Boxers or Briefs

[PerroneFord]

I use underarmour as a base layer and then a set of expedition weight wools under my undergarment. I've been very comfortable on my dives.

 

[AUTiger]

I went diving again today. I wore a pair of "Dive" brand spandex/neoprene swim trunks. The worked great. I didn't feel a bit of discomfort. In fact, today's dives were the first where I felt completely comfortable in my drysuit. Last time, I was using 32 lbs. This time, I switched to a steel HP100 tank and took off 6 lbs, leaving me with 26. The only small problem that I had was my feet trying to float up. Generally, this isn't an issue, but I am a photographer, so I'm often hanging a bit inverted trying to get a photo. The air going to my legs just makes that worse. This isn't a problem in normal swimming, where I can stay quite level. I'm going to try some ankle weights next time. I know that they are a bit of a crutch, but I think they're necessary when I've got my camera.

Thanks for the advice.

David

 

[gert7to3]

Instead of ankle weights how about gaiters? They keep your dry suit lower legs from inflating when you go head down. Here's a quick address for illustration:

Dive Rite Gaiters...Keeps Air Movement in Your Drysuit to a Minimum

Leg weights mean you have to move those weights along with your fins.

 

[Tigerman]

Instead of ankle weights how about gaiters? They keep your dry suit lower legs from inflating when you go head down. Here's a quick address for illustration:

Dive Rite Gaiters...Keeps Air Movement in Your Drysuit to a Minimum

Leg weights mean you have to move those weights along with your fins.

The air in the drysuit is also part of what keeps us hot.. No air in the boots and you get colder feet, which in turn cools the rest of you..

 

[gert7to3]

Perhaps I should have said gaiters let you control the air in your lower legs. The gaiters work on the legs of the dry suit not the feet. The feet are left unconstrained, you just don't get balloon calf/head down syndrome.

My second point is that extra weight on your feet forces you to accelerate and decelerate those weights with each fin kick. That is significant extra work, which wastes air and energy.

 

[Rick Inman]

As to the short-shorts... you might find an advantage to the tighter spandex type style when you start using a pee valve. The tighter fit has some benefits when it comes to...ah...routing.