Seaskin Undergarment

[drk5036]

I have the seaskin 150, but it feels suprisingly bulky to me. I feel like it restricts my motion, and that wearing it when the weather is hot would be brutal.

 

[elZub]

Hi there!

never had a drysuit.. never had a undergarment for drysuit.

for what I've understood, undergarment is really expensive but is essential for a dive with trilaminate.


I would dive in winter not below 50-55°f (10-12° celsius),

I'm near to buy seaskin nova as drysuit so I could buy one of their undergarment MTM.

this morning i was with some friends who dive since long time in trilaminate (santi and rofos) just looking at picture of seaskin undergarment, they told me..too much bulky...you will keep too much air inside it.


what do you think?

 

[lexvil]

Hi there!

never had a drysuit.. never had a undergarment for drysuit.

for what I've understood, undergarment is really expensive but is essential for a dive with trilaminate.


I would dive in winter not below 50-55°f (10-12° celsius),

I'm near to buy seaskin nova as drysuit so I could buy one of their undergarment MTM.

this morning i was with some friends who dive since long time in trilaminate (santi and rofos) just looking at picture of seaskin undergarment, they told me..too much bulky...you will keep too much air inside it.


what do you think?

Bulk is what keeps you warm but it all depends on what you need, heavy weight wool base layer either the same waterproof that Stuart mentioned or Hollis 450. I don’t like the puffy undersuits personally, you can start off just using good fleece that you may already have.

 

[stuartv]

Hi there!

never had a drysuit.. never had a undergarment for drysuit.

for what I've understood, undergarment is really expensive but is essential for a dive with trilaminate.


I would dive in winter not below 50-55°f (10-12° celsius),

I'm near to buy seaskin nova as drysuit so I could buy one of their undergarment MTM.

this morning i was with some friends who dive since long time in trilaminate (santi and rofos) just looking at picture of seaskin undergarment, they told me..too much bulky...you will keep too much air inside it.


what do you think?

I think that when the water pressure squeezes the suit as you get in and descend, it will squeeze most of that air out. The Seaskin 150 does not keep that much air inside - if you open the dump valve and let it out.

 

[jiggly]

As stuart said, the bulk will squish under pressure. I was able to dive an HP120 w/ steel backplate at the quarry last weekend in that undergarment with my ultra, with no extra weight. That wouldn't be possible if it stayed puffed. 48F and I felt great!

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I still wear the Seaskin Tech Base layer on every drysuit dive. I think the stuff is awesome. Also an incredible value for the money.

I wore the 250 suit once, on a Lake Erie dive day. It felt bulky and warmer than I needed. I have only worn the 150 since then, including the next day, still on Lake Erie. Bottom temps on those dives was 43 - 44F and I was adequately warm with the 150.

A few months ago, I got some Waterproof MeshTec 3D undergarments to try. Since I first tried those, I have not worn the Seaskin 150 (or 250) again. I really like the WP stuff (still over the Seaskin Tech Base).

The coldest I have worn the MeshTec in is 48F, on a 71 minute runtime on the U-869. I was not cold. I also wore the MeshTec yesterday on a dive to 307' that was 51F at the bottom. I wore a hood, but did not wear any gloves at all. Total run was only 50-something minutes and the water above 80' or so was fairly warm. But, even then, the only thing cold was my hands.

I have not dived anything colder than that since I got the MeshTec.

Are you related? I got cold just reading that, lol.

 

[drk5036]

Are you related? I got cold just reading that, lol.

View attachment 689376

I agree 100% haha. @stuartv is a great resource for his knowledge on all things seaskin, but I have a feeling there are tons of cold divers out there. I wear the 150 g undersuit under my neoprene ultra suit, and at 54 degrees I'm OK but a little bit cold. In a Nova I'd probably die in the Great Lakes in a 150.

 

[davecampbell]

canadian Nova diver here. I use the tech base layer on all dives, with good merino wool socks. Above 50°F, I'll use the 150 for dives about an hour. Anything below, and it's 250 time. Been to 38°F in the 250 and was comfortable enough. Cool but not cold. This is with drygloves and a K01 8mm hood. YMMV but this has been working for me. If I was doing long dives, or hanging around doing deco, I'd maybe want more, but would likely look at active heating.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I'm going to go agaisnt the grain a little. I have the Seaskin base layer. I prefer marino wool as opposed to the Seaskin stuff. If the Seaskin gets wet, it feels more "clingy". If the marino wool gets wet, I don't feel it at all until I take the ds off.

The Seaskin is definitely more durable than the marino, but somehow I've managed holes in both. The Seaskin is tight to the skin, the marino fits more loose (which I prefer).

I wear a neoprene ds, not sure if that's relevant or not.

 

[elZub]

at the end i've ordered a 150gr seaskin to dive above 50 f.