Undergarment question... wool or no?

[PerroneFord]

While not strictly a DIR question, it is borne out of some DIR literature I read regarding undergarments.

One one hand, the DIR literature cautions against wearing wool next to the skin because of it's poor wicking characteristics. On the other hand is literature from Smartwool, Wigwam, Pinnacle, and others who deal in modern wool fabrics who claim that their wool products wick very well.

Personally, I tend to wear underarmour, or Nike DriFit/SphereDry under my undergarments. And I usually wear a polypro sock liner. But I am curious as to whether the DIR literature may be outdated as have some other things.

Curious to people's thoughts on this.

 

[Rainer]

I dive a Pinnacle undergarment (containing wool), and also wear wool socks. Often I'll wear a Capilene layer under the undergarment, but do plenty of dives without when the water is warmer. I've always found the wool products (Merino in both cases) to have excellent wicking properties. Neither GUE instructor with whom I've been diving commented on my choice of undergarments.

 

[PerroneFord]

Thanks for that Rainer. I also wear Merino socks on occasion without the liner and have had good results. The sock issue is what got me thinking. I bought some new smartwools yesterday, and my experience just didn't jibe with what I had read.

 

[amascuba]

I use Polyester based undergarments because it wicks moisture away from the skin. Cotton and wool based products don't do that very well.

 

[JeffG]

I use Polyester based undergarments because it wicks moisture away from the skin. Cotton and wool based products don't do that very well.

Cotton has to be the worst product to use for drysuit undies material.

The number one most important thing for drysuit underwear is how it behaves when the suit is flooded.

 

[PerroneFord]

I am not saying I would replace the thinsulate or fleece I normally wear with wool. What I am more concerned about is perhaps using something like smartwool long johns under my normal drysuit undergarment instead of underarmour.

Wool is a pretty good insulator even when wet. I don't think there is a lot of argument about that. Thinsulate and other synthetics are better. The question is whether modern wool garments wicks well. Or at least well enough to warrant using them as a base layer.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Icebreaker -- Home

Perhaps try these as a base layer?

 

[RTodd]

I am not saying I would replace the thinsulate or fleece I normally wear with wool. What I am more concerned about is perhaps using something like smartwool long johns under my normal drysuit undergarment instead of underarmour.

Wool is a pretty good insulator even when wet. I don't think there is a lot of argument about that. Thinsulate and other synthetics are better. The question is whether modern wool garments wicks well. Or at least well enough to warrant using them as a base layer.

Thinsulate is the only way to go. Part of its great wet warmth properties are lost if you don't wear it directly against your skin. "wicking" water to get it away from your skin, while helpfull if you are flooded, isn't the issue. Smartwool wicks to an extent. It is continuing to provide warmth when soaked that is the primary concern and that is where thinsulate shines over all of the poly products.

 

[crlavoie]

While not strictly a DIR question, it is borne out of some DIR literature I read regarding undergarments.

One one hand, the DIR literature cautions against wearing wool next to the skin because of it's poor wicking characteristics. On the other hand is literature from Smartwool, Wigwam, Pinnacle, and others who deal in modern wool fabrics who claim that their wool products wick very well.

Personally, I tend to wear underarmour, or Nike DriFit/SphereDry under my undergarments. And I usually wear a polypro sock liner. But I am curious as to whether the DIR literature may be outdated as have some other things.

Curious to people's thoughts on this.

This whole concept puzzles me to be honest. I've spent lots of time mountaineering and climbing and thus have learned a lot about proper insulation and exposure protection... sometimes the hard way. That said, I can't believe there hasn't been more research on this topic as it relates to diving. There's literally volumes of data out there on proper protection for non-diving applications and IMHOP the principles don't apply for us.

We've all heard the all the same BS about natural fibers next to the skin and "cotton kills" and we'll all die if we use it. The truth is that, the popular use of synthetic fibers has less to do with the fibers themselves than it has to do with the user not properly regulating their body temperature and residual vapor in relation to their environment. If you want to learn more about this, you can read up on the decades long debate over Vapor Barriers for outdoor clothing applications.

Basically, all insulation relies on it's inherently poor thermal conductivity characteristics. Once you wet it, it loses loft and increases it's thermal efficiency, thereby transferring heat away from our bodies (there's lots more to this whole theory so you'll just have to work with me). In a DS application, we have no way to complete the job of venting the water to the outside. No matter how hard you try, that vapor is stuck there and no layer of polyester is going to keep it off of you or from taking up residence in your insulation layer. It just ain't gonna happen. A lot of this of course has to do with exposure time. Typical recreational exposures might not be long enough to produce enough vapor and longer exposures tend to have long periods of low activity (deco hangs) which also reduce vapor build up. Regardless, at some point, it's going to happen.

So, wool? Sure, I think it's fine. There's lot of new weaves and other stuff that have made it a very attractive alternative to all the synthetic materials lately.

 

[crlavoie]

Sorry, I didn't realize this was in the DIR forum... Feel free to remove my previous post.