Warm Clothes under the Dry Suit

[Foothills]

My experience from diving year round in the Canadian Rockies is "multiple layers" (above aND below water). I am a fan of 1 or 2 base layers of merino wool undergarments (go MEC), and then drysuit insulation (there are many brands, all decent). I layer socks too. Wool baselayer and big camp socks. You don't want tight socks, constriction is not going to keep extremities warm. And you want warm feet if you are going to be standing around on shore in the cold during long briefings. But breathable material that insulatesvwhen wet is a must. No cotton!

My experience has also been that shoving too much insulation into a drysuit can make dumping air take a little longer than if there are bigger air spaces which allow free movement of air. Just something to keep in mind as get used to drysuit diving and possibly prepare to invest in your own drysuit.

 

[BlueTrin]

Like others, I would expect any big diving centre to provide some undergarment for under the drysuit.

Personally I use as a base layer (under the undergarment) some Helly Hansen Lifa base layer and they do a very good job, they are also much cheaper than the ones from diving brands. I am slightly allergic to wool but if I wasn’t I would use a merino baselayer as they stink less and will stay drier when you will sweat.

For socks get some good hiking socks, I use Bridgedale but I am sure any hiking socks with wool will be perfect.

(More seriously ask the shop if they do not provide undergarments, I would not invest heavily in clothing before to be sure that you will do for sure some cold water diving regularly)

 

[Johanan]

(so going in naked under the suit is not recommended then?).
Anyways, just want some recommendations/tips on what to wear.

A laminate shell suit doesn't keep you warm at all. A neoprene dry suit may be does a bit. The dry suit keeps you dry, but all thermal protection is provided by the undergarments. The water temperature in UK at this time of the year would be 6-9 *C (42-48F)? Forget about a T-shirt and shorts. Generally, cotton is not good under a dry suit as it soaks wet with sweat. You will need some serious undergarments to keep you warm. Here you can find some idea of how it lloks like: Fourth Element or Aqualung. For me this base layer is ideal on the skin, under some thicker garments. Undergarments are expensive so you may try to rent them for the course.

 

[Neilwood]

A laminate shell suit doesn't keep you warm at all. A neoprene dry suit may be does a bit. The dry suit keeps you dry, but all thermal protection is provided by the undergarments. The water temperature in UK at this time of the year would be 6-9 *C (42-48F)? Forget about a T-shirt and shorts. Generally, cotton is not good under a dry suit as it soaks wet with sweat. You will need some serious undergarments to keep you warm. Here you can find some idea of how it lloks like: Fourth Element or Aqualung. For me this base layer is ideal on the skin, under some thicker garments. Undergarments are expensive so you may try to rent them for the course.

Agreed that UK waters at this time of year will require something more than Tshirt & shorts.

To the OP - a lot depends on the suit - find out if it is neoprene or laminate. As @Johanan says, laminate will provide no insulation as it really is a shell so you will need far better insulation than you would in a neoprene (which will provide some insulation due to the thickness of neoprene).

I dive a neoprene suit and use O-Three's PBB Extreme which admittedly are possibly overkill but I have no issues with an hour long dive in them. I would certainly pick something like a polar fleece or wool (both stay warm even when damp from sweat).

 

[Dynadin]

I'll reiterate what others have said. Check with the dive centre about undersuit rental, I've never heard of one that doesn't rent them. On my course it was trilam and what can only be called a full body duvet.

Ideally it would be a proper diving undersuit but if that isn't an option.

A wicking base layer, these can be quite cheap to pick up, top and legs.
A hiking fleece without zips.
Fleece trousers.
Hiking socks, two pairs if you can.

Seeing as they seem to want you to bring your own clothes a few red flags do pop up. Also check if they provide hood and gloves if you don't have them, you'll need them this time of year.

 

[maj2]

And once you have your base layer and undergarments selected, see if you can try them ahead of time with the drysuit that you will be wearing.

My drysuit is fairly snug in the legs. If I wear both my Xerotherm base layer and the Scubapro Climatec fleece that came with my drysuit, it is a VERY snug fit and anything thicker would get very tough to don.

Similar for how much space you have available for socks.

Don't just make sure that everything fits-- make sure it all fits together. Doesn't have to be done much ahead of time. Just far enough ahead of time that you have time to make any needed adjustments to your choices/layering and still be ready to go.

 

[Mustard Dave]

I would expect the dive school to provide undersuits; you need to ask them.

When I first started diving (and was short of cash after spending a load of cash on the rest of the kit), I wore a few layers of thermals from Decathlon (the Kalenji range).

 

[TheCoolBeans]

at the minute, drysuit diving in the UK i will usually wear some leggings and a tight ski-thermal type long sleeved top underneath my Santi Flex190 undersuit. I also wear a thick pair of ski socks. I can manage for about 75-90mins in 6'C water before i get too cold.

I know others that would insist on a much thicker undersuit or even heated, and still get cold after just 60mins.

It depends on your resilience to the cold.

As you get used to diving a drysuit you can dive with more air in it to keep you warm but as you are doing a drysuit specialty you are probably not gonna have this luxury if you are going to be constantly dumping and refilling.

I'd ask if the dive centre will lend you an undersuit too and if so what it will be.

What dive site are you doing this in?

 

[DaddyJr]

Hello all! Thanks for all of the comments, haven't been checking this site regularly. I'll be doing the PADI Dry Suit Specialty with the London School of Diving in mid-March and they said that we'll be going to Wraysbury Lake. They didn't say that they wouldn't provide any undergarments, they only said that I should bring some warm clothes, and that these clothes are going to get wet.

I was thinking of using my Sharkskin Chillproof wet suit under the dry suit, it has an initial layer of fleece and wicks moisture away. Is that still not recommended?

 

[JohnnyC]

Hello all! Thanks for all of the comments, haven't been checking this site regularly. I'll be doing the PADI Dry Suit Specialty with the London School of Diving in mid-March and they said that we'll be going to Wraysbury Lake. They didn't say that they wouldn't provide any undergarments, they only said that I should bring some warm clothes, and that these clothes are going to get wet.

I was thinking of using my Sharkskin Chillproof wet suit under the dry suit, it has an initial layer of fleece and wicks moisture away. Is that still not recommended?

They didn't say that they wouldn't provide undergarments? That's not an answer..... You need to CALL/TEXT/E-MAIL your "London School of Diving" and ask them, specifically, "will you be providing drysuit undergarments for the course?"

Don't wear your wetsuit.