Why are there not more Farmer John wearers?

[LCFrigon]

I bought the Pinnacle 5mm escape farmer john suit. Have dove in farmer johns and one piece and love farmer johns for ease of getting them on and off and the front zipper for me is much better....back zippers have always been a PIA for me for some reason.

I also love the fact that I can use the tops and bottoms together or on thier own or with other suits. I have friends that dive in a 5mm and complain about being cold, but having the 10mm around the core keeps me toasty warm.

I have heard the extra bouyancy complaint and the less flexible complaint, but for me a little extra on the weightbelt is no big deal and I am not doing yoga under the sea either.

Wonderin others reasons for not usin them or for using them.

Cheers,
Lorne

ps. plus growing up on a farm the ol'coverall looks really hits it home for me Maybe will start divin with a pitchfork

[jbres1]

Does this suit make me look fat ?
I dive a 7mm farmer john, and can dive down into the low 50's / high 40's and still feel warm. I for one like the extra 7 mm on the core.
Jim Breslin

[navyhmc]

I personally like the farmer john set up. When it was time for a new suit, I had trouble finding one so I had to settle for a one piece and added a hooded vest. About the same amount of insulation on the core. But yes, zipping the thing is a major PIA.

[Damselfish]

Well, I don't dive anyplace anymore that I need one, but I used to and hated my farmer john. If I did it again I would use a full suit but I'm not sure that was even an option when I started. I guess for some of us "less flexible" is more of a problem than others. I'm sort of claustrophobic or something, but it's not so much just being in an enclosed space as it is not being able to move that gets to me. (and I do do yoga )

I also don't find the separate pieces very useful compared to a vest/core warmer and full suit. I can't imagine where I would want to wear a 7mm farmer john bottom and NOT have my upper body similarly covered. Or where I would want to wear something with long sleeves and not have my legs covered.

[davis73]

The 7mm farmer john that I used this winter was a very welcomed upgrade to the one piece suit I had last year as far as warmth. The downside is a LOT more weight,due to an extreme increase in boyancy.
Made dives possible (39 deg.) that otherwise would have been too cold.

[LCFrigon]

Originally Posted by Damselfish

Well, I don't dive anyplace anymore that I need one, but I used to and hated my farmer john. If I did it again I would use a full suit but I'm not sure that was even an option when I started. I guess for some of us "less flexible" is more of a problem than others. I'm sort of claustrophobic or something, but it's not so much just being in an enclosed space as it is not being able to move that gets to me. (and I do do yoga )

I also don't find the separate pieces very useful compared to a vest/core warmer and full suit. I can't imagine where I would want to wear a 7mm farmer john bottom and NOT have my upper body similarly covered. Or where I would want to wear something with long sleeves and not have my legs covered.

but do you do yoga underwater?

I have worn my 5mm long sleeved top in the Philippines.. it fits loose so I had very comfortable dives since I would find a full 5mm to hot and my legs uncovered have never been a problem "yet". As for the bottoms without the top i have worn for watersports here in Korea...water sports are often done on rivers here and the farmer john bottoms lets me throw pull them to my wait and on again fast without the sleeves.....plus comon it gives me the "farmer" tan that all the girls find soooo attractive....know it drives the wife crazy lol.....actually if the "farmer tan" gets too bad she won't let me back in the house till it evens out a bit

[wolfen42]

My wife and I considered 7mm farm johns until we saw the 7mm arctic package from Bare that ST sells. Of course, everyone else out there sells them as separate pieces for way more... but I digress...

The combo of a normal wetsuit and a core warming piece with a hood just seems a lot more useful to us. Heck, my wife can combine the vest part with her 3mil for using in warmer water... (she gets cold REALLY easily)

[WV Diver]

Farmers have a lot of drawbacks for me. If I am wearing both pieces all the time than I have the extra weight to carry and discomfort to deal with. Both of these are acceptable if I am diving cold water. Why else would I wear both? If the water is warm enough to only wear one piece I am either sunburning my shoulders or legs or have no protection against jellies on top or bottom.

A one piece is so much more advantageous, at least in warmer waters and colder water with the right thickness. They are way more comfortable and with a hooded vest are good in colder waters. Besides I think a hooded vest is warmer than a separate hood.

I gave my 2 piece away and have never looked back since I got a DS. I quickly discovered that a good one piece and chicken can do everything a 2 piece suit can do, is more comfortable, requires less weight (most of the time) and I always have the one piece protection. Besides I can be more versatile with the thermal protection by having different thicknesses of hooded vests. With a two piece I find it difficult to dial in exactly what I want for warmth. I mean when you have a two piece you don't have much room to add a core warmer and no way to decrease thickness without sacrificing protection.

[LCFrigon]

Originally Posted by WV Diver

Farmers have a lot of drawbacks for me. If I am wearing both pieces all the time than I have the extra weight to carry and discomfort to deal with. Both of these are acceptable if I am diving cold water. Why else would I wear both? If the water is warm enough to only wear one piece I am either sunburning my shoulders or legs or have no protection against jellies on top or bottom.

A one piece is so much more advantageous, at least in warmer waters and colder water with the right thickness. They are way more comfortable and with a hooded vest are good in colder waters. Besides I think a hooded vest is warmer than a separate hood.

I gave my 2 piece away and have never looked back since I got a DS. I quickly discovered that a good one piece and chicken can do everything a 2 piece suit can do, is more comfortable, requires less weight (most of the time) and I always have the one piece protection. Besides I can be more versatile with the thermal protection by having different thicknesses of hooded vests. With a two piece I find it difficult to dial in exactly what I want for warmth. I mean when you have a two piece you don't have much room to add a core warmer and no way to decrease thickness without sacrificing protection.

I have a hooded vest that i wear during winter dives under my farmer. But then again my suit is not super tight.... I have also worn a rash gaurd under the bottoms in a warm water dive, but I don't get cold too easily and found it was too warm around the core so use the top with bare legs..like i said earlier have been lucky with stings and such...

In the end a DS will be nice for colder diving and I will end up picking up a 3mm at some point for warm diving but my 5mm FJ is allowing me to dive in a much wider temp range for a lower cost.

Thanks for the input though. I would probably like one pieces more if they had front zips....What is the ideaolgy behind back zips? Front zips would make runnin to the Head a lot easier

[Damselfish]

Originally Posted by LCFrigon

but do you do yoga underwater?

occasionally

I have worn my 5mm long sleeved top in the Philippines.. it fits loose so I had very comfortable dives since I would find a full 5mm to hot and my legs uncovered have never been a problem "yet". As for the bottoms without the top i have worn for watersports here in Korea...water sports are often done on rivers here and the farmer john bottoms lets me throw pull them to my wait and on again fast without the sleeves.....plus comon it gives me the "farmer" tan that all the girls find soooo attractive....know it drives the wife crazy lol.....actually if the "farmer tan" gets too bad she won't let me back in the house till it evens out a bit

see, whats the point in wearing a loose 5mm top? It's not keeping you warm and requires more weight anyway. A full 1mm or 3mm would be comfortable, maybe require less weight, and protect more area. Maybe you make due, but it's hardly ideal. And I definitely don't want a farmer jane tan...