Silk Long Johns?

[CALI68]

I have read that people wear Silk Long Johns under their Undersuits. How does this play out with the undergarment in terms of heat retention and moisture absorption?

 

[Don Burke]

I have read that people wear Silk Long Johns under their Undersuits. How does this play out with the undergarment in terms of heat retention and moisture absorption?

That's the older version of polypropylene. The idea is that it gets the moisture off your skin and keeps you warmer.

I know it works great for deer hunting and I expect it would have some benefit under my drysuit underwear. The humidity inside a drysuit gets pretty high, so it probably wouldn't work quite as well as it does in the woods.

 

[lost dog]

That's the older version of polypropylene. The idea is that it gets the moisture off your skin and keeps you warmer.

I know it works great for deer hunting and I expect it would have some benefit under my drysuit underwear. The humidity inside a drysuit gets pretty high, so it probably wouldn't work quite as well as it does in the woods.

Has anyone here ever tried carrying those silica packets (or other moisture absorption packets) with them to lower the humidity in a drysuit and thus reduce heat loss? Just a thought.

If anyone has experience with packaging materials, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the matter. Would this be a practical step, or would you have to carry some ridiculous amount of material in your suit to make it worthwhile?

Thanks!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I think it would take a lot of silica gel to make a difference.

Polypropolene underwear will wick the moisture from sweat away from your skin and keep you feeling warmer and less clammy. It works well for cross country skiing and other sports where you may be sweating in an otherwise cold environment when used as part of a layering concept with proper insulation and a wind resistant but breathable outer layer to let the water vapor escape.

But as Don points out, the humidity in a dry suit gets quite high as it is air tight and most defitely not breathable. So I would agree the positive benefits of poly underwear with a dry suit is a bit more limited.