My husband and I are new divers and will be completing our open water dives on the island next month. We need to buy wetsuits before the trip, any recommendations for what brands are good, and what thickness is good for the water temp in August? Thanks!

My first comment is that the water will be quite warm in August, 85F or so, and you won't need anything beyond a diveskin.
But since you're new divers, you don't know how warm/cool you tend to be underwater.

My 3mm wetsuit was impossibly warm the first week of November last year so I did 20 Bonaire shore dives in just a swimsuit...

Donna, welcome to BT.

I have used a lycra skin suit and a 3 mm suit in Bonaire. The lycra skin (a Henderson "hot skin") provided superb thermal protection -- to the extent that such was needed.

The 3mm suit gives you a bit of extra padding in case something bumps into you (you know, a coral head, Hilma's hull, etc; all these things underwater that can get out of their way to just bump into you).

My recommendation: start with the hotskins (they are inexpensive as well) and if you get cold, you can rent a 3mm core warmer or even buy something from a local shop on the island. Often, all you may need as additional thermal protection is just a hood.

(Message edited by lgreco on July 23, 2009)

Welcome Donna to BT (and to diving).. I see you're from NJ so consequently I suspect you are used to the water off the Jersey shore. We dove Bonaire last Aug & just used the Henderson skins which Leo referred to above. The water was 84 degrees. We had brand new 3 MM suits but never even used them. If you get a bit cool, my advice is to try wearing a hood.

Good luck & you're in for a treat diving on Bonaire!

Donna, if I may, if you buy a 2 or 3 mm wet suit, buy one with the zipper in the back...we both like the shorties..almost had to call 911 to get out of one with the front zipper one time

As new divers your dive times will probably be less than 60 mins a dive so a skin should be enough. As your experience grows a 3mm full may be a better bet for warmth and protection.

in all our trips to Bon.......Jan, Apr, Aug, 6 in total, only wore swimsuits (22 dives/wk average), but then we're from Canada, eh!! And I grew up on the Jersey shore. Having said that, last Apr/09, I would've appreciated the skin as there was an astounding amount of floatie drifting swimming stingy larvae thingies, mostly in the late afternoon, & evening, unusual I must add. We've run into this before at Roatan, Saba, Curacao, T&C, never before at Bon.

Enjoy your trip, we're returning Nov/09.

I rely on my 1/2 mil wet suit and a beanie. Just enough protection against stinging critters etc. and not thick enough to bake me.

Make sure you have protection from the sun! We use full body 3mm suits. Don't dive as much as we did. Getting older, and get cold easyer. Just remember you can always take it off if too warm, but if too cold.......

Well, I am always cold on my 2nd or 3rd dive of the day so I wear a 3mm full suit or a 5mm full suit with beanie type hood. I like the protection too having a suit that covers my body in case a wave knocks me over on entry. My favorite brand is the Auqualung Aquaflex. I have both 3mm and a 5mm full suit. I wear the 3mm on our Nov/Dec dives in Bon, and the 5mm in Feb/Mar dives in Bon since the water is a bit colder then. The Aquaflex stretches to be a great fit and doesn't overstretch like my old Henderson Hyperstrech suits did.

i think purchasing a dive skin would be a good start. after a few dives on bonaire you can decide how comfortable you feel. if you think you need a warmer suit (3mm or 5mm) check out the selection at carib inn. the prices there will be at least as good as what you'd pay in the states. we've bought a lot of our stuff there while on bonaire and have never been disappointed...and our previous LDS back in the states agreed that the prices were good.

On Bonaire we dive in skins or T-shirts, even at night. (This was in Sept./Oct.) A skin is nice for the sun protection, if nothing else. My wife would feel a slight chill if we did 3 or more dives per day. My theory is that the further north you're from, the less likely you are to need a wetsuit in the tropics. (We're from Illinois.)

Hey Ron ... I may be the exception to your rule ... I am from New Hampshire and in Bonaire in July I wear a 3mm full suit plus a 3/5 hooded vest. When I am in Bonaire in the winter I add a 1mm long sleeve shirt under that.

whether or not to wear a wetsuit, and the thickness of the suit if you do wear one, is personal preference. a lot of people are comfortable in tee shirts and swim suits while others need a 7mil suit. i wear a 5mil and have never been cold on bonaire. i used to wear a polartec-lined skin and would often get cold toward the end of the dive. our dives are usually in the 65-80 minute range and the water temps are in the upper 70's when we are on bonaire.

have fun, let us know what you decide as far as wetsuits.

I'm always cold and wear a 3mm or 4mm full suit + a 7mm hooded vest (yes, really) and even still, when doing 4-5 dives/day, get pretty chilled by the end of 1.5 hr dives. Have been to Bonaire in March, April, & July, so maybe it wasn't quite as warm as August.

I LOVE my hooded vest (Bare velocity...it also comes in a 5mm)...it is a fantastic way to adjust your comfort level as it can be added to any full suit or even just a skin if you run on the warm side. I would not ever buy a hooded vest without a zipper as they are SO hard to get on and off.

http://www.shopwiki.com/Bare+Velocity+Hooded+Vest

As others indicate, there is no one right answer for everyone. There are many factors to consider including how cold tolerant (metabolism, natural insulation, etc.) your body is, number of dives, length of dives and exertion level of dives.

I often go in Sept/Oct (water temp around 82) and wear trunks and a T-shirt. My brother wears a full length 3mm and a beanie. Even at that, he gets cold if the dive goes too long.

Were you significantly colder than other divers in your OW dives? Were you often cold doing your pool work? Are you planning on more than two dives a day? Are you planning on 60 minute plus dives?

That will give you a clue as to what you might need. Personally, I would tend to buy on-island after a swimsuit dive or two (Carib Inn usually has good prices & selection) and there is always the ability to rent something from your dive operator to see how you like it.

Thanks everyone for the many helpful suggestions! I think I now understand what the owner of the resort we are staying at told me a month ago - he said he definitely recommended a wetsuit but thickness is a personal preference! I think we likely will start with something like the hot skins that were recommended, since our dives will be relatively short in the beginning and we probably will not be doing more than 2 dives a day. Thanks again!

Donna: good thoughts above. Personally I wear a full length 3 mm wetsuit. Never cold and never hot.

It all comes down to personal preference and comfort.

My best recommendation however is that a full length suit is best for protection from coral scrapes and jelly / sea wasp stings sort of issues.

As you dive check out the divemasters and instructors on most locations. I probably have seen some in shorties but can only remember seeing the pros in full length wetsuits / skins of some sort. That should tell you something.