Surf Suit vs. Dive Suit

[blewgrass]

I am looking for a suit that can double for a surf suit in Northern California. I am thinking of a stretchy 5mm or a warm 3mm that has lots of movement. I am considering the closeout 2007 thermoprene by Henderson or maybe the breaker suit by pinnacle.

Any Northern Cal surf/divers that have doubled the use of their suit?

thanks

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by blewgrass

I am looking for a suit that can double for a surf suit in Northern California. I am thinking of a stretchy 5mm or a warm 3mm that has lots of movement. I am considering the closeout 2007 thermoprene by Henderson or maybe the breaker suit by pinnacle.

Any Northern Cal surf/divers that have doubled the use of their suit?

thanks

Not a surfer, but from people I know who surf, there is virtually no difference except for two things - one is that the zipper must be on the back... makes sense to me... most wetsuits, this is already the case (Cressi and a few others have front zip wetsuits too though)... the other feature is that most surfers prefer a non slip surface on the chest... usually this is a rubberized part on the chest to keep you from slipping...

other than those two, no noticeable difference that I can see...

[CompuDude]

Sometimes suit intended for surfing use different neoprene which does not hold up to pressure as well, since surf suits are intended for surface use only. Other times there is little difference.

I'll tell you this, though, I highly doubt a 3-5mm suit is going to be warm enough for Scuba in NorCal. Surfing, perhaps, but not scuba. Unless you're only planning to dive when traveling to warmer waters?

[blewgrass]

Yes compudude... I already have 2 fantastic 7mm pinnacle suits that are wonderful for scuba. I even have a farmer john that I can barely move in!!

I also have a cheapo 3mm surf suit with the mentioned rubber chest area..

The additional suit would be for quick abalone free dives in shallow water, and for tropical applications.

Steve

[neogeo]

Check out O'Neill's wet suits...

[openhelix]

Keep using the 7mm for norcal, even for freediving. I live in norcal... water was 56 at the surface today and 46 at depth.