good dry suit undergarment alternatives

[dannobee]

What do you mean your buoyancy "still gets wonky"?

There are some pics of poor Barb's buoyancy skills in my Picasaweb gallery in last week's pics (9-15 or so). I felt bad enough for her that I snapped some pics What's the first thing they teach you in First Aid/Rescue? "Don't become a victim yourself."

She's actually a VERY good diver, so when she says it's the underwear, it is.

Barb, go back to your fleece stuff and add a base layer from http://www.cdsportswear.com/

 

[MontereyCADiver]

I think Barbara makes a good point -- a good hood makes a huge difference. However, that doesn't answer your question.

I dive Monterey frequently, and I use a DUI 450CLx. Under the suit, I wear a cotton t-shirt, cotton shorts, fleece top, fleece pants, and thick wool socks. For me, I'm sufficiently warm; but, that may not work for everyone. My typical dive day usually includes only one dive; sometimes I'll dive twice. The first dive is usually 90+ minutes (sometimes up to 2 hours), and the second is approx. 30 minutes (+/-). Again, these undergarments work for me -- they may not work for you.

Best of luck!

Jeff

 

[*Floater*]

Barb, go back to your fleece stuff and add a base layer from http://www.cdsportswear.com/

Does anyone know how the Carol Davis suits compare to the Tilos 200g Polartec suits that DiveSports sold or sell for fairly cheap?

tilos: Tilos Polartex Drysuit Underwear - Polartex Drysuit Underwear - Drysuit Underwear

 

[TSandM]

I don't do this, but a good friend and avid cold water diver goes to our local equivalent of a Goodwill store and buys heavy wool sweaters and wool pants, and that's what she uses under her drysuit. I can't imagine doing that, myself, because I have had so few truly "dry" dry suit dives, and I'd go crazy trying to maintain the wool.

 

[Tigerman]

I don't do this, but a good friend and avid cold water diver goes to our local equivalent of a Goodwill store and buys heavy wool sweaters and wool pants, and that's what she uses under her drysuit. I can't imagine doing that, myself, because I have had so few truly "dry" dry suit dives, and I'd go crazy trying to maintain the wool.

If you have problem with moisture on your drysuit dives, you should most definetly try wool, as it will not lose any effect while wet. Youll still feel toasty warm and not "damn im wet again".
Wool has some rather amazing qualities as far as preserving heat and absorbing moist goes.
Maintaining wool isnt really worse than maintaining anything else, as long as you remember not to boil it every time you wash it..

(IIRC this thread has a link to what I use under my drysuit from earlier)

 

[FireM]

I need opinion about Bare CT200 POLARWEAR EXTREME ! Someone told me to bay this underwear for my dives. I’m using Bare XCD2 Pro Dry suit (2mm hyper-compressed Metalite neoprene). Dive conditions are Depth about 40-50m (131-164 feet) temperature in winter 6 Celsius (42f) to 10C (50f).

Thanks

 

[Bob3]

If you can't afford some of those great Viking undies that I have on sale (demos starting at $75) you might want to take a visit to The Sportsman's Guide, a great sporting goods / outdoors store that has a good internet outlet.
Go the the ''Men's Clothing -> Underwear'' section.
There are a few great selections there, particularly their own in-house version (Guide Gear) of the US Army's ECWCS 10 oz. Poly - Fleece underwear.
When buying tops, always get the TALL version so the tails are longer. The Union Suit bottom is nothing less than incredible.
Go with a thin layer of non-fleece polypro (or even silk!) for a wicking layer under the 10 oz.
After that you can throw on a wool sweater, or even a 60/40 nylon/cotton jogging suit, about the only time you can get away with a cotton blend.
High % of cotton blends can be used in warm water to help keep you COOL, so stay away from high cotton content if you wanna be warm.

No, I don't own any stock in the outfit, I've just been buying from them for over 10 years & have spent 4 hour stretches in 28° water & come out comfy.

 

[Randy43068]

Thanks for the ideas!!

 

[CompuDude]

Does anyone know how the Carol Davis suits compare to the Tilos 200g Polartec suits that DiveSports sold or sell for fairly cheap?

tilos: Tilos Polartex Drysuit Underwear - Polartex Drysuit Underwear - Drysuit Underwear

I have both, although I only wore the Tilos a couple of times before abadoning it. If memory serves, the Carol Davis is a little thicker, and noticably warmer. I use it as a base layer under my DUI powerstretch 300 in the colder months.

 

[dannobee]

I need opinion about Bare CT200 POLARWEAR EXTREME ! Someone told me to bay this underwear for my dives. I’m using Bare XCD2 Pro Dry suit (2mm hyper-compressed Metalite neoprene). Dive conditions are Depth about 40-50m (131-164 feet) temperature in winter 6 Celsius (42f) to 10C (50f).

Thanks

Yes, that will work just fine. I have dived Monterey/Carmel in water temps as low as 45 degrees and am comfortable with the Bare CT200. Much less bulky/stiff than my DUI thinsulate 400 gm and much warmer than my SoCal Bare T100 stuff.