Undergarment question... wool or no?

[RTodd]

I hear you RTodd. But to make sure I am not losing something in translation, I am going to restate your opinion as I am hearing it... and you can correct me if I am mistaken.

You are stating that in a scenario where warmth is crucial in a flood, such as a deep, cold water dive with a significant hang in front of you, that wearing the thinsulate undergarment with nothing under it, is ideal. And wearing polypro underneath that garment is LESS effective. You also seem to be saying that you feel that wearing a merino wool layer underneath the undergarment would at best provide no additional warmth, and at worst, could render the thinsulate undergarment less effective.

Is this a fair synopsis of your opinion?

Basically, a thin polypro is ancidotal. In a total flood it probably doesn't matter much but the G400 is supposed to provide the best warmth and a completely wet poly does work against you. But, since the suit is full of water I don't know how much it matters. In a fairly serious flood, it is my understanding that the stuff in G400 does the best job of getting the water off your skin so you don't want anything inbetween. If just a bit damp, poly can handle that. If you have to wear more for real warmth, put it over the thinsulate. Or, just buy more thinsulate stuff and stop messing around. My ski jacket is thinsulate impregnated with some new stop the stink stuff. You could get the same thing in a vest. Another thing to remember is this stuff wears out and has to be replaced fairly regularly.

 

[PerroneFord]

Ok,

Thanks for the clarification. I see where you are coming from now... I hope to try out some 400g this weekend at the DUI demo. I have one thinsulate undergarment, but it's not that heavy. Be interesting to see how it feels.

 

[JeffG]

Be interesting to see how it feels.

Its thick and compared to fleece you will almost feel like you are wearing cardboard. But you will be warm.

 

[PerroneFord]

Its thick and compared to fleece you will almost feel like you are wearing cardboard. But you will be warm.

My current thinsulate feels a bit like that. I've held a DUI 400g in my hands before, but have never worn one. From it's heft, I can tell it's gonna be warm. Felt like it was bulletproof!

 

[rjack321]

There's only so much gas in the suit. That is what limits heat transfer to the outside water by conduction. Getting the leaked water away from your skin is about the most one can expect from any insulating material. That way you aren't trying to heat it up by direct conduction. You still have to heat the leaked water by radiation - infact there's no current undergarment material effective against radiation. Maintaining some degree of loft is thinsulate's strategy. Other hollow fibers can be reasonably effective as well and wool is a hollow fiber. It may or may not be entirely as effective as thinsulate but I find that polyproylene and merino wool long underwear are about equal when damp.