Drysuit Undergarment

[Clammy]

I know this might be beating a dead horse but I just bought my first drysuit and am trying to pick an undergarment. I've been reading all up and down the forums but many of the posts are old.

I'm trying to decide between a weezle and one of the DUI brands, costs are not a factor because I will be getting a large discount on the DUI and so it will be close to a weezle anyways.

I know about the drawbacks of the weezle such as it's high loft and sometimes clogging the dump. A lot of people don't seem to like the DUI simply due to cost and some restrictive movement, but I will be getting mine custom cut if I choose to get it.

I will be primarily be using the suit in waters between 40 and 70 degrees F.

Any thoughts? AND if DUI, which one?

 

[mania]

I would recommend either Weezle or Santi.

Mania

 

[tstormdiver]

I dive dry in quarries with different temperatures from 89- 40 degrees F. I have 3 different undergarments. For the warmest waters I will only use Under Armor long johns. For the warmer waters down to about 68 degrees I have a Pinnacle fleece undergarment of about 150 gm weight. For waters 68- a short dive in 40 degrees waters I have a nondescript fleece undergarment I found online of about 400gm weight & for the coldest waters (did an hour long dive in 41 degree water in Feb.) I have a Pinnacle Merino Evolution undergarment of about 650gm weight. The one thing I will say is that Pinnacle undergarments are quite reasonable in price. The Heaviest undergarment (650gm) can be had for about $300 or so & their lightest undergarment for about $150 or so. I can change these out to match the type of diving I'm doing that day & it seems to work quite well. I can start out with the heaviest for deep, cold water diving & then change to the lighter undergarments for the shallower, warmer diving. Seems to work well modularly.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I second the modular approach.

I have a 200g one piece fleece undergarment that works in water down to about 55-60 degrees (I am a bit more cold tolerant than most). For colder water down to the upper to mid 40's I will add a layer of off the walmart shelf Rocky polypro fleece underwear using boith top and bottom or just the top depending on temp. For water colder than that I have a 400 G thinsulate undergarment that I will layer over the top of the 200 g fleece.

It works well and all three sets are compact and fit in a small dry bag and with the exception of the 400g thinsulate garment, they are not all that expensive. The advantages of layering the two fleece undergarmens is that it ends up being more flexible than a 400 g thinsulate garment. it is also a lot easier to launder the fleece than the thinsulate.

When layering, you want to ensure that you adjust each layer underneath to allow a full range of motion. The same applies when you add the dry suit on top, pull any slack in the layers to the places where it wil be needed to allow ful range of motion as once the dry suit is on, it is more or less stuck in place and a generous cut on a dry suit will still not allow full range of motion if your underwear is holding you back.

 

[gitterdun]

I've been doing a bit of research in the undies department. I've tried a bunch of different things, and have finally decided what to buy next...lol...

I purchased the 4th Element Arctics, which to be honest, are really good for warm water diving. For winter diving, I'm going to purchase the DUI 300g, and use the Arctics underneath. I like the stretch in the 300g DUIs, as well as the Arctics. I've been completely flooded in the Arctics, and I didn't feel the water. I've also used the Bare CT200 over top of the Arctics, which did work well, but in 37 degree water, I would only last about 40 minutes.

I have also heard very good things about the Santis. A friend of mine has the 400g, and they're almost too warm...lol..


Good luck!

 

[dannobee]

I too, agree with the layered/modular approach. There is no single undergarment that will provide comfort from 40 degrees to 70 degrees. You'll either be shivering or sweltering at each end of the range.

You could buy a DUI 300 (560 gm) Polartec Powerstretch, then a Carol Davis 280 gm jumpsuit. For 40 degree water, put the CD under the DUI, for mid temps (say, 50ish to 60 ish), use the DUI 300, then for 60 ish and above, use the Carol Davis jumpsuit.

I know the SoCal water temps have a wide variation. When I go down there, I'll sometimes take two sets of unders in the gear bag.

 

[Clammy]

Wow, Thank you!

I guess I'm looking at buying multiple undergarments. No one here seemed to recommend the weezle though. I wonder if a 300g DUI powerstretch with a weezle would work? Or would that not be good for "warmer" water?

 

[TSandM]

I have dived in a Weezle, and it was very warm and extremely comfortable. Like most undergarments that are very warm, it required a fair amount of air to loft the insulation, and I couldn't cope at that time with the venting required to remain stable. (I think I could do much better in that department nowadays.)

I bought a DUI 400g, and disliked it intensely. It was warm, but the quilted material was thick and stiff, and bunched up around my waist. I did six dives in it and sold it. Another disadvantage of Thinsulate undergarments is that it is not good to wash them, and in my experience, diving undergarments are going to NEED to be washed, either to remove sweat or to remove salt water.

I dove the 4th Element undergarments, but found them no warmer than what I was already using, and with the disadvantage of having no pockets.

I've used a Diving Concepts 200g Thinsulate undergarment with the 200g vest under it, and that was marginal insulation for water in the low 40's. It was much more comfortable than the DUI, though. I wore a layer of thin fleece under this combination.

Right now, I'm diving a White's MK3 undergarment, which has a lot of similarities with the Santi, but was significantly less expensive. It's pretty warm, although I was cold at the end of a 70 minute dive in high 40's water last night. The White's can be washed, has pockets, and has neoprene inserts over the joints to allow a lot of flexibility. It's the best thing I've come up with so far.

 

[horsediver1]

I've used this combo for many years including many ice dives without issue. I bought the 400 gram two peice thinsulate from "Cabela's Outdoor" and use a poly underware two piece, No bunching, No restricted movement and 1/3 price of DUI thinsulate.

TG

 

[Clammy]

Any thoughts on the powerstretch 300 from DUI? It's actually the only thing I've dove with and I find nearly no restriction in movement and it requires almost no loft. I just can't compare it to anything. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?