What wetsuit do I need?

What wetsuit will I need for Sharm El Sheikh in depths of up to 30m?

• Hi guys, Me and my partner are going on a diving holiday in two months time to Sharm El Sheikh and we are just wondering what type of wetsuit we will need and how thick etc for depths of up to 30m Let me know, cheers!

• Answer:

  Water temps in Sharm in August-September are in the high 20s (25-28°C) and this doesn't generally vary with depth (i.e. no thermoclines). So what you'll need depends primarily on how much you feel the cold (NB for comparison, most UK municipal pools are kept at 27-29°C), how many dives you're planning to do per day, how long you're hoping to stay underwater each time, and how deep you're planning to go on each dive. This last matters because wetsuits (being made of foamed rubber) will be compressed at depth, with a corresponding loss of insulation: a suit 5 mm thick at the surface will be 2.5-3.0 mm thick at 10 m, and 1-2 mm thick at 30 m. From personal experience: I breathe pretty slowly, meaning that I can easily get a 60-70 min dive out of a single tank, even on deep dives -- provided I don't get cold. However, I am tall but skinny (about 1.8 m, 60 kg), which means I lose body heat relatively quickly. Therefore, to maximise my dive time, I prefer to wear a full-length 5 mm one-piece 'steamer' (with a lycra rash vest underneath) even for Red Sea summer diving (in winter I would add a shortie and a hooded vest). That said, as a working guide/instructor, I have taken people diving in the Red Sea summer season who were comfortable just in 5 mm or 3 mm shorties -- and a hardcore few even went diving without any thermal protection at all (although if you are going to do this, I would strongly recommend wearing a dark-coloured T-shirt and shorts for UV protection -- sunscreen is bad for reef life -- and to reduce equipment chafing). Wetsuits take up a lot of luggage space -- so the simplest solution might just be to rent an appropriate suit from whichever centre you'll be diving with. Since Red Sea dive centres have to provide equipment for year-round diving, this will likely be either a 5 mm shortie, or a 5 mm longjohn/ steamer. If you are intent on taking your own suits, and assuming that your holiday will be hotel- (i.e. shore-) based, I would recommend 3 mm full-length steamers as a good compromise between warmth and baggage bulk. If these turn out to be inadequate for diving, again, you can always rent a warmer suit instead. However, if you are going to be diving from a safari boat, then renting an additional/alternative suit may not be an option: in this case, I would recommend you _also_ take 3 mm shorties, which you can wear over the top of the 3 mm steamers for extra warmth if needed (yes, the shorties will take up additional baggage space, but you won't need as much 'evening-wear' for a boat-based holiday). If you have any further questions, feel free to email me through Y!A