Layering a shorty

[Scotttyd]

OK, dumb question. I have a 3mil shorty and 3 mil full. If I layer the two, does it matter what suit goes underneath? I would think one would put the shorty on first then the full, but I heard one poster say to put the shorty on top because you are likely to have it bunch up and everything you move it would act like a little pump, pumping in could water and pumping out the water your body warmed up. To me this would like stupid, growing up in the cold midwest, when we we working outside we would always layer with the lightest weight item on botton followed by the flannels and then the coat.

 

[jeanne001]

I'm a newbie too, but I would say to put the shorty on last. Don't know why just seems to make more sense to me.

Jeanne

 

[Pearldiver07]

A good rule is that whichever is tighter should go on first. Don't stretch them more than you have to, or you'll lose some thermal protection.

Otherwise, assuming that they both zip in front/back, it wouldn't make much difference. But I do agree with Jeanne001, only because all things being equal if you put the shorty on first, you'll have small gaps at the seams at the ends of the shorty underneath your 3mm suit. Small difference, but it would be there.

Hope I could help.

 

[robint]

I have done it.... 3mm fullsuit under, 2mm shortie over. It works well for night dives in tropical water when I have gotten cold during day. Just remember you may need to add +2lbs of weight.

robin

 

[CODMAN]

If it helps any, I have a BARE arctic 7mm full suit (without hood) that comes with a 7mm hooded vest, to give you very cold wetsuit protection. The setup recommended by the manufacturer is fullsuit under, hooded vest over! Also, make sure iether piece is not cutting off circulation (that it's big enough to over lap a second piece).

Cheerrs!

 

[MBH]

I did it this past fall on a longer than expected pool job. I started out in a 5mm full suit, got too cold, so I put a 2mm shorty over the full suit. I was amazed at the added warmth that the shorty provided.

 

[miked]

I'd also go with the shorty on the outside, for the reasons previously stated by others.
While I've never layered a shorty, I have layered a front-zippered vest over a back- zippered full suit. One of the biggest advantages was the vest helped lessen the amount of water entering the full suit at its zipper.

 

[Scotttyd]

OK, well I was wrong!!! Anyway, if I were to layer two 3mil I would obviously get 6 mil, How does a layering of two 3 mil compare to wearing a single 6 mil (Although I know wetsuits usually come in 5 and 7) I am just wondering if you gain an advantage in layering like you would in topside cold weather or if you actually loose some of your warming ability by layering.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

Found this thread while looking for an answer to the same question Scotttyd asked, which was never answered.

The consensus here seems to be to layer the shorty over the full (I went the other way last year for no reason other than it seemed the right thing to do, so I'll be changing up this spring based on this thread), from a logistics standpoint shorty on the outside seems to make more sense now that I think about it.

but I'd be interested in opinions or experience on the question, does layering a 3mil on a 3 mil make a 6mil or does it net out to something effectively less?

I have a 3mil shorty and a 5 mil full and have a 2 mil full to add for early spring in the quarry and will probably be stepping up to a hooded vest to replace the hood I have (which I had planned on wearing under, but have to rethink that based on this as well).

 

[jc60625]

layer the shorty over the full, it will be a lot more comfortable and easier to take the extra layer off during SIs should you want to...

believe it or not layering works pretty well for warmth, i'm not sure if it works out to be exactly the same experience as a 6mm suit vs layered 3mms but i bet it's close. I've done similar setups off the pacific coast of mexico a few times for added warmth and was very pleased with the results.