Arctic vs Halo 3D

[Vegan Shark]

Well, if you find a good deal on Halo 3D lemme know

Lyenne, how warm do you find the Halo + base layer for NorCal/Puget Sound, compared to a farmer john or other super thick wetsuit? I'm switching from 12mm neoprene, since after 90 minutes my body heat begins to drop, and am hoping a drysuit will allow me to stay under longer. But in buddha's thread on being cold in a drysuit, you mention that everyone gets cold after a while even in drysuits, so I'm wondering if my expectations are too high.

---------- Post added March 18th, 2014 at 01:50 PM ----------

Drybase is a synthetic material, worn close to the skin to promote wicking.

Isn't the Xerotherm also a wicking material? The descriptions of drybase and xerotherm on FE's site sound pretty much identical.

 

[Ste Wart]

I can do valve drills in my Halo 3d and rear zip drysuit no problem; even with a few extra layers.

 

[TSandM]

I can't address the difference between drysuit + Halo and a wetsuit in Puget Sound, because I have never entered Puget Sound in a wetsuit, nor do I intend to do so!

My husband dove wet for the first few months after we took our class. His conclusion was that, for the first dive, wet and dry were close to a match, but for a second dive, there was no comparison. His companions were diving trilaminate suits with heavy fleece or Thinsulate undergarments, all made by DUI.

 

[KD8NPB]

Isn't the Xerotherm also a wicking material? The descriptions of drybase and xerotherm on FE's site sound pretty much identical.

It also wicks, but the drybase is a dedicated wicking material. It is polypropylene I do believe? Its ONLY purpose is to transport moisture away from the skin. Polartec Powerstretch can eventually saturate with moisture, and while it does wick, it isn't 100% efficient. During the summer, I have saturated my undergarments pretty badly with sweat due to waiting on the surface too long a couple times.

 

[Vegan Shark]

For extra warmth can you always just add more layers, or does controlling the air bubble become an issue when you do that?

 

[KD8NPB]

For extra warmth can you always just add more layers, or does controlling the air bubble become an issue when you do that?

That is how 4th Element's stuff used to work before the Halo3D. The original suggestion for extremely cold water was to wear SubX over Arctic over Xerotherm over Drybase.

That translates to about 1500g of polartec!

The Halo3D + Xerotherm + Drybase is very manageable. It is not bulky, but offers a ton of warmth.