How??? If you are inside the suit - and dry - and the moisture is outside the suit - how is the faster drying suit warmer??? If you are doing a surface interval - assuming that you are still dry inside the suit - wouldnt it still come down to your undergarment choice?? The warmth offered from a compressed neo suit isnt just warmth at depth - if one is warmer at depth - it should be so on the surface as well?????????
I was assuming the diver would be wearing more undergarments with the rubberized shell suit and that a neoprene drysuit in windy and cold surface conditions would have much greater evaporative heat loss, since it retains more water, as was mentioned above by bleeb.
As a result of the neoprene suit material getting colder and the diver wearing lighter fabric insulation, he would have a colder "micro climate" than a diver with heavier fabric insulation and no evaporative heat loss of the shell.
The difference in diver heat loss probably isn't significant under our typical winter conditions, but there would be difference, wouldn't you agree?
Compared to neoprene, my trilaminate's exterior fabric will be completely dry in a much shorter period, especially in windy, dry conditions, even in the winter. My buddy wears a crushed neoprene and it stays wet quite a while, as do my crushed neoprene drysuit socks.
manni-yunk, mostly I was asking about getting into and out of the suit post dive, as well as the drying. In other words, will I be miserable getting out of and putting away the suit. AND, will I be miserable getting back into the suit tomorrow, or next week for that matter.
With ANY drysuit, I don't think you'll be miserable getting out of it or putting it away; it'll be less trouble than a wetsuit, for sure! And drying the inside of a drysuit can be done overnight under most conditions, especially if you have a fan blowing on it. I've done that when diving back-to-back days. Works great for drying the undergarments, too.
A little more personal info....probably too much....
With my trilaminate suit there will be some perspiration moisture condensed on the interior, but the suit is easy to take off. The outer surface of my undergarments may be slightly damp, too.
If I'm wearing my insulation that has the wind-breaking nylon shell exterior (Weezle Extreme Plus), I'll still be completely warm even in dry, windy winter conditions. If I'm wearing only Polartec undergarments, the winds whip right through them, so that might hurry me up a little.... Since I don't like to hurry on a dive day, I bring a snowmobile suit, if needed....
As far as suit handling, when I dive saltwater, I bring warm freshwater and rinse my trilaminate suit right at the dive site. The outside of the suit will be almost completely dry by the time I pack everything up for my trip home, only the crushed neoprene neck collar and drysuit socks still being damp.
For the 2.5-hour trip home, I turn the suit inside-out and lay it on top of my other gear. The inside will usually be completely dry by the time I get home, except perhaps the crushed neoprene portions.
At home, after the inside crushed neoprene has completely dried, I turn the suit rightside out until the outside crushed neoprene areas are dry. That can take a day or two, depending on humidity, but, as I said, a fan blowing on the suit can greatly shorten the process.
Dave C
