Underwater LOVE – Scuba Diving In Own Wetsuit

When it’s holiday time, lying on the beach is nice and so relaxing but when it comes down to a place where I also can be active, I definitely try to fit in different sporty activities. Years ago I did a PADI. It was during my travel around Australia. To keep the diving licence alive, I try to go scuba diving once a year.

Every time when I booked a dive I can borrow the equipment. However it is more comfortable to have my own mask and snorkel, which I got straight after I finished the open water diver course. So far I didn’t own wetsuit and fins. This year I was collaborating with Decathlon and tested one from their own brand SUBEA. Luckily I had a few occasions to wear it and not only for diving.

At these 3 different occasions I had the chance to try my new wetsuit

1. Scuba diving in Athens, Greece.

Would you think about discovering the underwater world when visiting Athens, probably not? Acropolis would be top of the list. If you like running there is the Athens Marathon, starting from the city Marathon to Athens old Olympic stadium. It was an amazing feeling when I finished 10km race in that stadium. Athens is so hot. Fancy a cool down, I can recommend diving.

My holiday in Athens was in July when the average water temperature would be around 26°C. When you choose a wetsuit make sure you think about the places you would go to and check the water temperature. As there are different thickness of wetsuits. 3mm or 5mm will make a difference. In my case I chose 5.5mm for SCUBA divers in temperate waters between 16° and 24°. First I was concerned to be too hot but in 15m depth, diving for 50 min, I was happy and felt fine.

About the wetsuit: I’m wearing SUBEA SCD 100 WOMEN’S 5.5 MM FULL SCUBA DIVING WETSUIT size “M” and it perfectly fit my body shape. I loved the zip in the front.

About the fins: Underwater I had the feeling moving forward with SUBEA SCD 500 SCUBA DIVING FINS was not as effortless as expected. I needed more leg movement and felt my legs getting tired quickly. Looking at the pic above you can see how much the fin was bending. I also was wearing them snorkelling at the beach, where I found them more fun than underwater.

The diving center I chose was in Varkiza, south of Athens. I found Seahorse Dive Center online.  I liked their professional website and diving with them was fabulous. I’m planning to be back next year.

2. Water Obstacle Course by Liquid Leisure

Seriously fun! I love obstacles and this water obstacle park is right up my street. In August, the water temperature was around 19°C and a wetsuit was recommended to wear. 5.5mm, mine was the perfect match. My friend and I had so much fun for 2x 50 min on the obstacle park. We were moving a lot in and out of the water. More about that day you can read here.

About the wetsuit: This time the water temperature was much colder and it kept me warm. At times it was very windy and I enjoyed wearing extra layer. I love the bright blue design, quite stylish.

3. Scuba diving in Tenerife

So lucky to squeeze in one more holiday and this time on the Canary Islands. I stayed in Los Christianos in south Tenerife. I had time to go for a hike on the volcano mountains, ran along the beach and chose to go diving. Unexpected, I was amazed how much fish and sea life I saw there. We went to dive site called “Aquarium”. The amount of fish was incredible and most exciting were stingrays coming so close to me. I loved it so much, it’s one of the best diving sports I’ve recently been. I need to discover more around Tenerife.

About the wetsuit: Perfect for the water temperature around 22°C. All other diver were using 5mm as well.

About the fins: This time I decided to borrow fins that are more robust as I had the feeling SUBEA was to bendy and not pushing the water most efficiently away.

SUMMARY

SUBEA SCD 100 WOMEN’S 5.5 MM FULL SCUBA DIVING WETSUIT

£79.99 (July 2018) 

LIKES

• Kept me warm in different water temperatures.
• Easy to dress.
• Front zip for easier in and out.
• Size fit well.
• Designed for women (hip part is wider).
• Fabric feels good and design is fashionable too.

DISLIKES

• None.

SUBEA SCD 500 SCUBA DIVING FINS BLACK/BLUE

£24.99 (July 2018)

LIKES

• Size fit well.
• Good for snorkeling. 

DISLIKES

• Bendy and not robust enough for SCUBA diving. Too much effort needed to move forward under water. Legs getting too tired too quickly compared to other brands.

Overall I had a great time on my holidays and I felt better using my own wetsuit instead of getting into a wet and sometime very used one. It fits perfectly to my body and kept me warm in different temperatures and occasions.  The fins I would only recommend to use along the beach rather than underwater as explained.

Now, all we need to do is lean back and plan next holiday.

Enjoy!

The products were gifted by Decathlon. Text and opinion are my own.