Adding base layer to Wetsuit...

[CuzzA]

I'm looking to add some base layer to my diving for warmth.. (I'm a wimp)... I was looking at the Bare Ultrawarmth base layer and thinking about wearing that under my wetsuit BUT they describe it to be used with dry suit. No where have I found a statement that it can't be worn with a wetsuit but I don't see anyone trying it.

Does anyone out there have experience with adding this product (or, something else) as a base layer for a wetsuit?

Thanks,

Gary M

Ditch the closed cell scuba suit and use an open cell wetsuit. An open cell suit is damn near a drysuit as there's hardly any water intrusion.

 

[jmark18]

Look into the Fourth Element Thermocline stuff. Non buoyant and made for wetsuit layering.

 

[GiraffeMarineSalvage]

Ditch the closed cell scuba suit and use an open cell wetsuit. An open cell suit is damn near a drysuit as there's hardly any water intrusion.

Open cell wetsuits of identical thickness are dramatically warmer than closed cell wetsuits, but do you know of any open cell wetsuits designed for scuba as opposed to freediving?

The reason I ask is the attributes desirable from a scuba diving wetsuit (compressed neoprene which remains warmer at depth and doesn't dramatically affect diver's relative buoyancy under pressure) are very different from desirable attributes of freediving wetsuits (stretchy neoprene that doesn't constrain chest from full inhale and is very efficient insulation which compresses the right amount at depth so diver can conserve energy being most active on the 1st and 3rd quarters of the dive while letting buoyancy changes do most of the work during the 2nd and 4th quarters of the dive). Same could be said for other open cell wetsuit intended for surface use (like triathlon or surfing) in terms of priorities of a given neoprene's attributes.
One can most certainly use a freediving wetsuit scubadiving or scubadiving wetsuit freediving BUT the compromises involved in doing so are pretty substantial, and a neoprene ideal for a long life freediving or surface activities which prioritize stretchiness and mobility won't hold up as well under the sustained compression of scubadiving...
(Also all my above open cell/closed cell generalizations should be disregarded if looking at an open cell wetsuit designed with denser compressed neoprene for scuba diving. I'm simply not aware of any manufacturers producing that combination of attributes...)

 

[CuzzA]

It was 60 some odd degrees the other day diving in a 5 mil open cell. 4 dives, never got cold. I ditched closed cell suits for a number of reasons. They aren't as warm. In order to equal the insulation you have to add another 2 or 3 mils to equal an open cell suit, which increases buoyancy shift and restricts your chest and movement.

Suit compression and chest restriction for breathing are simply attributes of wetsuit diving and it sucks all around compared to skin diving, but free diving requires a good bit of athleticism and on the surface breathing up to go down and breathing to recover from a dive requires more respiratory freedom so the idea it's not suitable for scuba diving which is generally low energy, shallow breathing (compared to apnea surface recovery breathing) and a low respiratory rate doesn't make sense.

 

[PBcatfish]

The only under layer I use is a skin. I look for something that is pretty darn close to seamless, because big seams aren't comfortable when there are layers on top of them. The skin doesn't really add warmth. It makes it easier to get in/out of a suit & if you are using rental suits, it provides a layer of separation between you & the last renter's pee.

For added warmth, I pile on extra layers of wetsuit. I just add up suits that I already own & would normally use by themselves. This works well for thin suits, like 1-3mm. Something like a 6mm suit, generally doesn't really want to stretch over another suit as easily. Adding a 2mm vest helps. Adding a 3mm shorty makes a big difference. Having a front zip allows you to adjust your warmth when you pass a thermocline. I REALLY like front zip suits, or at least front zip top layers, for this reason, if I am going deep enough to encounter a thermocline.

Rather than add a layer, the other obvious option is to get a new suit that is thicker. Some of the modern thick suits move a lot better than the old ones did. Now that I live in the tropics, I no longer use my 6mm farmer John 2-piece. Here a 3mm full suit is my winter wear. I mostly wear less. I do like layers for deep dives because we do have thermoclines here. Some places I have been (like Hawaii) did not have any thermoclines that I could find.

 

[slimshady]

Under a wetsuit, I have used the UnderArmour Coldgear with Celiant technology. I get the fitted compression kind. It is the same tech as the Bare wetsuits and others. Plus the wetsuit slides on and off easily over the top of it. I also use it as a base layer under my drysuit underwear in cold water since it does not add any bulk. Trilam drysuit.

 

[Pearlman]

You may want to checkout the Scubapro Profile 0.5mm wetsuit.

 

[broncobowsher]

Do you really need more layers? If you have water flowing through the suit you will be cold. I can stay warmer in a good fitting 5mm Aqualock Henderson than most people in a 7mm generic wetsuit. Difference is I have nearly no water leaking in past the neck/arm/zipper... while there poor fitting rental suit has gaps at the wrist, or neck, and or many other places. I have a few ounces of warm water between my body and wetsuit while those who are cold will have pints of water flowing through.

Think of a wetsuit as the insulation in your house. If you keep the opening (windows, doors) sealed up it doesn't take much to stay warm. Leave a few windows open a little bit, a door that doesn't seal very well, and get the wind blowing. It is going to take a lot to fight those cold leaks. Same for a wetsuit. Your body is the furnace, can't ask it to make more heat, have to deal with the single setting. Water is 800 times (?) better at removing heat than air. Doesn't take much of a draft in a wetsuit to get cold.

Adding more insulation doesn't help if the drafts are not addressed. To a more extreme version there is the semi-dry wetsuit. Which is a wetsuit that is highly tuned to controlling waterflow.

 

[dmaziuk]

Ditch the closed cell scuba suit and use an open cell wetsuit. An open cell suit is damn near a drysuit as there's hardly any water intrusion.

+1. Note also that a fabric base layer could actually let more water in/out and do the opposite of what you want.

 

[Catito]

I'm looking to add some base layer to my diving for warmth.. (I'm a wimp)... I was looking at the Bare Ultrawarmth base layer and thinking about wearing that under my wetsuit BUT they describe it to be used with dry suit. No where have I found a statement that it can't be worn with a wetsuit but I don't see anyone trying it.

Does anyone out there have experience with adding this product (or, something else) as a base layer for a wetsuit?

Thanks,

Gary M

I too am a wimp. I wear a marino

I'm looking to add some base layer to my diving for warmth.. (I'm a wimp)... I was looking at the Bare Ultrawarmth base layer and thinking about wearing that under my wetsuit BUT they describe it to be used with dry suit. No where have I found a statement that it can't be worn with a wetsuit but I don't see anyone trying it.

Does anyone out there have experience with adding this product (or, something else) as a base layer for a wetsuit?

Thanks,

Gary M

i too am a wimp when it comes to the cold. If I am not wearing my 5mm, I will wear a Merino wool top under my 3mm wetsuit, a skin, then over my wetsuit a neoprene vest. I always wear a hood.