Question Building a cold water undersuit/undergarment system.

[Erik H]

Kwark is just fleece. They're not filled with anything. Weelze is like a sleeping bag or puffy jacket.

About the 'cave cut'. IMHO it's just marketing babble. A suit either fits you properly or it doesn't.

Just go to some dive shops in your area. For your first suit it's better when you have someone helping you to find the right size rather than buying on the internet.

I believe I may be misleading with the use of "cave-cut". What I mean is a suit that is tighter/slimmer/closer fitting instead of too loose and baggy. I realise that you need some room in the suit for undersuits and being able to move without restriction, but I'd rather have a suit that is more "streamlined" that requires less air instead of having one with an excess of materiel which all around which can cause unwanted migration of air. I know that custom fit/made-to-measure makes the suit match your proportions, but one manufacturers' MTM may be a looser fit compared to another manufacturer.

 

[Scuba fryd]

I know this topic has been written about to death, but I can't find an existing thread that answers all of my questions and needs or talk about exposure suits for temperature ranges that I dive in.

I currently dive in Sweden where water temperatures regularly get down to 0°C winter season but might touch 22°C during the summer, but I'm more concerned about diving in the colder temperatures. Atm. I use a rental neo drysuit but would like to get a trilam very soon. However, my undergarment system right now is mixed layers of different materials like wool and fleece. Now, I am looking to build a true dedicated drysuit undersuit/undergarment system but have some preferences. I dive recreational with a single tank so dive times aren't all that long. Even then, I tend to be cold and easily freeze in my hands and feet (I always have cold hands and feet, even out of the water).

I'm looking to build a system with maximum warmth in mind but also with minimal bulk, to minimise extra weight requirements but keep good mobility. That's why I am thinking about electronically heated options like undersuits, vests, shirts and such. The thought is to have a thinner undersuit that can be electrically warmed up to be similar to a thicker undersuit. They may also be used together with a base/mid layer garment as well if needed. I know of quite a few brands that sell heated garments: Santi, SmartTex, Venture Heat, Thermalution, Heizteufel, etc. I also know of some heated gloves and a couple of heated socks by the same brands and have even thought of heated insoles, all for added warmth to the digits. Any thoughts and/or suggestions on the heated garment route? Santi BZ400, Flex 2 undersuit and Flex 2 vest are often named. I personally like the idea of the full undersuits for the heated arms and legs. Anybody with experience with them? Could the Flex 2 when heated (preferable as it is thinner) be as warm as the BZ400 unheated or equivalent undersuit? For gloves and socks, I'm partial to thinner materials to keep dexterity in the dry gloves.

Apart from heated garments, I also find the FE Halo AR interesting. Using argon to make a warm yet thing undersuit makes it really appealing. Anybody know how well they work? I realise I would have to use layers with this undersuit and would likely use FE or Waterproof layers. Any other suggestions for maximum warmth with minimal bulk?

Many Thanks

I did a dive in 4/5 celsius water for 1 hour with the fourth element exotherm as a base layer x core vest and Arctic expedition did Wunders also use wool socks with a Arctic sock wool glove with sum ski gloves on the outside(i use dry gloves) and i am every comfortable. And that way u can just chance what u were depending on the temp

 

[specorelli]

I have a Rofos 450 trilaminate suit and I wear 3 layers beneath it:
1 merino base from Kraft*
1 Bare base layer
1 Kwark navy (absolutely love it)

* From the 3 layers this is the one I am not super happy with - very very thin and definitely I should have gone down a size because it is way too big in my normal size.

1 wear 2 pairs of socks: 1 ski socks and 1 Kwark socks.
My suit has neoprene socks + rock boots

The coldest I dived in this combo was 11 Celsius for about 45 minutes - I was borderline cold towards the end but I run on the cold side.

I would also like to share that I used to have a crushed neoprene dry suit about 10 years ago. Maybe the technology has evolved but it felt bulkier (would never be able to travel with it) but it did not require all the layers above.
Overall I prefer the trilaminate but I don't dive in water that is below 10 degrees so that could be a factor.