Drysuit Garments...can I use my under armour stuff for now?

[TSandM]

My favorite way to find a leak is to put the suit on over something like surgical scrubs -- something that will show ANY water spots. Get in a swimming pool or hot tub for just a minute or so (if you were flooded, it shouldn't take long). Get out, and VERY carefully peel the suit off, and look at where the water spot is. Then you can put obturators in the neck and wrist seals (or clamp them) and inflate the suit, and spray it with soapy water to see where the bubbles come out.

You really can't say much about where the water is coming in, from where you are wet when you get out. Water runs all over inside a suit, and always to the lowest point. I've had failing neck seals result in me primarily being wet in the crotch area.

 

[JohnN]

All,
I currently own pretty expensive hunting/skiing garments which are all moisture wicking type garments. I have a cold base layer from under armour known as under armour 4.0. I was planning on wearing this with a fleece type ski layer for my diving until I get some actual scuba garments. The garments I have work well in sitting still hunting in very cold weather so I think I should be good with this stuff down to high 40s F water in dives shorter than 30minutes but honestly don't know. Fortunately I have a shore diving place to go diving that I can test to lower 50s F temps. Do you think this will be ok for now? I really don't have money to spend on scuba specific garments until winter time. I will not be diving anywhere where I would need to do a long swim if I did have a suit flood and needed to get out of the water quickly.

What garments do you suggest I start saving up for which will allow me to dive in water down to 35F for ice diving should I go that route? thanks!

When you're ready to purchase dedicated clothing, watch eBay for the seller rondel101bjrr. He wholesales 4 way stretch fleece drysuit 'jammies' to a number of sites (at least that is what he told me) and you'll find his prices very attractive. I'm very happy with the quality of the 300 gram suit I purchased from him.

Here is a sample listing: New 4 Way Stretch 300 GR SQM Fleece Dry Suit Undergarment Size Large | eBay

 

[rx7diver]

Drysuit Garments...can I use my under armour stuff for now?

Yoyoguy,

From your recent posts, it seems that you're considering making many different future tech diving gear purchases. FWIW, when I began purchasing tech gear, I proceeded slowly, cautiously, deliberately. And I always purchased gear highly recommended for the type of diving I was considering doing (Great Lakes shipwreck diving), with less regard for price--which meant I made purchases more slowly than many of my fellow divers, as my meager discretionary funds allowed.

For example, when I was considering a drysuit + undergarment purchase, I chatted with several Great Lakes divers and learned that, because of the extremely cold Great Lakes water temperatures, the undergarment absolutely "must" be resistant to losing loft under pressure and absolutely must keep you reasonably warm even in the event of a total drysuit failure. And the drysuit must be highly resistant to tearing/holing and seal failure even when diving among the sharp/jagged metal/wood edges common to Great Lakes shipwrecks. So, for me the decision was easy: Wait a bit longer for funds to build up, and then purchase a custom DUI SP200 (crushed neoprene) drysuit with neoprene fold-under neck- and wrist-seals, and purchase DUI thinsulate undergarment and booties. Yes, this was for me a *huge* expense at the time. But I was convinced of the prudence of this gear choice (I'm pretty risk averse), and, so, made the purchase.

Same approach with regulators.

FWIW.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver