Wet or dry???

[Herbie]

What do you use for thermal protection when cave diving?
I use a drysuit for stage dives and deep dives. I choose a wetsuit for dives under 70 minutes and no deeper than 90 feet.

[RN]

Wet suit for really tight Florida passage. Wet suit in Mexico. Dry suit for everything else.

[stairman]

Drysuits have always been out of my budget. Thats one reason why Im a semi-seasonal diver. I dont mind a first dive in the cold, but getting into that cold clammy suit for the second dive sucks!

[mag3]

What do you use for thermal protection when cave diving?
I use a drysuit for stage dives and deep dives. I choose a wetsuit for dives under 70 minutes and no deeper than 90 feet.

I did my cavern training "dry" with doubles, since I had been trying to get more experience diving dry (had done so for 2.5 years) and also since I had taken Adv. Nitrox/Deco in that config previosuly. However, I reverted back to diving wet for Intro/Doubles as I get much better control results. I will continue to dive wet until I complete full cave, and then slowly work my way back to diving dry as I need to do longer/deeper cave dives. I will continue to dive dry for OW deep wrecks etc. and to keep up skills etc.

[Tegg]

wetsuit for dives under 3hrs on OC and non-He.

drysuit for 3hrs + on OC, CCR, and all He dives.

swimsuit only for most spring dives in the 1hr range when diving with OW or cavern buddies

[Sludge]

Swimsuit for 77° and above; drysuit for 76° and below.

[d_berman]

ever since the wet suit shrunk I've been dry

well at least as dry as my old dui will allow

[MORGAN]

Wetsuit for caving and all water above 70 degrees. Drysuit for cold water here in New England and the north Atlantic.

Mike

[phillip1]

Actually what is your advice? I dive a 7mm with a 3mm hooded vest in all caves here in the DR.
Having zero experience with a dry suit and they are super expensive too.
If I were to come and dive Florida (hopefully soon) could I dive with my wetsuit if I came in the summer?
I don't plan on doing super long dives just a bunch of hour long or so dives.

Thanks

[sskasser]

Actually what is your advice? I dive a 7mm with a 3mm hooded vest in all caves here in the DR.
Having zero experience with a dry suit and they are super expensive too.
If I were to come and dive Florida (hopefully soon) could I dive with my wetsuit if I came in the summer?
I don't plan on doing super long dives just a bunch of hour long or so dives.

Thanks

It all depends on your cold tolerance. I dived my whole first year (over 100 dives, including training) in a 5mm. I bought a drysuit when I hit Marianna one super cold weekend and thought I would FREEZE to death, topside.

I still loving diving wet in the summer.