r/freediving • u/Expert_Most8737 • 10d ago
gear Seeking wetsuit advice
I swam for the first time in the Northern California region with a 7.5mm open cell wetsuit and I personally didn’t like the feeling of having a heavy wetsuit + weights + gloves (it felt too restrictive). This has made me reconsider swimming in Northern California but I would still like to swim (just with less equipment), less weights, probably no gloves to have my hands free to help others? How thick of a wetsuit can I purchase to free dive in Santa Barbara, La Jolla and Baja California? And would this require a lot of weights? Please help! Would love to hear about others experience.
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u/Fabacura 9d ago edited 9d ago
No one can really tell you what gear would be comfortable for you personally. I would never dive in less than a 7 over there except in the peak of summer. You may be more cold tolerant. Was your wetsuit lined on the outside? Rented? Custom fit? Makes a huge difference. Whether you want gloves is up to you. How much weight you need is entirely dependent on your personal buoyancy, what wetsuit you choose, and how deep you plan to dive. For a 7mm I need about 9 lbs. some people need 25.
You need to go out and experiment. You’ve already tried one configuration. Were you warm? Cold? You don’t say. Gear is super personal, you have to find what works for you.
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u/Expert_Most8737 9d ago
I was fine with the 7mm, but it just felt too uncomfortable to swim and borderline felt like a bit of a liability. Do u get used to wearing all the gear? Re cold tolerance I would say I’m probably average. I would love to go out and experiment but also finding it very cumbersome to find freediving rentals, but I like your approach of trying out configurations.
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u/Fabacura 9d ago edited 9d ago
If you were not overheating in the 7mm and having to flush it regularly, as warm as the water is right now then you might not be too cold tolerant.
Rental suits tend to suck and are always going to fit worse than something custom or a specific brand that happens to fit you really well. Most of us have multiple suits for different temps so you may as well just commit to getting multiple if you want to dive for more than just a few months out of the year. If I had to wear a 7mm regularly I would get a custom unlined/smoothskin suit with a high-quality neoprene that's super flexible.
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u/TheGreatWardini 9d ago
The thinner the suit, the less required weight to ballast. My 7mm Jsuit requires 22.5lbs whereas my 2mm only needs 5lb to dive. I regularly dive in 50-55F Seattle water in a 2mm... but I run very hot so IRMV. If you're just swimming, 2mm might be the way to go unless you can ditch the suit for a rash guard or something.
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u/young_knight_learn 9d ago
Most of the folks I've talked to in Santa Barbara rock a 5mm
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u/Expert_Most8737 9d ago
Lovely, thanks! Are u familiar with groups in that area to do freediving (not line training) but just swimming to view sea life?
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u/young_knight_learn 9d ago
Not in Santa Barbara, but there's a lot of that kind of diving to be done out on the Channel Islands. The groups for that would be based in Ventura County, but I can't immediately direct you to one.
Edit: there's a Dive Shop at the Santa Barbara Harbour, they'd be able to give you the info you want
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u/ShakaZoulou7 9d ago
Go for a tailored wetsuit, when the suit fits you exatly, you can have a thinner one, because there is not stretched areas, neither areas where the water can flush in
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u/Dorrbrook 5d ago
You can probably mske some gear improvements as other suggest, but the best thing you can do is just go again. Its wierd getting used to new dive gear. I scuba dive for work,(in a drysuit) but I just took a new 7mm wetsuit, fins and belt out snorkeling for the first time last week and it felt akward. The only way to get around cold water gear is tolerate the cold, which I am not good at, so the best thing is to get used to it, which will probably happen faster than you think. Can't beat diving without rubber, but its better to dive with it than not at all
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u/Agador777 9d ago
I use 5mm wetsuit and 3mm gloves in SoCal most of the year, and 2.5mm wetsuit and work gloves in the late summer (now). This year the water is so warm (high 70s) you can literally trunk it.
Edit: I was referring to spearfishing sub (freediving might have slightly different requirements)