Wetsuit Under A Drysuit?

[swimmer_spe]

So, lets say after a short dive you planned to do something else. So, you dive dry, but wear your wetsuit underneath, so that once you surface, you simply take off your gear, drop the drysuit and do the next thing that requires you to be in a wetsuit.

Would this work? Would it keep you warm in water around 10C?

 

[David Wilson]

Wearing a wetsuit under a drysuit is quite an old idea. Here is a page from the 1960 Submarine Products (UK) catalogue:

Note the paragraph that says "For lengthy dives, there is still nothing to beat a "dry" suit. A diver can wear as many sweaters underneath it as he wishes - or best of all a SUPER TARZAN as an undersuit."

Here's the 1960 Submarine Products catalogue page with the SUPER TARZAN:

As you can see, the SUPER TARZAN is a wetsuit. The 1964 Submarine Products catalogue adds the words "like the French Navy" to the phrase "or best of all a SUPER TARZAN as an undersuit."

Now, how this translates to modern drysuits and wetsuits is a different matter, which I will leave to others to discuss. You might also want to read an older ScubaBoard thread about wetsuits under drysuits here: Wear my wetsuit under my "drysuit"??

 

[boulderjohn]

The dive shop where I used to work routinely had people use wet suits from the rentals as undergarments for people trying out dry suits in the pool.

 

[sheeper]

the inside of a drysuit approaches 100% humidity. that is why drysuit undergarments tend to have a wicking layer of some kind. I wear UnderArmor thermals under my 4th element undergarment. quite comfy. Wearing a wetsuit under a drysuit would be insanely damp

 

[swimmer_spe]

the inside of a drysuit approaches 100% humidity. that is why drysuit undergarments tend to have a wicking layer of some kind. I wear UnderArmor thermals under my 4th element undergarment. quite comfy. Wearing a wetsuit under a drysuit would be insanely damp

The purpose of me wearing the wetsuit is because I will be in the water, just not staying dry. It is a triathlon wetsuit.

I will be in around 30 feet of water for around 15 minutse.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm new to a drysuit, but I was under the impression that the baffle effect of a loft-y undergarment is advantageous because it keeps the bubble from moving around suddenly. Is that correct?

 

[sheeper]

I'm new to a drysuit, but I was under the impression that the baffle effect of a loft-y undergarment is advantageous because it keeps the bubble from moving around suddenly. Is that correct?

lofting is the idea of trapping air within the undergarment to provide enough (neutral) buoyancy. Buoyancy control and that bubble position with a drysuit is the number one thing i work on with drysuit students. When the air bubble goes into your legs and feet you get to play with inversion

 

[Lorenzoid]

lofting is the idea of trapping air within the undergarment to provide enough (neutral) buoyancy. Buoyancy control and that bubble position with a drysuit is the number one thing i work on with drysuit students. When the air bubble goes into your legs and feet you get to play with inversion

Don't I know it! I found my recent drysuit course challenging to say the least.

 

[eelnoraa]

Depend on your purpose of using a dry suit. If you want to be warm, which is usually the main goal, wetsuit under isn't going to work too well. If as your state, you just want to be able to take off the dry suit and engage other activities with wetsuit as fast as possible, then you just found yourself a solution. But why not just dive wet to begin with? It won't be better in warmth anyway

 

[swimmer_spe]

Depend on your purpose of using a dry suit. If you want to be wrong, which is usually the main goal, wetsuit under isn't going to work too well. If as your state, you just want to be able to take off the dry suit and engage other activities with wetsuit as fast as possible, then you just found yourself a solution. But why not just dive wet to begin with? It won't be better in warmth anyway

The wetsuit is one of those triathlon ones. It would be ripped from the BCD. It isn't thick enough for diving, but on the surface, I am fine