First time flooding the Drysuit !!!!!

[JeffG]

Question for you D.S. guru's, stupid question actually, have you ever thought about wearing a wet suit for undergarment? I mean the idea is to stay dry and warm which a wet suit would accomplish and if it does flood you have back up. You would still have to abort the dive though.

The short answer is that it is a stupid idea and the people that say it is a good solution do not understand how drysuit underwear works.

 

[Scott M]

The short answer is that it is a stupid idea and the people that say it is a good solution do not understand how drysuit underwear works.

I would be one of the ones that has no idea how the underwear work other than to keep a person warm. In the quest for a D.S. I must admit my focus was more on the suit than the undergarments as little is ever said about what their function actually is other than to keep you warm. I would assume that undergarments made for D.S. may not accumulate as much water as regular clothes would? Is there a web site that you are aware of that would explain this?

 

[Gombessa]

I would be one of the ones that has no idea how the underwear work other than to keep a person warm. In the quest for a D.S. I must admit my focus was more on the suit than the undergarments as little is ever said about what their function actually is other than to keep you warm. I would assume that undergarments made for D.S. may not accumulate as much water as regular clothes would?

You don't wear a wetsuit under a drysuit because the wetsuit is composed of sealed air pockets - which will compress the suit at depth regardless of how much air you pump into the drysuit.

Most DS materials keep you warm by trapping air, which insulates against temperature changes very well relative to water and the materials of the suit. Most materials tend to work better when highly lofted. Others are made to keep their properties when more compressed.

Also, just as you've heard that wool hiking socks and synthetic shirts "keep you warm even while wet" whereas cotton loses all its insulating value, most drysuit undergarments are also designed to stay warm even when wet. I'm not sure what the exact mechanism is, but waxy fibers like thinuslate are probably hydrophobic to an extent, which helps repel water and retain some insulating air when wet. Others soak up water like sponges, and I'm sure those are less desirable in a flood.

 

[JeffG]

I would be one of the ones that has no idea how the underwear work other than to keep a person warm. In the quest for a D.S. I must admit my focus was more on the suit than the undergarments as little is ever said about what their function actually is other than to keep you warm. I would assume that undergarments made for D.S. may not accumulate as much water as regular clothes would? Is there a web site that you are aware of that would explain this?

It works the same as a wetsuit. Its the air in the underwear/wetsuit that keeps your warm.

Drysuit underwear needs to be able to hold gas trapped in its fibers to keep you warm. If those bubbles are displaced with water (due to a flood)...then you will freeze your nuts off.

The air bubbles get compressed when going to depth, the volume is refilled when you inject more gas into your drysuit. This doesnot/cannot work with a wetsuit. Thats one of the reasons why wetsuits are not as warm as drysuits...and also, why they cannot be used as underwear.

 

[JeffG]

darn...to slow.

 

[TSandM]

In addition, drysuit undergarments wick moisture away from the skin. A wetsuit traps it, as anybody who's spent much time in a wetsuit in hot air knows all too well.

I don't think it's a stupid question, though. I wondered the same thing when I started diving dry, and couldn't stay warm.

And Jeff's comment is right on . . . Lots of stuff will keep you warm in a dry suit, as long as the suit is DRY. The good stuff is worth the money, because it keeps you safe when you are no longer dry! Hypothermia is not a joke, or even a discomfort. I know from personal experience that it can make you quite sick, and from professional experience, that it can kill you.

 

[Scott M]

Thanks for the reply's I understand that a little better now. I was wearing underarmor with a sweat pants/shirt over them. Probably not the best idea in the world. Next time I wear my D.S. undergarments.

Thanks again,

Best Regards

 

[Gombessa]

Speaking of which,

I've had several minor floods (more like serious leaks), some of which I didn't notice until taking the suit off after the dive. Now that's a sign that the undergarment is doing its job. Of course, in a "real" flood you'll notice it right away