 1mm full suit. We have never been uncomfortable in the caribbean. My daughter did get chilled in Bermuda diving a 1mm full suit. That was when we got her a 3mm hyperstretch.

 

A 3mm will not be too much in Coz or GC, until you surface and then you will sweat.

[robstrash]

Any dive shop should have them. They are made by Armor. These are oversize pack, made for divers/snorklers, they have pockets on each side for your fins. the packs are black with the Dive Flag on the fin pockets

 

try this link......

http://ebestsourc.zoovy.com/product/DIVESPBACKPACKFLAG?META=bizrate-DIVESPBACKPACKFLAG

 

My wife and I each have one of these bags and they are great. The pockets on the front are pretty big and holds lots of stuff too. Also, the buttom of the bag is mesh so it won't hold water. Fins fit great on the side too. They have both hand straps and shoulder straps.

 

We always get lots of positive comments from other divers on the bag while cruising and a lot of people ask where we got them.

[thedebbied]

If you haven't purchased a skin yet, I would definately recommend the Henderson microprene full suit for a little bit of warmth, and full body coverage against stings/abrasions. There are also some other manufacturers who make these thin suits but I can't vouch for them. Can purchase from www.leisurepro.com where you'll find the best price anywhere on the web. My husband and I love ours-too bad I lost 38 lbs and my women's XL is too large now. Time to buy another. Also dries much more quickly than the 3mm, which I would definitely go for in winter months.

[orderby]

thedebbied,

Are you wishing to sell your Henderson?

Thank you,

Orderby

[KaC-Cruiser]

Our first cruise is the first week of December. Our ports of call are Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman, & Mahahual/Costa Maya. Our excursion plans are to dive, dive, dive, and oh did I mention dive??? I just bought my little brother a 3mm shortie on Ebay (new) and was thinking about getting one for myself too. We are inexperienced divers so I really don't see us going very deep for an extended period of time... I get cold pretty easily and would like some suggestions on what I should buy? Will a shortie be enough to keep me warm? I've seen a lot of pictures online with divers only wearing bathing suits... but I assume that is not in December??? Would a full 3mm suit be too much? Any suggestions?

 

We'll be on the Grand a few weeks before you - in November. If you get cold easily, you might want a full suit anyway. We were in Coz in Dec. last and water temp was a constant 81 - but we did have strong winds and rough weather. In 2002 we hit Belize & Coz on a cruise and again the temp was 81. I wore a full 3 mil on all my trips - because that's what I had. Just broke down and bought a 3 mil shortie to use. Consider bringing a windbreaker or something to put on during your surface intervals - that's usually when you really feel the cold.

[thedebbied]

Orderby-Yes, I am planning on selling the Henderson-, now the weight is down to the point that I need a medium. I have never tried selling on EBAY but have been looking into it. Have a few dive related items we have traded up from and is collecting dust on the shelf.

 

If you are interested or know someone who is, drop me an email. djsdevine@aol.com

 

thedebbied

[Tarkus]

a skin is a wonderful thing to have - if for no other reason than it makes getting into heavy (6m+) wetsuits loads easier. that said, i own both and have dived both; i'd have to admit a slight preference for my shortie, but it's purely personal preference.

 

oh, and i've never left my booties behind... then again, i always bring my own mask/snorkel/fins so that makes sense. if you're planning to rent everything, then i concur with those above.