I'm looking to buy a wetsuit for caving and sump diving. Just wondered what people reckon is a good option. I've seen the warmbac stuff, looks robust.

I currently cave in a 5mm Mares suit I've had for a while. I'm good to be sitting around for 10 mins or so in water upto my neck, but think if I was uk sump diving for any length of time I'd be pretty cold.

Did think I could cave in a 5mm and have a decent hood and a shorty wetsuit to put over the top if I get to a longer sump in the future. Take that it just depends on the length of the sump and how much I can put up with the cold..

Anyway I'm looking to upgrade my wetsuit, so any advice would be great.
Thanks
John

I would suggest you start with a wet suit vest. This keeps the heat were needed.
KenJ

The vast majority of my suits (both wet and dry) have been made to measure (but then I am an odd shape). One had a 6mm body with 4mm arms and legs. The other system I have used for slightly longer sumps a way into the cave is a 7mm semi dry long john with a helly and an oversuit to get to the sump, and put the jacket on just before you get in the water.

Remember to make sure any wetsuit you get does not have straight through stitching!

Cheers,

Marcus

There is no one suit that meets all needs.  The obvious step up from a 5mm caving suit is to add an overvest with integrated hood.  This should enable you to do some fairly long dives by which time you will have decided what you need next.  You will also be two thirds of the way to Yeadon's "3 Grand" approach to diving in Boreham in 1975 when he used three wetsuits, 3 lights and 3 cylinders to do a 3,000 ft dive.  See CDG NL 36:11 for a good read.

It depends on your build. I'm thin and weedy, so I freeze my arse off even in a 7mm longjohn + 7mm jacket. From what you say, you don't feel the cold as badly as I do, so you would probably get away with an extra vest and a hood and gloves. Whatever you get, make sure that you don't have a gap between the hood and your jacket. That's a nightmare and you will be cold. Best is a overvest with integrated hood, as Dave recommends. If you use a separate hood, get one with a "Robin hood" extension on the bottom of t he neck which makes sure there will be no gap.

Cold is a major danger cave diving in a wetsuit. Just piling more layers of wetsuit on (as Yeadon did in his early long dives) is not a good solution for several reasons. (a) you will find it difficult to move. (b) the neoprene gets compressed if you go at all deep, leading not only to a loss of thermal insulation, but also a loss of buoyancy. This last-mentioned factor is very important, don't go below about 15m deep without either being sure you can get back up, and/or wear a buoyancy control device. Another trick is to drop off some lead once you are, say 10m down. That's OK so long as you are not intending to pass the sump.

Before very long you will get a dry suit and never look back....

Mark

Thanks for the advice, found this Beaver Rockall wetsuit, can buy just the jacket with intergrated hood I think. Just a case of whats suitable for the dive intended, as you all say. A drysuit would be good for the longer dives, if its remote can be done in reasonable comfort in double wetsuit, at least its less to carry and get dressed in and out of.

http://www.beaversports.co.uk/catalogue/suits/wet/wetsuits.htm#7mm


Maybe a Warmbac 5mm for the caving and the Beaver jobbie over the top for the scubadived sumps then. Might be inflexible on the arms as it'll have 2 full layers of suit there, but just the beaver longs johns aren't great for caving in. 

Cheers
John

MSD said:

Before very long you will get a dry suit and never look back....

Click to expand...

Until you back into sharp flake....