Bob3
Contributor
Just like any other activity, what you wear under your drysuit will depend on several factors, such as water temps, your work load, duration of dive, etc.
In warm water I just kick off my boots, empty pockets into them & jump into the suit.
For really cold stuff I've been known to look darn near like the Michelin Man, and once I had to remove a couple layers 'cuz I couldn't bend my arms anymore (28ºf water - 4 hours).
You'll want to log down the water temps, workload, type of undies & how comfy you were after the dive. If you dive a lot it'll become second nature, just like peeking outside before you decide which jacket/s etc to wear.
Military surplus polypro is excellent stuff to use; be sure to tuck the tops into the bottoms to prevent riding up.
You'll probably want to add some thin sporting polypro (maybe even a unionsuit) underneath the arctic weight stuff, and the "wooly bear suit" type of undies made from Polartec makes a great top layer for really cold stuff.
Have a vest of some sort available too.
Being over dressed isn't a good thing either, as sweating will chill you quite a bit 'till the moisture has a chance to migrate away. You'll be sweating for the first 10 minutes, then the teeth will be chattering for 15 minutes or so.
Keep the polypro closest to the skin, outer layers of 50/50 or 60/40 blends of wool/synthetic are OK.
In warm water the same proportions of a cotton/synthetic can be gotten away with, as in sweatshirt/sweat pants over polypro.
Any amount of cotton is a no-no in cold water though.
In warm water I just kick off my boots, empty pockets into them & jump into the suit.
For really cold stuff I've been known to look darn near like the Michelin Man, and once I had to remove a couple layers 'cuz I couldn't bend my arms anymore (28ºf water - 4 hours).
You'll want to log down the water temps, workload, type of undies & how comfy you were after the dive. If you dive a lot it'll become second nature, just like peeking outside before you decide which jacket/s etc to wear.
Military surplus polypro is excellent stuff to use; be sure to tuck the tops into the bottoms to prevent riding up.
You'll probably want to add some thin sporting polypro (maybe even a unionsuit) underneath the arctic weight stuff, and the "wooly bear suit" type of undies made from Polartec makes a great top layer for really cold stuff.
Have a vest of some sort available too.
Being over dressed isn't a good thing either, as sweating will chill you quite a bit 'till the moisture has a chance to migrate away. You'll be sweating for the first 10 minutes, then the teeth will be chattering for 15 minutes or so.
Keep the polypro closest to the skin, outer layers of 50/50 or 60/40 blends of wool/synthetic are OK.
In warm water the same proportions of a cotton/synthetic can be gotten away with, as in sweatshirt/sweat pants over polypro.
Any amount of cotton is a no-no in cold water though.