Heated suit options besides Santi BZ400?

[RedSeaDiver2]

I'm going to invest in a heated suit - and if I can find them also heated socks - I want them to run off an external battery (not a battery worn inside the drysuit), besides the well known Santi BZ400 what other options are out there?

 

[FF / EMT]

Venture heat makes a vest I believe

 

[rjack321]

I'm going to invest in a heated suit - and if I can find them also heated socks - I want them to run off an external battery (not a battery worn inside the drysuit), besides the well known Santi BZ400 what other options are out there?

As a full suit? There's nothing but Santi. But where are you diving and why a full suit at all? Even in arctic waters using a full heated suit is rare.

Unless you're a commercial diver, they use full hot water suits.

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

As a full suit? There's nothing but Santi. But where are you diving and why a full suit at all? Even in arctic waters using a full heated suit is rare.

I know that Wibble dives one in the English Channel. In my case I have circulation issues which means that from the knees down I get cold very quickly, and I'm an underwater photographer so I don't move around much to generate much heat underwater. I've also got some dives coming up which involve 2 hours+ of blue water deco stops.

 

[lermontov]

I have a bz200 heated and its great for winter diving (6-12cº) particularly when you have deco. they do add a lot of fiddle factor and Im not sure id buy another when a non heated bz400 might do the job - I do feel the cold so it makes my dive more enjoyable- the santi heating stops at the knees though so if you are going down this track make sure you get what you want.
its getting the right tool for the job -if your doing long dives then theyre great

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

I have a bz200 heated and its great for winter diving (6-12cº) particularly when you have deco. they do add a lot of fiddle factor and Im not sure id buy another when a non heated bz400 might do the job - I do feel the cold so it makes my dive more enjoyable- the santi heating stops at the knees though so if you are going down this track make sure you get what you want.
its getting the right tool for the job -if your doing long dives then theyre great

I just saw that they are now making a Flex 2.0 heated undersuit - that might be a good option for my needs.

 

[Wibble]

BZ400 heated suit...

Custom made, so it fits. Am not a completely odd size, but off the shelf doesn't work. It fits very well, so it's really easy to get on and off aside from getting the shoulders off (it fits well!).

It is bulky in the water. But then again any thick underclothes are. I dive it with the same weight as my multiple layers of Fourth Element Expeditions.

Important: the BZ400 is slow to dump. Ascents do need the legs to go down to loose the lower gas. I resorted to changing the drysuit dump from the low-profile Apeks back to the trusty Si-Tech. I feel happier as a result; I no longer care about the dump as it just works (had a Si-Tech in my old suit; now that's in the new suit).

I dive the BZ400 with a FE "Tech" vest. Like those. Then use FE longjohns and a rash vest. I have long "caving socks" from Warmbac -- these are great for all temperatures. There's enough space inside the BZ400 to allow additional layers, such as another rash vest or even a XeroTherm top for cold waters.

Yesterday in 14C/57F on a 2 hour English Channel dive I didn't turn the heating on until the very end of the dive -- TBH it was only turned on because I had it, not because I needed it.

For 10C/50F dives, it's really nice to have that gentle warmth. You notice it if the battery stops working, but not in a dangerous way.

The issue I bought the BZ400 for was longer 2h+ dives in cold water doing longer decompressions. One can survive being cold for a while on a short dive (1h15 in 8C/46F in a mine), but it gets really miserable when you're shivering and you've still an hour to go with nothing distracting you from feeling cold.


I already had the battery and inflator with the E/O connector which I've used for years with the Santi heated vest. Thus the ~£640/€750/US$820/AU$1200 was a good investment to make those deeper and longer dives way more bearable.

In fact it was someone on a boat in Malin Head (NW Ireland) last year who said exactly that to me; he'd invested in the BZ400 and it makes those dives pleasurable, not an endurance.


Edit: added paragraph about dumping

 

[ahereng]

A lot of the divers here that does long deco's in cold water are very happy with motorcycle-liners from Gerbing. You have to make an adaptor from the Bulkhead to the Gerbing-plugs.

Gerbing 12V Jackets & Vests - The Original Heated Clothing

Gerbing Heated Clothing - The Original Heated Gear

www.gerbing.com

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

BZ400 heated suit...

Custom made, so it fits. Am not a completely odd size, but off the shelf doesn't work. It fits very well, so it's really easy to get on and off aside from getting the shoulders off (it fits well!).

It is bulky in the water. But then again any thick underclothes are. I dive it with the same weight as my multiple layers of Fourth Element Expeditions.

I dive the BZ400 with a FE "Tech" vest. Like those. Then use FE longjohns and a rash vest. I have long "caving socks" from Warmbac -- these are great for all temperatures. There's enough space inside the BZ400 to allow additional layers, such as another rash vest or even a XeroTherm top for cold waters.

Yesterday in 14C/57F on a 2 hour English Channel dive I didn't turn the heating on until the very end of the dive -- TBH it was only turned on because I had it, not because I needed it.

For 10C/50F dives, it's really nice to have that gentle warmth. You notice it if the battery stops working, but not in a dangerous way.

The issue I bought the BZ400 for was longer 2h+ dives in cold water doing longer decompressions. One can survive being cold for a while on a short dive (1h15 in 8C/46F in a mine), but it gets really miserable when you're shivering and you've still an hour to go with nothing distracting you from feeling cold.


I already had the battery and inflator with the E/O connector which I've used for years with the Santi heated vest. Thus the ~£640/€750/US$820/AU$1200 was a good investment to make those deeper and longer dives way more bearable.

In fact it was someone on a boat in Malin Head (NW Ireland) last year who said exactly that to me; he'd invested in the BZ400 and it makes those dives pleasurable, not an endurance.

Many thanks Wibble! Tons of good detailed information in there!

I had been using Weezle's socks/booties years ago when I was drysuit diving, but somehow over time they have disappeared.

From what I can make out it looks like you have to buy the Santi battery to get their heating controller?

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

A lot of the divers here that does long deco's in cold water are very happy with motorcycle-liners from Gerbing. You have to make an adaptor from the Bulkhead to the Gerbing-plugs.

Gerbing 12V Jackets & Vests - The Original Heated Clothing

Gerbing Heated Clothing - The Original Heated Gear

www.gerbing.com

Many thanks - they've got heated socks too