Adding base layer to Wetsuit...

[johndiver999]

There are still some freedive suits which are made with no fabric on the inside or out. Eliminating the external fabric is very benefical if you wear the suit on a cool day, say on the boat. The naked rubber dries extremely fast, so evaporative cooling is no longer an issue.

They are also very comfortable due to the enhanced flexibility associated with elimination of a fabric layer.

These suits are fragile however. They have poor resistance to abrasion and increased tendency to tear. Also, they are very vulnerable to uv light degradation, the back of the shoulders will start to crack and break down after a season or two of use in the sun. Not that practical for freedive hunters who crawl on the bottom.

As a further FYI, the smooth rubber of the inside of a freedive hood will cause an external ear squeeze if not addressed. For me, every time I enter the water, I have to break the face seal and allow a little bit of water into the hood. Some people burn a pin hole in the hood to intersect the ear canal, so they can skip this step. I pretty much never have this issue with a fabric lined hood.

 

[afdgf]

I use a Bare Exowear or Henderson? Thermax shirt under my 3mm wetsuit.
Exowear is part of the ultra warmth line if I’m not mistaken

I also have become a Bare Exowear fan. I now have two tops and two shorts so that I can change on a dive trip. I wear them under a 3 mm wetsuit to provide more warmth. They also have made my 14 lbs of slightly overweight to just right when I wear the Bare in addition to the wetsuit.

 

[hilljo88]

My 2 cents: if you are starting with a 3 mil, first add a hood. If that's not enough use hooded vest. If that doesn't do it, replace 3 mil with 5 mil, then try hood, or hooded vest. If that doesn't do it, get a semi-dry or a dry suit. Next step: battery heated vest. Finally, fly farther south to warmer weather.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Thanks John, and thanks @johndiver999 . It's interesting to learn about the evolving nomenclature here. It sounds like the distinction between scuba and freediving suits is still somewhat useful, but the language has gotten kind of messed up over the years. And the now-ubiquitous "open cell" and "closed cell" descriptions really don't make a lot of sense. Funny how that happens.

Can you tell us some more about the Clear Lake dives in '71? I'm interested in what that plumbed canister is about, the one sitting between the 2 tanks on your back. At first glance I thought it might contain an SCR or CCR counterlung, but that really doesn't seem right for 1971, and the plumbing doesn't look right either. Curious

This was a very unique and interesting setup to dive. One of the cylinders was a vacuum cylinder, which actually sampled my breath for later analysis. The plexiglas instrument on my back was an electrocardiogram which analyzed my heart rate and cardiac output during the dive. The two other cylinders were a cylinder for use underwater before starting the swimming research at different depths, and a calibrated cylinder which would tell how much air I was using during a horizontal swim. The researchers were Alex McNeill and Joe Russell, who were working on their Ph.D.s out of the University of Oregon at Eugene, Oregon. I was just weeks from coming home from my USAF duty in DaNang, Vietnam during this research.

To get this somewhat back on track, the advantages of this dive suit, which had no nylon liner on either side (foam neoprene only), was that Alex and Joe could easily cut holes in the chest for my sensors for the EKG machine (on my back), and route the cables back to the machine. Then, after these dives, on June 14th and 16th, I could simple let the neoprene dry out, and glue the edges back together without any detriment to the suit's integrity.

Here's what I wrote in my dive log (yes, I still have it).

Dives @12 through #27 were at Clear Lake in connection with a diving physiology experiment being conducted by two U of O students, Alex McNeill and Joe Russel. I was a subject for dives 12 through 18. Dives 19 through 24 I acted as assistant diver, safety man and photographer. Dives 25, 26 & 27 were breathhold dives in which my heartrate was monitored. In the other dives O2 consumption, CO2 exhalation, and heartrate or electrocardiogram were monitored at work and at rest. #28, Budd: Dan Watkins.

These dives were conducted at 3 feet, 37 feet, and 73 feet. The breath hold dives were at 30 feet and 50 feet, and one at 25 feet with no mask (in the cold water). Below are my two pages of dive logs from those dives.

I never did get the published results of their thesis. That would be interesting to see.

SeaRat

 

[dhpd]

@john what did you find on that Clear Lake research dive in 1971? I spent a weekend in Clear Lake looking for a petrified "forest" but only found a couple of vertical trees. It was beautiful, but far cry from a forest. My reg froze out at 34 degrees F and I had to ascend with it partially in my mouth. Gorgeous site, though.

 

[Weightless Wonder]

I have several questions about the titanium 2 sharkskin. 1. How much does it help under a 7 ml wetsuit? My Thermolution heated vest just died after 8 years of much use. I need something to help me in local lake diving with temps 42 to 72. I have a drysuit but find the extra weight needed with it are getting hard for my 75 year old body. 2. Can I use Sharkskin titanium 2 as an under garment skiing? 3. How is Sharkskin under a dry suit?

 

[slimshady]

I have a buddy who uses sharkskin under his dui tls350 drysuit in 58F water and he is fine. He likes it because it doesn't add bulk or buoyancy. Once he forgot his drysuit and just dove the sharkskin. I was impressed. He was chilly but still said it was doable. Amazing stuff.