Undergarments

[darylm74]

I am looking for a drysuit and have pretty much chosen a small list of ones I want and from there it is going to be who gives me the best deal.......the problem is the undergarments.

All I see are the bulky undergarments that to me are very expensive for what they are. I do a lot of backpacking, sometimes in extreme conditions and I would never thinking wearing anything so bulky under my Gortex. You also can pick up expedition weight underwear for a fraction of the cost of some of these undergarments. Are they so bulky because of compression? Do the thinner ones lose their thermal capacity due to compression? Could use some enlightenment here....thanks

 

[jonnythan]

I am looking for a drysuit and have pretty much chosen a small list of ones I want and from there it is going to be who gives me the best deal.......the problem is the undergarments.

All I see are the bulky undergarments that to me are very expensive for what they are. I do a lot of backpacking, sometimes in extreme conditions and I would never thinking wearing anything so bulky under my Gortex. You also can pick up expedition weight underwear for a fraction of the cost of some of these undergarments. Are they so bulky because of compression? Do the thinner ones lose their thermal capacity due to compression? Could use some enlightenment here....thanks

You never wear a down sweater under your parka when it's windy and 20 below? Besides, it took me a while to realize that once you add up the cost of quality polyester tops and bottoms ($70), good socks ($15), and a high quality 300+ weight fleece top and bottom ($150), you're well in the range of a quality drysuit undergarment.

You can buy a 300 weight drysuit undersuit for $170 through SoftWear, socks included. A Weezle Extreme, which is about as quality as you'll really get, can be had for under $260.

 

[darylm74]

I rarely wear a sweater under my parka. I typically layer with silk, poly and then maybe a fleece top. On my legs I would only wear my silk, poly, jeans and gortex and obviously the jeans do nothing more than block punctures if you hit a rock. I guess most of the stuff I was seeing was the higher quality, seeing the $300 range. I can pick up a quality set of both silk and poly for a combined price of $150 to $200, if not less now that it is end of season. I have tons of Merrino wool and silk socks so wouldn't have to worry about that added expense. Cost wasn't really the issue. It was more of the why wear something thick and bulky when you can have something a bit more form fitting, and streamlined and the closer it is to your body the more warmth you're going to contain and the faster you're going to wick moisture away from you.

 

[jonnythan]

The warmth of the drysuit comes almost directly from the amount of loft in the undergarment. Since it's a great idea to dive a drysuit with a bit of squeeze, you're obviously going to get compression on the undersuit, reducing the loft. Water pressure is great for making "bulky" things like 300 weight fleece not so bulky anymore. Obviously it's a good idea to have a skin layer that wicks moisture away, but then you need a thick insulating layer. Diving in 40 degree water sucks the moisture away faster than hiking in 0 degree air.

Also, just like drysuits, you want to wear something form-fitting.. just because some people don't doesn't mean that you shouldn't. You can have good loft with a form-fitting undergarment. Look at this old picture of our friend GI.. http://divegeeks.com/images/DIR Trip/GeorgeDan.jpg

His drysuit obviously fits him extremely well, but you can also tell he's wearing some undergarment with good loft, probably a 400 gram thinsulate.

 

[Uncle Pug]

1) High price does not translate directly and reliably to high quality.

2) Personal experience with both 300g Softwear polarfleece vs Weezle Extreme: with the same drysuit, suit squeeze and exertion level (basically zero) I am colder using the Weezle w/argon than the polarfleece without/argon.

3) Mobility is directly related to fabric and cut but not necessarily to bulk: I am much more mobile wearing my polarfleece than using the Weezle even though I had it altered to include stretch panels under the arms.

4) Ease of dumping suit gas on ascent is directly related to shell material and dump cover. You can blow through polarfleece. You can't blow through the Weezle outer shell. I burned holes in my Weezle shell proximate to the dump valve and this helped a great deal.

 

[jonnythan]

1) High price does not translate directly and reliably to high quality.

2) Personal experience with both 300g Softwear polarfleece vs Weezle Extreme: with the same drysuit, suit squeeze and exertion level (basically zero) I am colder using the Weezle w/argon than the polarfleece without/argon.

Really? Think I'll be warm and happy with 300g Softwear, despite what George says?

 

[Uncle Pug]

....some folks will probably need to do whatever George says to be warm and happy.

But check out my profile pic if you want to see warm and happy using 300g. (47F water)

 

[mgdive]

I just received a pair of Polartec 200 fleece pants I ordered from LLBean. Absolutely fantastic!! They have heel loops too so they don't get all bunched up when donning the suit.

 

[String]

May i just add here that since my drysuit no longer leaks im incredibly happy and warm with my Weezle Extreme and booties. The people i see shiverring and opting out of 2nd dives in 200 or 300 weight thinsulates im very glad i bought it and not one of those.

 

[MechDiver]

Think I'll be warm and happy with 300g Softwear

Yep, just wear it under your Weezle