4th Element Undergarments

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

Tammy, you may not want to hear this but you should not be restricted in your drysuit by going to heavier undergarments. I have the same range of motion with my heaviest undergarment choice as I do in street closes. If you are restricted, your drysuit would be too small. IMO, 4th Element and Santi make the best undergarments on the market today. The warmest undergarment for the water temps that you are talking about will require either the 4th Element Halo 3d or the Santi BZ400 but these are 1 piece options. The only way around this with a 2 piece is by going lighter with a Santi Heated Vest. For the criteria you set, some of the people I dive use the 4th Element Dry Base (wicking layer), 4th ElementArctic Undergarments (2 piece) with the Santi Heated Vest and it does work for them.

You got tough choices, but you have no choice considering the diving that you want to do. I can relate, I dive here in the North East and we dive all year round.

 

[slingshot]

Could anyone comment on how the bulk of the Halo compares to the Santi BZ400? 4th Element says the foam inserts on the Halo keep the thickness at 8mm even in compression. I guess that sounds thick to my inexperienced ear. My first drysuit is on order!

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

Having dove a lot of different undergarments, I think that they are the 2 warmest 1 piece suits on the market today. Talking with divers that have dove both (myself included), the warmth edge goes to SANTI. If there is one slight downside, some of those same divers have commented that the SANTI is slightly more buoyant. That said, buoyancy of the undergarment doesn't matter to me, I will take the warmth (I get cold easy). Good luck with the decision.

 

[KD8NPB]

I would not advise the Halo 3D in waters >45F. It is really designed for extended dives in about 38F water.

Arctic + Xerotherm is perfect for 40-55F. You can always just wear one or the other, and that allows you to cover 40F to about 75F.

 

[kmurray719]

I would not advise the Halo 3D in waters >45F. It is really designed for extended dives in about 38F water.

Arctic + Xerotherm is perfect for 40-55F. You can always just wear one or the other, and that allows you to cover 40F to about 75F.

I used my Halo in 55+ degree water all summer and was never too warm. I would freeze in the arctic and xerotherm in 40 degree water. It really depends on your own thermal tolerance.

 

[KD8NPB]

I used my Halo in 55+ degree water all summer and was never too warm. I would freeze in the arctic and xerotherm in 40 degree water. It really depends on your own thermal tolerance.

In about 41F-50F water, I poured sweat into my drysuit boots for the first 20 minutes of the dive with my Halo 3D. I was absolutely miserable.

Same dive profile, I used the Arctic+Xerotherm and I was okay.

I can't wait to try the Halo 3D under the ice though!

 

[poisonorange]

I have a halo 3D and love it. They have a really good assortment of women's sizes, there shouldn't be any need to get the men's version. I am a couple of inches shorter than you and a couple of pounds heavier (although I am compact and tend to be able to wear smaller sizes than most others of my weight) and the 12-14 fits me perfectly. And as a bonus you look like a ninja turtle wearing it

Sorry to wake the dead thread but I was just wondering about the fit of Halo 3D. I’m about 5’6”, 164 pounds and was wondering whether the length on the UK size 12-14 (US size 10-12?) was too long... the size chart seems to think it’s for someone at least 2-3 inches taller than me!
Do you find the US 12-14 ok in length?
Thanks

 

[kmurray719]

They make short versions of them too They moved to single sizes (12)vs the range (12-14) at some point. I'm not sure if my old one was a short (but I'm guessing yes) but my newer one definitely is!