41 replies to this topic

[Divegirl412]

I have been following this topic with interest and appreciate all the helpful comments. I have been considering a dry suit ever since freezing to death in my 7mm in the cages at Guadalupe island while Kamala and all the others in dry suits stayed toasty. Finally took the plunge and got a Whites dry suit last week. I look like a very tiny power ranger in it LOL. Maybe now, I will actually dive California too instead of always fleeing to the tropics.

First phase of dry suit class in the pool is wednesday night and I have a really STUPID question. What do you girls in shell suits wear UNDER the undergarments. Is it skin to garments, or a swimsuit, or underwear (God forbid) or what. I have read so much about the importance of the wicking characteristics of the fabric to prevent retained sweat and thereby decrease the chance of being cold that I am a bit nervous of making a mistake. To me that presumes skin to garment for the most effective wicking. I am actually still awaiting my undergarments (it came with the MK2s), and they had to order me a set, because they needed to keep the last set for the sale. But I got some kid's thermals at REI today that I will use for the pool sessions with sweats over the thermals. I understand that there will be some variation which is user preference mediated, but what is the general norm?

Told you it was a strange question......

Thanks

Rosa

[fbp]

Not strange at all Rosa,
Actually a vital question, it is....

Pretty much Mountaineering stuff....
the thinner warmer is better than the thicker warmer as you want to keep the "Air Fluff" volume down, means more weight etc... NO COTTON.... just like mountaineering, Cotton kills... it's for Hot Summer use too, sweats would be the last things to wear, but doable in a pinch, condensation gets them wet... not as life threatening as in the mountains, but just as uncomfortable...

Synthetics are the route, one or even two layers, plus whatever undergarment comes with the Dry Suit... one wicker is probably be enough... should be toasty warm...

Hope that helps...

Good to see you again, Roatan? Fantasy Island diving???

Edited by fbp, 26 May 2008 - 10:11 PM.

[Divegirl412]

Not strange at all Rosa,
Actually a vital question, it is....

Pretty much Mountaineering stuff....
the thinner warmer is better than the thicker warmer as you want to keep the "Air Fluff" volume down, means more weight etc... NO COTTON.... just like mountaineering, Cotton kills... it's for Hot Summer use too, sweats would be the last things to wear, but doable in a pinch, condensation gets them wet... not as life threatening as in the mountains, but just as uncomfortable...

Synthetics are the route, one or even two layers, plus whatever undergarment comes with the Dry Suit... one wicker is probably be enough... should be toasty warm...

Hope that helps...

Good to see you again, Roatan? Fantasy Island diving???

Aha, so it sounds like it would be best to wear the REI moisture wicking thin layer next to the skin.. yes, absolutely no cotton, I was sad to realize I could not get away with my cuddl duds LOL. Then the whites undergarments.. for which I am currently substituting the sweat pants below and will wear the whites jacket up above for my pool sessions while I await the jumpsuit undergarment. I guess since the idea is to stay dry, a swim suit would (hopefully) be redundant

Thanks for the info Frank. And it is good to see you too. It was nice to see you start posting again. Roatan... I think twice is enough. Are you planning on heading there again this year?

[H20 Bug]

Rosa - I dove dry on the Bonaire Singles Trip. I had on a swim suit and a skin under the dry suit, but got a little cold by the end of the 2nd dive and on the 3rd dive. The 2nd day I added a long sleeve t-shirt over the skin and it was just enough to keep the chill away.

I used the same undergarments for my refresher class in the pool and was fine - pool is heated to 80 degrees and I was only in for about an hour.

I bought a set of the midweight MTS underwar from REI that I think will just be the right combination. I'll be trying it out in 2 weeks in tropical water again. My suit is considered "tropical" because there are no attached boots, it's latex seals at my ankles as well, which might cause me to be a little cooler.

Diving dry, it's the way to go Good luck with your class

Bug

[fbp]

Yes, both you & Bug have it right...

- Swim suit, (as long as not cotton, if there is such a thing)
- REI Wickers material, I use expedition weight.
- White's undergarment
- Dry Suit

Should be enough. If need more use another layer of REI or light fleece.. Don't need the bulky stuff as while it does trap air, it also adds to your floatation, which means a dash more weight.

Rosa, I agree, 2 times at Roatan is enough.. Heading out to Fiji at end of June and then Dominica in Nov.. if not Dom in Nov, then to Curacao with SD... we'll see...

(here's the old pics of Roatan, I still have them for your viewing pleasure.. (waaaay too many, keep thinking I need to shorten it up a lot...heheh..)

Edited by fbp, 27 May 2008 - 06:56 AM.

[ScubaDadMiami]

I have been using Santi thermal underwear for about the last three years, and it has held up well. For my warm water diving, I use the CDS40.

I find that nothing works as well as genuine Thinsulate. Sure, most thermals are great for diving so long as they stay dry. However, if your suit should get a good amount of water in it, that is when you find out just how well your thermals really work. Purchase your thermals accordingly!

[Divegirl412]

Yes, both you & Bug have it right...

- Swim suit, (as long as not cotton, if there is such a thing)
- REI Wickers material, I use expedition weight.
- White's undergarment
- Dry Suit

Should be enough. If need more use another layer of REI or light fleece.. Don't need the bulky stuff as while it does trap air, it also adds to your floatation, which means a dash more weight.

Rosa, I agree, 2 times at Roatan is enough.. Heading out to Fiji at end of June and then Dominica in Nov.. if not Dom in Nov, then to Curacao with SD... we'll see...

(here's the old pics of Roatan, I still have them for your viewing pleasure.. (waaaay too many, keep thinking I need to shorten it up a lot...heheh..)

Thanks for the info and the memories. Goodness I had forgotten Kamala's orange streamer. being a new newbie on that trip (as opposed to an old newbie now ), it was always so reassuring to see that streamer showing her close by!!

Nice trips coming up.. I only have the Caymans and Wakatobi planned so far. I say only because I only dive warm... so far. But maybe I will be doing more CA diving this year.. Channel islands, Coronado islands and Catalina. We will see.

[Divegirl412]

Thanks also ScubaDadM and Bug . I have been using the REI thermals and sweats for the pool sessions, but hopefully will have my full Whites undergarments before open water time. And yes, I am seriously considering getting thinsulate eventually, because one of the other students and I got mildly damp, (through my neck seal .. I thought diving dry meant dry!!!) and the third student got SOAKED... don't know what HE was doing!!! So I would like garments that keep me warm even when wet, since you never know when that might happen. I will check out the Santis too.

Other than that, the first session went well... all kinds of fun including the instructor holding us upside down for the dreaded air in boots recovery drill . Looking forward to getting the suit flooded next week!!!

Edited by Divegirl412, 31 May 2008 - 09:24 PM.

[H20 Bug]

Rosa - Dry does mean dry. You should make sure that you don't catch any hair or anything else in the neck seal (just like your mask seal), but on a brand new suit you shouldn't be getting any water in at the neck and you shouldn't be damp Glad the training went well, you'll like dry and warm

Thanks also ScubaDadM and Bug . I have been using the REI thermals and sweats for the pool sessions, but hopefully will have my full Whites undergarments before open water time. And yes, I am seriously considering getting thinsulate eventually, because one of the other students and I got mildly damp, (through my neck seal .. I thought diving dry meant dry!!!) and the third student got SOAKED... don't know what HE was doing!!! So I would like garments that keep me warm even when wet, since you never know when that might happen. I will check out the Santis too.

Other than that, the first session went well... all kinds of fun including the instructor holding us upside down for the dreaded air in boots recovery drill . Looking forward to getting the suit flooded next week!!!

[shadragon]

Rosa. A lot of the women up here get super stretch neoprene as a neck seal. They found regular dry suit seals were too large for their feminine necks. I got mine replaced and have not had an issue since. It is also much easier to put on and take off if you have a lot of hair. Not an issue I suffer from, but I thought I would pass it on...

[Geek]

I've been using dry suits for a few years here in NJ. On the point of using your drysuit as a bouyancy device, most people use enough air to eliminate squeeze and the BS as the primary bouyancy device. However, the drysuit class should make sure that you have control when using the drysuit as a bouyancy device because it is assumed that even if you use your BC normally, the drysuit is your backup bouyancy device. When you are loaded with doubles, etc. you may have 0 lbs of lead and still be negative. Under these circumstances a BC failure would be catastrophic without a backup bouyancy device so you need to be able to control it.

On the subject of undergarments, I've seen people wearing all sorts of stuff including one guy who shows up in jeans and a flannel shirt and just puts on his drysuit over his clothes. You can wear anything you want as long as it is comfortable. I tend to vary the undergarments with the temperature.

[peterbj7]

you shouldn't be getting any water in at the neck and you shouldn't be damp

Actually you can get seepage past the tendons in the neck, just as it can happen at the wrists. It's not common but it's not unheard of.

I long since stopped using latex seals at neck and wrists. I changed to neoprene, which I find vastly more comfortable, far more durable, and because there's a larger area where the seal touches your body these tendon issues are less and I stay drier.

IMO the last thing you want on under a drysuit is denim jeans or cotton teeshirts. When they get damp (as they will from sweat if nothing else) they get VERY cold. I've tried lots of undergarments (I have over 2000 drysuit dives) and regardless of conditions, if it's cold enough to wear a drysuit I ALWAYS wear a purpose-made Thinsulate. Under the Thinsulate I wear very little - maybe just a thin base wicking layer. I wear normal thickness socks and like the freedom to wiggle my toes - thick socks actually make me colder. It is ESSENTIAL that the boots of your suit fit properly and snugly.