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Drysuit undergarments
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The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
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Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Yes, I am. And I'm baldheaded too!
As Popeye said, "I yam what I yam!"
But, by God, I'm warm!
(And, yes, I'm an arrow man)
I know, looking at me you'd think I'd have really thick skin, wouldn't you?
the K-www
As Popeye said, "I yam what I yam!"
But, by God, I'm warm!
(And, yes, I'm an arrow man)
I know, looking at me you'd think I'd have really thick skin, wouldn't you?
the K-www
scubadobadoo
Contributor
Tristessa:
This looks interesting. So did you order it from the UK on this site or from someone in the US? How did you find out about it? Anyone else know about this stuff? What is the material at the wrists? Mesh? Thanks.
I still think anyone who is "toasty" in 35 degree water is experiencing hot flashes, wink wink!
cummings66
Contributor
I'd be curious as to where this could be had for $100 as well. The price converted I think came to around $135 and I don't know if they'd even ship to the US. The ones I've found here cost around $185 so it's not cheap, but there's many paths to $100.
By the way, I'd say toasty is not in my bag. What I would claim is that I am as warm as I am on the surface with my undergarment on. In other words I'm quite comfortable, but not toasty. I will drip sweat until I get in the water in 20 degree weather however, but that's just my head and probably because I'm in a Viking drysuit which is rubber.
By the way, I'd say toasty is not in my bag. What I would claim is that I am as warm as I am on the surface with my undergarment on. In other words I'm quite comfortable, but not toasty. I will drip sweat until I get in the water in 20 degree weather however, but that's just my head and probably because I'm in a Viking drysuit which is rubber.
Archangel
...
Putting in my $0.02:
I am toasty warm in my Whites MK2, fits me like a glove, beautifully engineered, thin and heck. . . cuddles me when everybody else is huddled together trying to share body heat.
They can be found at: http://www.whitesdiving.com/index.php?id=43&cid=57
If I was ice diving, I would bump up the MK 3's
Customer service is wonderful,
I am toasty warm in my Whites MK2, fits me like a glove, beautifully engineered, thin and heck. . . cuddles me when everybody else is huddled together trying to share body heat.
They can be found at: http://www.whitesdiving.com/index.php?id=43&cid=57
If I was ice diving, I would bump up the MK 3's
Customer service is wonderful,
scubadobadoo
Contributor
Here is a review of the 300 from divernet...
I always remember those early BSAC lectures which shared with us all the grisly details of the many ways in which a burst lung can manifest itself. One condition, interstitial emphysema, was often described as air that had escaped from the lungs into the main body cavity and lodged at the highest point. It was said to impart the feeling of crackly bubble-wrap around the base of the neck.
I'm always checking I haven't got interstitial emphysema by feeling for that bubble-wrap effect and recently I got a result, because I was wearing the Northern Diver SPX300 undersuit. I don't mean it caused me to make a rapid ascent while I held my breath, but the insulating material, which it incorporates, imparts that same crackly feeling.
It's called Flectalon and is said to be used exclusively by Northern Diver. The company claims it consistently out-performs Thinsulate when it comes to insulation. It says it is the material used by rescue services in life-or-death situations, because it's so effective at retaining body heat.
The SPX300 is said to be equivalent to a 300gm Thinsulate but is appreciably lighter. You certainly feel you are as well wrapped as any fragile goods might be.
Although it is hidden from sight by the inner fleece and the quilted nylon top layer, I get the impression that Flectalon is a woven mat of aluminium foil, like something in which you might wrap the turkey at Christmas. Well, I've never heard of a turkey complaining about the cold. You can see the metal glitter through the weave of the material.
The suit is slightly fitted by being gathered at the waist. The arms are joined to the body section with elasticated material to help with mobility, and there are elasticated cuffs and ankles too.
I could have done with a higher insulated collar and had to fall back on an old Burberry scarf to stop the chill in this area.
Northern Diver obviously sells a lot of drysuits with cuff dumps (down south everyone seems to go for shoulder-mounted auto dumps) and the SPX300 comes with a mesh area at the wrists so that there is no danger of the undersuit interfering with the flow of escaping air.
Alas, this means the area of the wrists, with its major arteries close to the surface, is totally uninsulated. Brrrr!
The odd metallic thread also made its way through to my skin, making itself felt more than seen. It reminded me of an ex-Page Three girl I knew who had a lot of problems with a thread of metallic material that made its way into her skin from a glitzy thong she had been wearing. It gave her a bad case of "trucker's bum", which apparently is a genuine and well-known medical condition. With that in mind, I was quick to remove any such swarf!
I believe that I had an early version of the undersuit. Current examples in the shops have a gold weave rather than the silver of the suit I tried and probably look rather fetching, glittering in the sunshine.
I used the SPX300 in Scotland in May. With water at the surface of 9ûC it proved warm enough and I used a little less lead than I would have expected - always a bonus.
To complete the deal, I wore SPX Hotmax Sox which are made from a wicking fleece that stops you wishing your feet belonged in someone else's suit. By that, I mean they avoid that men's locker-room effect!
The SPX300 Flectalon undersuit costs £135. Hotmax Sox cost £8 per pair.
# Northern Diver 01257 254444, www.ndiver.com
I always remember those early BSAC lectures which shared with us all the grisly details of the many ways in which a burst lung can manifest itself. One condition, interstitial emphysema, was often described as air that had escaped from the lungs into the main body cavity and lodged at the highest point. It was said to impart the feeling of crackly bubble-wrap around the base of the neck.
I'm always checking I haven't got interstitial emphysema by feeling for that bubble-wrap effect and recently I got a result, because I was wearing the Northern Diver SPX300 undersuit. I don't mean it caused me to make a rapid ascent while I held my breath, but the insulating material, which it incorporates, imparts that same crackly feeling.
It's called Flectalon and is said to be used exclusively by Northern Diver. The company claims it consistently out-performs Thinsulate when it comes to insulation. It says it is the material used by rescue services in life-or-death situations, because it's so effective at retaining body heat.
The SPX300 is said to be equivalent to a 300gm Thinsulate but is appreciably lighter. You certainly feel you are as well wrapped as any fragile goods might be.
Although it is hidden from sight by the inner fleece and the quilted nylon top layer, I get the impression that Flectalon is a woven mat of aluminium foil, like something in which you might wrap the turkey at Christmas. Well, I've never heard of a turkey complaining about the cold. You can see the metal glitter through the weave of the material.
The suit is slightly fitted by being gathered at the waist. The arms are joined to the body section with elasticated material to help with mobility, and there are elasticated cuffs and ankles too.
I could have done with a higher insulated collar and had to fall back on an old Burberry scarf to stop the chill in this area.
Northern Diver obviously sells a lot of drysuits with cuff dumps (down south everyone seems to go for shoulder-mounted auto dumps) and the SPX300 comes with a mesh area at the wrists so that there is no danger of the undersuit interfering with the flow of escaping air.
Alas, this means the area of the wrists, with its major arteries close to the surface, is totally uninsulated. Brrrr!
The odd metallic thread also made its way through to my skin, making itself felt more than seen. It reminded me of an ex-Page Three girl I knew who had a lot of problems with a thread of metallic material that made its way into her skin from a glitzy thong she had been wearing. It gave her a bad case of "trucker's bum", which apparently is a genuine and well-known medical condition. With that in mind, I was quick to remove any such swarf!
I believe that I had an early version of the undersuit. Current examples in the shops have a gold weave rather than the silver of the suit I tried and probably look rather fetching, glittering in the sunshine.
I used the SPX300 in Scotland in May. With water at the surface of 9ûC it proved warm enough and I used a little less lead than I would have expected - always a bonus.
To complete the deal, I wore SPX Hotmax Sox which are made from a wicking fleece that stops you wishing your feet belonged in someone else's suit. By that, I mean they avoid that men's locker-room effect!
The SPX300 Flectalon undersuit costs £135. Hotmax Sox cost £8 per pair.
# Northern Diver 01257 254444, www.ndiver.com
Tassie_Rohan
Contributor
scubadobadoo:
My flectalon 100 is the best dive-related item I have purchased so far. The suit contains some sort of foil mesh. I stay warm no matter what wearing the flectalon and a layer of thermals on underneath to wick moisture from my skin. Wrist material is a standard elasticised collar - doesn't seem to be anything unusual on mine: its not mesh.
I got mine though northen divers Oz dealer, but if you do a google search you should be able to find their US dealer: hes on this board if I remember... Their site is here
scubadobadoo:I still think anyone who is "toasty" in 35 degree water is experiencing hot flashes, wink wink!
Rubbish - just pee in your drysuit.
Cheers,
Rohan.
Tassie_Rohan
Contributor
scubadobadoo:
Just looked at the above photo - the suit I have doesn't have that forearm mesh thingy, nor, if I remember, do any pictures of the current models on the web site . It could be an old model or maybe wrist meshes are just one of those quaint English traditions..
Cheers,
Rohan.
scubadobadoo
Contributor
Tassie_Rohan:Just looked at the above photo - the suit I have doesn't have that forearm mesh thingy, nor, if I remember, do any pictures of the current models on the web site . It could be an old model or maybe wrist meshes are just one of those quaint English traditions..
Cheers,
Rohan.
I believe the mesh thingies are for folks who use wrist cuff dumps to avoid the bunching problems some have complained about with weezle products or other thick materials. The divernet review did also mention that the suit he had was an older model or perhaps the prototype.
As to quaint English traditions...What the heck is a swarf? J/K
Actually, if one reads the above review (especially the part about truckers bum) with a British accent (Queens English of course) it is really entertaining! And while I am at it, I really do want to name a kid Rohan! Maybe it's because I am a Lord of the Rings fan! Seriously, is that a popular name at all?
The Horn
Contributor
Lots of folks discuss the one piece undergarments and all the different grams of thinsulate etc but I find it quite comfortable in the dry suit just dressing in layers. For the temperature range of 40 to 50 I'd probably have a pair of long undies on with a pair of polar fleece long johns over top and for the top section a long under shirt, long sleeve t shirt and a polar fleece undershirt top covered with a Bare Xcd2 pro.
My buddy dives a viking with about the same and we both double up the socks. (he even had mild flooding on both of one days dives and stuck it out through 45 minutes at 47 degrees) The only parts that got cold were the fingers after a half hour with 3 mil five finger gloves but we solved that with dry gloves.
I guess its what you get used to and define as "cold" or "warm", lots of people up here in Canada call a - 10 Celcius day, a nice warm day if the sun is out and the Bar-B-Q stays a cooking even with 4 feet of snow piled around you-lots of places to keep your beer cold.
My buddy dives a viking with about the same and we both double up the socks. (he even had mild flooding on both of one days dives and stuck it out through 45 minutes at 47 degrees) The only parts that got cold were the fingers after a half hour with 3 mil five finger gloves but we solved that with dry gloves.
I guess its what you get used to and define as "cold" or "warm", lots of people up here in Canada call a - 10 Celcius day, a nice warm day if the sun is out and the Bar-B-Q stays a cooking even with 4 feet of snow piled around you-lots of places to keep your beer cold.
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