Drysuit Warming Layers & Dry Gloves

[CharlieDontDive]

1.) I'd like to find some better warming layers to wear under my drysuit. In particular for my bottom half.

2.) I'm interested in finding some good dry gloves that will allow me enough dexterity to operate my cameras.

Any recommendations?

 

[dewdropsonrosa]

I've been using a Lavacore jumpsuit as my base layer for years, and have been quite satisfied with it. It's a synthetic felt with a laminate shell that provides the equivalent of 2mm of neoprene insulation, but is neutrally buoyant. There are also matching socks and glove liners. The exterior shell material is very non-fiction and makes it easy to don/doff other layers as needed. For late summer diving, my Lavacore alone often meets my thermal needs.

For extended deep, cold stays, I've rented Fourth Element Arctic separates a few times. These are well-made and quite warm, but you might need a few extra pounds of lead to offset their buoyancy.

@Marie13 is an ardent believer in merino wool base layers, so I went to REI tonight and got a set of Smartwool 250g separates at her suggestion. My tactical impression is that the 250g wool feels light and flexible, but will be reasonably warm. (For reference, I think DUI's main cold water undergarment is rated at 450g).

 

[Marie13]

1.) I'd like to find some better warming layers to wear under my drysuit. In particular for my bottom half.

2.) I'm interested in finding some good dry gloves that will allow me enough dexterity to operate my cameras.

Any recommendations?

You want the orange smurf gloves for good dexterity. They’re not as durable as the blue ones, though.

Merino wool is good as a base layer, but what is your main undersuit? Is it warm enough?

 

[Zef]

highly recommend SHOWA 720 nitrile gloves coupled with Dakine Storm glove liners.

The 720 nitrile glove is stretchier and maintains its flexibility when cold better than the standard blue or orange poly-vinyl smurf gloves.

I just switched (1 month ago) from the SHOWA yellow acrylic liners to the Dakine Storm glove liners and find them to be just as warm at half the thickness which improves comfort and dexterity in my drygloves.

-Z

 

[Zef]

For body warmth, I recommend the Aqualung Fusion Thermal undersuit. It is expensive (when purchased new) but it works extremely well to keep me warm in waters down to 2 or 3 degrees celcius.

-Z

 

[MaxBottomtime]

SHOWA 720 nitrile gloves, Fourth Element Xerotherm liners and Ultima dry glove system.

 

[CharlieDontDive]

You want the orange smurf gloves for good dexterity. They’re not as durable as the blue ones, though.

Merino wool is good as a base layer, but what is your main undersuit? Is it warm enough?

I wear a hodgepodge of layers to include some Carhartt stuff, some old insulating layers from my Marine Corps days (visible in profile photo), and some drysuit-specific pieces.

Overall I'm fairly comfortable in the 48-49 degree F range...but I feel like there's definitely room for improvement.

 

[laikabear]

What temps are you diving in, and what runtimes? Do you have a trilaminate suit or some type of neoprene? (I'm in water that's usually 55F and above, generally, with dive runtimes around 60 to 90 minutes.)

I have a trilam suit, a Santi Flex 190 undergarment and Santi wool base layers that came with my drysuit. The wool base layer is great, but stupid expensive for what it is. I recently purchased a base layer set from Uniqlo (cheap!) that I like. It's not wool, but I don't sense a difference in warmth between the two. In fact I like the Uniqlo stuff so much I'm thinking of buying a second set. It's great for around the house, too.

For dry gloves, do you already have a system (and if so, which one?) and are looking for the particular glove to mount / underglove combo? Or are you trying to pick a dryglove system? I have the Santi Smart Gloves system which allows for pretty much any gloves to be mounted. I'm a big fan of the Showa 720s. I wear a size 8 (medium) glove but I have relatively small hands. I think the guys are running XL mostly, to XXL. If you want to read the longest / most detailed thread ever about gloves... (there's some gold in there).

I wear a fairly thick wool underglove from Amazon. The upside of these is that if you ever have a glove leak, they still provide some warmth. I don't operate a camera, but I find that operating bolt snaps is pretty easy with this combo. Definitely feels more dextrous to me than wet gloves did.

Uniqlo base layer top - Men
Uniqlo base layer bottom - Men
Uniqlo base layer top - Women
Uniqlo base layer bottom - Women
Wool undergloves
Showa gloves (size 9) (dry glove listings appear and disappear regularly... sometimes Ebay is better for finding ONE pair of gloves vs Amazon - I like Ebay seller Zoro)

Edit: Saw that you said you wear a "hodgepodge" of layers above... do you not have a drysuit-specific undergarment? I think that would be the place to start. I think you can get away with using generic base layers, but especially in water in the 48F range that you mentioned, you really will need a drysuit-specific main undergarment. I only have experience with my Santi Flex 190 so I will defer to others. I don't think the 190 would be good down to those temps, honestly.

 

[Storker]

Any recommendations?

A thin merino wool wicking layer.
Perhaps a medium thickness (200 gsm-ish) wool middle layer on the torso.
A good, thick undersuit (opinions about what is "a good undersuit" may vary, mine is a combination of thick fleece and 200 gsm Thinsulate).
Showa 620 with thin wool liners and a suitable ring system.
A good, thick, snug hood, e.g. Waterproof 5/10mm.
Enough weight to accommodate as much suit air as is needed to loft the undergarments properly.

Works for me down to 4C water and run times up to one hour.

 

[CharlieDontDive]

What temps are you diving in, and what runtimes? Do you have a trilaminate suit or some type of neoprene? (I'm in water that's usually 55F and above, generally, with dive runtimes around 60 to 90 minutes.)

I have a trilam suit, a Santi Flex 190 undergarment and Santi wool base layers that came with my drysuit. The wool base layer is great, but stupid expensive for what it is. I recently purchased a base layer set from Uniqlo (cheap!) that I like. It's not wool, but I don't sense a difference in warmth between the two. In fact I like the Uniqlo stuff so much I'm thinking of buying a second set. It's great for around the house, too.

For dry gloves, do you already have a system (and if so, which one?) and are looking for the particular glove to mount / underglove combo? Or are you trying to pick a dryglove system? I have the Santi Smart Gloves system which allows for pretty much any gloves to be mounted. I'm a big fan of the Showa 720s. I wear a size 8 (medium) glove but I have relatively small hands. I think the guys are running XL mostly, to XXL. If you want to read the longest / most detailed thread ever about gloves... (there's some gold in there).

I wear a fairly thick wool underglove from Amazon. The upside of these is that if you ever have a glove leak, they still provide some warmth. I don't operate a camera, but I find that operating bolt snaps is pretty easy with this combo. Definitely feels more dextrous to me than wet gloves did.

Uniqlo base layer top - Men
Uniqlo base layer bottom - Men
Uniqlo base layer top - Women
Uniqlo base layer bottom - Women
Wool undergloves
Showa gloves (size 9) (dry glove listings appear and disappear regularly... sometimes Ebay is better for finding ONE pair of gloves vs Amazon - I like Ebay seller Zoro)

Edit: Saw that you said you wear a "hodgepodge" of layers above... do you not have a drysuit-specific undergarment? I think that would be the place to start. I think you can get away with using generic base layers, but especially in water in the 48F range that you mentioned, you really will need a drysuit-specific main undergarment. I only have experience with my Santi Flex 190 so I will defer to others. I don't think the 190 would be good down to those temps, honestly.

I dive a trilam suit with temps in the 49-54 range. Average dive time 45-60 minutes (I like deep diving but am still on a single tank.)

One of my upper body layers I wear IS made for drysuit diving, the rest are just general cold-weather insulation type stuff. As I said, it all works well enough...but I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to the cold in general so I’d like to be a bit warmer if possible.