Underwear Revisited - The Warmest

[Rick Inman]

You will still end up buying new undies at some point. Buy the warmest on the market, you will never regret it. (Why buy lower stuff)

Which is the lower stuff? You mean the Merino Evolution? I thought that was high end. I do want to buy the warmest I can find. And now I'm hearing that 4th element has a new one coming out in Feb called the SubZero that is supposed to be the best to be had.

Help me here, Jeff, 'cause I'd hate for you to be right twice.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Rick,

I will mention one little item, with respect to your analysis.

Weezles don't stretch. Not even a little.

Uncle Pug had a seamstress cut his up along the underarm seams and sew in a football shaped insert of elastic material so he could do valve drills more easily.

Since you will dive the weezle pretty tight under most circumstances (unless you're relaxing after the dive with the valve closed, argon blown in, floating on your back behind the boat with a dixie cup filled with Jack Daniels), being able to stretch up and hit your valves is important.

So if you're the big sorta dude you mentioned in your post above, you may want to order the 'tall' Weezle. It gives you an inch or two of extra reach when you're going back for those valves.

Just FWIW...if I were going to buy another one I'd go for a taller cut for that exact reason.

YMMV.

 

[JeffG]

I do want to buy the warmest I can find. And now I'm hearing that 4th element has a new one coming out in Feb called the SubZero that is supposed to be the best to be had.

Help me here, Jeff, 'cause I'd hate for you to be right twice.

4th Element. Isn't that the guys that make the "Arctic?" The undies that makes warm water feel like the Arctic! (LOL...A review from a buddy)

Some form of 400g thinsulate or the Extreme +. Warmest stuff on the market today.

 

[TSandM]

The Santi suits look fantastic -- 400g Thinsulate, but with stretch material over the joints so you can actually MOVE in them. They're custom fit and very well made. Unfortunately, between the anemic dollar and the shipping costs, they're also pretty much prohibitively expensive. DUI looks like a bargain in comparison, and you know what THAT means.

 

[PerroneFord]

Some form of 400g thinsulate or the Extreme +. Warmest stuff on the market today.

My Pinnacle non-Merino is easily as warm as the Weezle Extreme (not the plus). The Merino suit looks to be every bit as warm as the Extreme Plus, and actually has more insulative value that the DUI 400g. Look into them. The only reason I am probably going with the Weezle is because I can wash it. Though, with the few time's I'll actually need to wear it, that might not be such a problem.

Frankly, I think the Pinnacle will be the warmest of all, with the DUI 400g coming in second, and the Weezle third, only because of how they will likely respond when squeezed.

 

[Rick Inman]

I am trying several brands of undies over the next few weeks, so I give my review of them as I try them out.

4th Element. Isn't that the guys that make the "Arctic?" The undies that makes warm water feel like the Arctic! (LOL...A review from a buddy)

Here is my dive report for the 4th Element Xerotherm Arctic undies. Thanks to Jim, owner of Divers West in Coeur d' Alene, ID for loaning them to me for today's dive.

Dive was fresh water, 44 degrees, 58 mins.

Yes, these undies are amazingly thin for what they are able to do. I wore an Under Armour thin base and a layer of micro fleece under the Arctic. During the dive it was more than easy to reach my valves (very little motion range impairment by the undies - in fact, I think the micro fleece was more constrictive than the Arctic).

I used argon, and was diving non-HE gas.

I was warm for the first 40 minutes. I mean, warm. There is a difference between non-cold and actual warm, and I was warm. For the last 20 mins of the dive, I stopped feeling warm, but I never felt cold. Like others have said, at the end of the dive I could feel that the water around me was cold, but I never actually felt cold.

The best thing about these undies was how little gas they needed to loft and function well. Very nice.

I must admit, though, that there was an element to the dive which may had skewed the test. This was kind of a working dive for me. We had a bit of a swim to get to the wreck, and we pushed hard to get there. I was on the wreck to finish removing a light cage from inside the head. I had to saw with a hack saw through two lengths of conduit, so I was putting out an unusual amount of activity. Overall, the dive was not as slow and relaxed as my usual dives are (except for the end), so that may have kept me warmer than usual.

And one more thing about the undies. They are a nice looking 2 piece that resemble a sweat suit. I like how nice they look, which made me feel better stopping at the store on the way home and picking up a few things in my drysuit undies.

These are some pricey undies, which retail at about $350.00.

There is word out that 4th Element is coming out with an even warmer (thicker?) underwear this February called the SubXero. I wounder what the price will be on that thing!

Tuesday I dive some undies not mentioned in this thread. The Whites new MK3 is supposed to be their answer to the Wheezle. We'll see. I've got it here at my house right now, and if feels more like the DUI 400 undies. I'll report on it Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Then I dive a Wheezle for the first time - maybe the following Tuesday.

I'll report as I dive the different brands. The water temp around here is only going to drop. Thank goodness I have some friends who are willing to let me try their undies before I buy my new ones.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Gear review for the Pinnacle Merino Evolution.
I've worn one before and about had a heat stroke just walking around. :11: Unfortunately I had to return the one I bought because my calves are pretty large and I couldn't put on my drysuit on past my calves, wearing this undergarment.

 

[Tigerman]

I have kinda answered this before, but here goes..
My inner layer is ALWAYS wool in cold water dives.
Normally I use loong woolen underpants and a long-sleeved woolen shirt.
2 pair of woolen socks.
Below 55ish - Adding a thicker sweater.
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Personally I consider fleece USELESS for anything but cozy indoor clothing.
Then again, cold here isnt exactly the same as cold in Florida

 

[Izze]

The Santi suits look fantastic -- 400g Thinsulate, but with stretch material over the joints so you can actually MOVE in them. They're custom fit and very well made. Unfortunately, between the anemic dollar and the shipping costs, they're also pretty much prohibitively expensive. DUI looks like a bargain in comparison, and you know what THAT means.

You're really getting screwed over by the low dollar then. The SANTI is about 10% cheaper compared to a DUI 400 here in Sweden.

 

[Rick Inman]

Gear review for the Pinnacle Merino Evolution.
I've worn one before and about had a heat stroke just walking around. :11: Unfortunately I had to return the one I bought because my calves are pretty large and I couldn't put on my drysuit on past my calves, wearing this undergarment.

Thanks, read your review, which was great. Unfortunately, even my cheep Whites fleece undies with layers keeps me warm in 45 degrees for 30 mins. It's when I hit 45 mins that things usually go south (or, I guess I should say, north ).

I won't be able to test the Evolution, but I'll keep researching them. They seem like undies that might work perfectly for me.

Thanks!

My inner layer is ALWAYS wool in cold water dives....
Then again, cold here isnt exactly the same as cold in Florida

Well, I'm just not sold on wool. There are now such lighter materials that do the same or better. And BTW, I don't dive Fl either. In another 30-60 days, we'll be seeing mid to upper 30's (Fahrenheit) around my parts.