Do you wear full length rash guard with your wetsuit?

[Jackknife]

Does it keep you any warmer, I have a henderson hotskin and a sharkskin, made of nylon and propylene material, basically a full length surfer type rashguard that I could wear with my wetsuit.

Is it suppose to make you warmer along with the neoprene wetsuit, or is it not worth it?

Conceptually the layer of water is suppose to be heated by your skin and kept there by the neoprene. If the rash guard runs the whole length of the suit, what would that mean?

I would like to hear your experiences?

 

[Walter]

What is a "rashguard"?

 

[Dr. Jay]

Typically worn by surfers to protect them from abrasive objects (jellyfish, etc. included)....a.k.a. a dive "skin".

The one I have looks somethine like this, except all black. It's made of some "fleece"-type material on the inside, and I have to say it does keep me a little warmer when I wear my 2 piece. It also helps the jacket slide on a little easier. You can get full-body dive skins, but I don't think you'll find any along the "rash-guard" surfer clothing lines.

I recently used the rashguard along with the bottom farmer-john portion of my 2-piece down in the keys, and it was definately a lot nicer than using the 2pc.

Works great for me...but its kinda personal preference.

 

[Zept]

I wear full-length lycra tights and a long-sleeved rashguard top under my 5mm wetsuit. They do not contribute anything in terms of warmth but they make it much, much easier to get on... a major bonus if I am getting into it three or four times a day.

Zept

 

[scubawife]

I use a lycra skin (unlined) just to make it easy to get my wetsuit on and off. I had a fleece lined skin that I wore under a 3mm when the water was on the cool side. After 2 dives I was back to being just as cold as with the 3mm alone. I switched to a 1mm neoprene and that's been much better for warmth. It's not any bulkier then the fleece skin, and it's just as easy to slide my 3mm over it as a skin.

 

[Beetlejuice]

I've been told that not only do dive skins not add warmth, but that they can make you colder, because the skin will absorb water and the cold water will just be trapped against your skin. Does anyone have experience with this? especially in cold water? I'm thinking a skin might make it easier for me to put my 7mm full suit on (when I get one) but I don't want it to make me colder.