Polartec or thinsulate for undergarments..?

[Scuba-QC]

Polartec or thinsulate for undergarments in a shell drysuit...

Thanks

 

[Robert Phillips]

That really depends on your comfort level and exposure time.
I dive a DUI 300wt Actionwear™ fleece, and when it was new it kept me comfortable down to the 45° range. It is 2 years old and I am due for a replacement as I get a little chilled in the 49-50° range after a 70-80 minute dive. The price is right though for replacing every couple of years at $165 a pop.
I have not used Thinsulate™ undergarments so I can't comment on them other than if I could afford one I would most likely buy one.

 

[TSandM]

I think you get more insulation from Thinsulate for a given amount of air trapping. I have tried both, and ended up owning a Diving Concepts 200g Thinsulate jumpsuit and the matching vest, which I really love.

I spent 78 and 74 minutes, respectively, in 52 degree water today. On the second dive, I got a little chilly toward the end, when we had been poking around the same area without swimming much for a half hour or so.

 

[aquaoren]

In the river (St. Lawrence) in the summer, Polartec or even fleece is enough.
In the Lakes or in the winter even in the river, Thinsulate is the way to go.

 

[alo100]

I am not using any drysuit. But how does the Polartec offered by the diving equip manufacturers different from those offered by mountaineering manufacturers, say, North Face... there are others non brand names Polar fleece/Polartec manufacturers making similar products, does it make it difference? How about thinsulate?

I know these are all TM stuffs, but I just wondered how good they are comparing to some non-diving related products.

 

[cummings66]

Having had wet Fleece and wet thinsulate I can tell you first hand that thinsulate is the way to go. You'll still be warm with the thinsulate and quite cold with fleece if you get soaked.

What's the lesson here, don't dive rental drysuits, er I mean wetsuits. Buy your own and be done with it. I suppose with all things rental you find good and bad, to be fair.

 

[TSandM]

Matthew, it isn't just rental drysuits . . . Although the wettest dive I've had WAS in a rental, I've had several that came very close in my very own suit. As NW Grateful Diver says, "All dry suits eventually become wetsuits, and then you get them fixed . . . "

I will say though that I entirely agree -- in the event of a flood, Thinsulate is an awfully nice thing to be wrapped in. I suspect I would have ended up in a rescue situation with one of my bad floods, which occurred in January in 46 degree water and over a half hour from shore. Instead, I didn't start shivering hard until I got OUT of the water. That kind of safety margin was worth a lot of money to me (and cost it )

 

[aquaoren]

FYI, the St. Lawrence River reaches temps in the 70's F in the summer...

 

[jiveturkey]

Polartec or thinsulate for undergarments in a shell drysuit...

Thanks

I use MEC's Expedition Long Johns for water 15 degrees and above and they work fine. I use Bare CT-200 underwear with a MEC lightweight liner for anything colder.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...older_id=2534374302699173&bmUID=1152543806972

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...T<>prd_id=845524442617503&bmUID=1152543825778

 

[Scuba-QC]

I forgot about the fact that I could get soaked...so I guess the best choice would be thinsulate then! I was looking actually at the Bare CT-200...
I'll check for the MEC underwear too since there's one near my place.

My drysuit will be mostly for diving in Maine and New Hamphire. As for the St-Lawrence in the summer, I like diving wet!