Help me keep my wife warm

[kelemvor]

To my great surprise, it still felt like diving even though I wasn't getting wet any more (not very wet, anyway ).

I've got a drysuit on order and that has been one of my biggest worries. Glad to see I am not the only one. Even happier to see that it is not a valid concern!

 

[mathauck0814]

Quicksilver makes (or at least used to make) electric surfing vests that could be worn underneath wetsuits. UTD is selling a wetsuit heating system, there are other active heating systems.

My wife was never warm and we tried everything - spent more than it would have cost to just buy the damn drysuit because we weren't sure she'd use it - now she's got a rebreather and I can't get her out of the water.

Just buy the drysuit and a good undergarment. Life will be much simpler.

 

[SeaHorse81]

that has been one of my biggest worries. Glad to see I am not the only one. Even happier to see that it is not a valid concern!

That was the biggest reason that I fought it for so long. Turns out, I have come to prefer staying dry, above and beyond the thermal issues. It's just more comfortable in general, plus the post-dive routine is way simpler. I can't believe how much better this is.

To be sure, it involves learning how to manage the suit, which does take some doing. I was told that it could easily take 50 dives to start really getting it dialed in, and darned if that wasn't exactly the point at which I noticed I was no longer thinking all that much about managing the suit (the air bubble). It was just diving, but with way more comfort. I offer that to head off the early discouragement you might otherwise feel. It gets better. Way better.

---------- Post added June 18th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ----------

Not to drone on, but diving dry has also radically increased my options for diving. Used to be, I could barely stand any local diving due to being cold, which limited my ability to practice and stay current. It also severely limited my trip options since I could only go where there were 80 degree water temps and 90 degree air temps. Now I can happily dive in water as cold as 60 degrees, and in three seasons instead of just one. This opens up lots of local diving and practice opportunities, as well as greatly expanding my vacation options. It also means that when I go on vacation, I'm not wasting any time re-orienting after no diving for months, because it's now never been all that long since the last time I was in the water.

It was never at all like that before, and I'm still marveling at it.

 

[opie712]

Is they a big difference in men and women cuts in a dry suit well the whites brand mostly I think that's what brand IM going with for myself so I can dive year around everyone seems to say it's a super easy suit to use and you can pick up a used one for a good price maybe I could pick up a nice used one for my wife if the cuts aren't to different

 

[alewar]

Is they a big difference in men and women cuts in a dry suit well the whites brand mostly I think that's what brand IM going with for myself so I can dive year around everyone seems to say it's a super easy suit to use and you can pick up a used one for a good price maybe I could pick up a nice used one for my wife if the cuts aren't to different

I don't know about Whites, but Santi has different cuts for men and women. Many curvy people opt for a custom-made suit that makes the distinction irrelevant anyways.

 

[spc751]

Whites makes the Fusion Essence and the Fusion Fit which are shaped for women. The Fit is a pretty good price and Whites is giving $200 trade in on a old wetsuit.

 

[opie712]

The fit has zip cuffs and you can't use dry gloves or user replaceable seals the essence IMO is way over priced you could get the sport or tech cheaper than the essence I was kinda looking at the fusion one

 

[kmurray719]

Is they a big difference in men and women cuts in a dry suit well the whites brand mostly I think that's what brand IM going with for myself so I can dive year around everyone seems to say it's a super easy suit to use and you can pick up a used one for a good price maybe I could pick up a nice used one for my wife if the cuts aren't to different

Whites makes the Fusion Essence and the Fusion Fit which are shaped for women. The Fit is a pretty good price and Whites is giving $200 trade in on a old wetsuit.

The fit has zip cuffs and you can't use dry gloves or user replaceable seals the essence IMO is way over priced you could get the sport or tech cheaper than the essence I was kinda looking at the fusion one

You guys seem to have the Whites female specific suits mixed up. The Fusion Fit is the more expensive of the two ($1600 I think?) and has the same front zip as the original Fusion line. The inside of the suit (the "bag") is the same dimensions as the men's/unisex suits, they added some stretch panels in a few place to the "skin." My issue was that the dimensions of the front zip suits didn't fit me well--too much room in the top, not enough in the hips, so I didn't think the Fit would work for me. The Fusion Essence has the inner liner and outer skin cut specifically for women's anatomy. It has the zip cuffs (which I like) and user replaceable seals aren't a factory option (though you can have them retro fitted). It also has a back zipper. The Essence is $999 ($799 if you trade in a wetsuit and get the $200 off deal they're offering now) The price is awesome, but for me it was really about the fit and the essence fits me (and everyone I know who has one) perfectly. If you've bought a bunch of neoprene trying to keep your wife warm and happy, $799 to go dry is really nothing.

 

[Chris Hennessey]

Just throwing this out there. I did all my training in tropical waters, Southeast Asia, 80F-85F. Got very used to warm water diving. Moved here to Southern California and found the 55F-65F water wayyyy to cold to dive in. Did some research and decided to try out a heated vest. Works great and I get to still dive in my 3mm suit. I'm happy that I don't need a thick wetsuit or drysuit and the extra weight. May not be for everyone, but I'm very happy with my decision.

If you're interested, look at Thermalution heated vests. I've got a Yellow Plus wireless vest. If you'd like to know more, ask me. Or visit the review here on scubaboard, you can find it by searching for "Thermalution".

Chris

 

[beepbird]

I dive dry now too but for 18 yrs I dove wet in SoCal. I had the semidry suit but that only means semi-wet with less water flow. I then added fleece under my semidry suit and that seemed to help a lot. The type of fleece you might use for skiing or kayaking or even in a drysuit. That reduced the flow even more and the insulation stayed warm, but I was still wet. I was okay to about 55 degrees. Anything less than that all my toes would be numb after a 40 minute dive. I used Mysterioso kayaking fleece that I now use under my drysuit. It runs about $60-$70 per piece. Any of the Lavacore or medium weight fleece will help too!

I bought a neoprene drysuit 2 years ago and haven't looked back. I haven't put on my wet suit in 2 yrs.