Hints on underclothes for an Apollo drysuit

[divercs]

Just wanted to see whats new in warmware with low bulk. My suit hasent much room left for thick underware...any hints?

 

[sibermike7]

Just wanted to see whats new in warmware with low bulk. My suit hasent much room left for thick underware...any hints?

After spending 7 years working in Siberia, I have learned first-hand the value of silk. It retains its insulating qualities when wet and is extremely thin. I always start my layering with silk. I like to stay with natural fibers if possible so I may also layer with wool over the silk. I even have silk socks BTW!

Last week I had a catastrophic drysuit flood when a wrist seal (installed by an "approved" facility) popped off on my Bare 7mm drysuit. It is one of those wrist seals that kind of snap in. Well, they snap out too! :shocked2:

I kept as much flooding out of the suit as possible and returned to shore. It was about 30 minutes before I had everything back to the vehicle and could strip the suit off. I had water throughout the entire suit. I was completely soaked! However, I was not cold (well, until I stripped the suit off!) Outside the temperature was below freezing.

You should have seen the "steam" coming off of my undergarments! careful now!

I find that hunting stores carry very high grade and thicker silk. I got mine from Cabelas.

I picked up some silk long johns and tops (in black) from Cabelas and also some really nice spun silk and cashmere tops and bottoms. The spun silk is thicker than just plain silk but not as thick as wool however, itÃÔ a bazillion times warmer. And it is unbelievably soft but doesn't itch like wool. I use the black silk as the first layer to keep me from sweating and because it is a great initial insulator but very thin.

I finish my layering with a second set of silk plain black silk because it is sooo slick that I can easily slide in and out of my suit. I dove last week and was WARM, not just tolerable, but WARM. I didn't even notice the water temp except on my lips. After 5 minutes my lips were numb so I didn't notice them either!

The only draw back with diving like this is if you kiss someone on the SI, make sure feeling has been restored to your lips or you might bang your teeth together, not good for romance (or the pocket book either). My wife is making me pay for her braces. Well, they always warned me that diving was expensive!

Oh, one more thing. My suit is neoprene, so it fits pretty snugly as well.