So, Whites announces another undergarment. Yawn. It's polarfleece and multiple layers. Yeah, heard this one before. They have infrared images of how much heat gets through it -- but it's compared to something I know is cold. Yawn again. They claim it allows you to drop 7 or 8 pounds -- NOW my ears are pricked up. And it's supposed to be the least bulky thing for its degree of insulation -- intriguing. But I'm not spending that much money to TRY a new undergarment; I already own a Halo.
So Jax, having levitated out of 48 degree water and decided to leave the lakes for the winter, sends me hers.
It's an XS, and I'm not sure I can even pour myself into it, and at first try, I'm still not convinced. Then I figure out how it's done, and it's easy. It's cut a little slim in the hips for the distaff sector, but it's doable. It's very streamlined, and it's very stretchy. It's quite comfortable to wear. But I'm not overheating very fast in the house, which is a bad sign. Warm undergarments overheat.
So I dive it, but the first dive is a pretty short one. I'm pleased with how easy it is to get into the Fusion -- much easier than either the MK3 or Halo. I don't get cold, but the dive isn't very long.
So I do a second day, which is a day of teaching. The dives themselves aren't long, although we also set floats and such, but I'm in my drysuit all day on a cold and windy winter day. I don't get cold, but I put it down to short dives.
So tonight was the final test. This was a "real" dive, and more, it was a skills dive, so we didn't plan on moving around much. To add to the challenge, my never-to-be-sufficiently-condemned SiTech dry glove rings flooded AGAIN at the inception of the dive, and due to an inadequately tight left wrist seal, I was eventually wet to the shoulder. We did 50 minutes in 48 degree water, on an evening where air temps were in the high 40s. At the end of the dive, I wasn't shivering. More than that -- I wasn't cold. I WASN'T COLD, AT ALL!!!! I would cheerfully have gone back for a second dive, had I not been sopping wet (pouring water out of the sleeve of the suit).
Although I haven't done a formal weight check, it appears likely that I can shed a few pounds with this undergarment. But I don't care. Even if it took MORE weight, it would be worth it. This thing is warm, guys; I'm the queen of the search for insulation, and it rocks.
Now I have to send it back to Jax . . .
I think there's going to be a big purchase in my near future.
So Jax, having levitated out of 48 degree water and decided to leave the lakes for the winter, sends me hers.
It's an XS, and I'm not sure I can even pour myself into it, and at first try, I'm still not convinced. Then I figure out how it's done, and it's easy. It's cut a little slim in the hips for the distaff sector, but it's doable. It's very streamlined, and it's very stretchy. It's quite comfortable to wear. But I'm not overheating very fast in the house, which is a bad sign. Warm undergarments overheat.
So I dive it, but the first dive is a pretty short one. I'm pleased with how easy it is to get into the Fusion -- much easier than either the MK3 or Halo. I don't get cold, but the dive isn't very long.
So I do a second day, which is a day of teaching. The dives themselves aren't long, although we also set floats and such, but I'm in my drysuit all day on a cold and windy winter day. I don't get cold, but I put it down to short dives.
So tonight was the final test. This was a "real" dive, and more, it was a skills dive, so we didn't plan on moving around much. To add to the challenge, my never-to-be-sufficiently-condemned SiTech dry glove rings flooded AGAIN at the inception of the dive, and due to an inadequately tight left wrist seal, I was eventually wet to the shoulder. We did 50 minutes in 48 degree water, on an evening where air temps were in the high 40s. At the end of the dive, I wasn't shivering. More than that -- I wasn't cold. I WASN'T COLD, AT ALL!!!! I would cheerfully have gone back for a second dive, had I not been sopping wet (pouring water out of the sleeve of the suit).
Although I haven't done a formal weight check, it appears likely that I can shed a few pounds with this undergarment. But I don't care. Even if it took MORE weight, it would be worth it. This thing is warm, guys; I'm the queen of the search for insulation, and it rocks.
Now I have to send it back to Jax . . .
I think there's going to be a big purchase in my near future.
