Just bought first drysuit -- opinions?

[Paco]

I'd been wanting to dive dry for some time and after reading a lot (mostly here) my head got spinning some. My most frequent buddy bought the Bare nex gen about forty dives ago and said that for the money ($475) it was well worth the cost and he's been happy. So I bought one too. My buddy also bought the bare underwear, which I did not (not yet, anyway--on a budget).

Well, tomorrow I'll be trying it out for the first time in a local (cold) quarry. I expect temps to be low forties, upper thirties.

For thermal protection, I was thinking of this: two piece quilted underwear from Fleet Farm. Under the jacket a fleece jacket. Under the pants regular long-john underwear. My regular cold water wet gloves and hood. Does anyone have any opinion on how this might work for me (the underwear combo)?

Also, could someone explain to me what polypro is? Is it fleece or closer to thinsulate?

Thanks all!
Mike

 

[Uncle Pug]

Paco once bubbled...
For thermal protection, I was thinking of this: two piece quilted underwear from Fleet Farm. Under the jacket a fleece jacket. Under the pants regular long-john underwear. My regular cold water wet gloves and hood. Does anyone have any opinion on how this might work for me (the underwear combo)?

My first drysuit undergarment was my snow skiing jumpsuit. Do what you need to but the rule... no... LAW is: no cotton!

Be advised that insulated clothing meant for suface wear is not optimized for diving and will give you much more positive buoyancy to offset with weight.

Polypropelene is a hydrophobic material and can be made into many different kinds of fabrics including everything from thick fleeces to thin woven goods. The Polypro you are thinking of is most likely thin woven long underwear not thick fleece outerwear.

 

[Paco]

Thanks Uncle Pug

 

[loosebits]

Here are some sources of polypropylene undies:

http://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=polypropylene+underwear

You usually can find them at camping/hunting/outdoor stores.

 

[Paco]

Thanks Loosebits,

Seems to me that polypropylene would be inadequate for the really cold water diving here, unless it were worn under something else.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[Uncle Pug]

Paco once bubbled...
unless it were worn under something else.

That is the usual application of poly underwear. Layering can work well except that some materials slide with greater difficulty over the top of other materials.

The point being... you need to be careful with layering that you don't end up restricting mobility.

 

[Paco]

Restriction of mobility is one of the reasons I didn't buy the same undewear that my buddy did. I tried his (size large, which I would expect to use) and it seemed a bit restrictive in the shoulders.

Incidentally, my new drysuit seems to fit quite well, except that it seems a bit tall, If I fold an inch or two at the waist it seems fine. Isn't this better than being too small?

 

[Uncle Pug]

Paco once bubbled...
Isn't this better than being too small?

 

[Panzer70]

Paco,
For thermal underware I would suggest something that I reccently at a skiing snow (CSMS Ski Show) called Zyflex. This stuff is great for cold weather, it has excellent swisking properties. Mountainclimber and skiers swear bythis suff.
for more info check out
www.zyflex.com
Later
tom

 

[FatCat]

I'm for sticking with purpose-made undersuits.

Try the ones from Northern Diver, they've got flexible insets in the shoulders and netting on the wrists to keep them from bunching up.

The smooth exterior makes it easy to doff and don your drysuit.

Be careful with a suit that feels like it's too big. One woman I know of lost control of her suit because of just that! The suit's body was too long, she dived overweighted as most beginning drysuit divers do (you don't need 6 extra kilos or 12-14 extra pounds - are you mad?) and she went feet up. Result: boots slipped off her feet and her buddy nearly suffered a heart attack when he saw her fins sticking out the wrong way.

After the dive her buddy told me it was the first time he ever heard someone scream so loud.

Moral of the story: don't buy a drysuit that doesn't fit properly. Bare, ND, DUI and the other leading brands have off-the-peg suits to fit almost anyone. If it doesn't fit off-the-peg, order a made-to-measure suit, it isn't all that more expensive. If you can't afford this, only buy a discounted suit that fits properly, else: dive wet.

BTW, why do you think undersuits were invented? To be replaced by skisuits?