JeffG
Contributor
No they don't. Urban myth #1jepuskar:
What to wear under a Trilaminate drysuit?
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Hickdive
Contributor
Your wetsuit will still compress with depth and you will still loose insulation even if it is worn under a drysuit.
Insulation under a trilam can rely on either lofting i.e where the insulation material traps air between its fibres, such as in a weezle or the matrial itself i.e thinsulate where the insulating layer of air is trapped inside the fibre itself. Thus lofting materials require a bit of air in the suit to be truly effective whilst thinsulates can be compressed down or even soaked without losing all their insulation.
I have had two complete floods over the years and in both instances once the initial shock had gone I was able to finish the dive safely and in reasonable comfort. I was wearing thinsulate undersuits in both cases.
Insulation under a trilam can rely on either lofting i.e where the insulation material traps air between its fibres, such as in a weezle or the matrial itself i.e thinsulate where the insulating layer of air is trapped inside the fibre itself. Thus lofting materials require a bit of air in the suit to be truly effective whilst thinsulates can be compressed down or even soaked without losing all their insulation.
I have had two complete floods over the years and in both instances once the initial shock had gone I was able to finish the dive safely and in reasonable comfort. I was wearing thinsulate undersuits in both cases.
Jeff....do enlighten us.
Darnold9999
Contributor
I currently dive a trilam in the PNW, and I often wear my 2/3 shortie or 2/3 full wetsuit under it - together with a layer of something else - which suit I choose depends on how cold the water is. Below 10 C I want the full, above the shortie is enough. The wetsuit keeps me MUCH warmer than a second layer of fleece or whatever and allows me to carry less weight as an additional benefit. (The less weight was a surprise the first time I tried this but a welcome one.) Another benefit I discovered last weekend is that if your drysuit leaks you will be much warmer than if you are wearing just fleece, or a Weezle or whatever. Came up with the undergarment soaked through and didn't even notice while diving. Did notice I was colder than normal, but finished the dive quite comfortably.
The ONLY drawback I have found to this scheme is that in the summer you will sweat inside the wetsuit which means you will need to wash it pretty regularly.
Jeff is right, a wetsuit does not need water to work. It works because the material it is made of is a poor transmitter of heat. Put one on and go outside in the winter to verify this. You will be toasty warm - in fact you can overheat pretty quickly even when the air temp is freezing. Water inside the wetsuit is a bad thing, the more water the worse the wetsuit works. Your body will transfer heat to it and it takes a lot of calories to heat water up to body temperature. A good wetsuit lets in a minimal amount of water and doesn't replace it as you move about so that once your body has heated up the water that comes in it is not replaced. Inside a drysuit there is no water so the wetsuit works very well to keep heat in.
As you go deeper the wetsuit does loose some of its thermal insulating properties. The air trapped in the neoprene is crushed and heat escapes faster. Have not found this to be a significant issue however as the suit is such a good insulator to start with that I am still warm at depth.
For those of you that think that wearing a wetsuit in a trilam drysuit is a bad idea I suggest that you try it at least once. Last person that saw me doing this and tried it was convinced in one dive. Warmer, with less weight. Wouldn't do this with a heavy suit like a 7 mil because then you do loose mobility, but a 2/3 tropical suit works really well.
The ONLY drawback I have found to this scheme is that in the summer you will sweat inside the wetsuit which means you will need to wash it pretty regularly.
Jeff is right, a wetsuit does not need water to work. It works because the material it is made of is a poor transmitter of heat. Put one on and go outside in the winter to verify this. You will be toasty warm - in fact you can overheat pretty quickly even when the air temp is freezing. Water inside the wetsuit is a bad thing, the more water the worse the wetsuit works. Your body will transfer heat to it and it takes a lot of calories to heat water up to body temperature. A good wetsuit lets in a minimal amount of water and doesn't replace it as you move about so that once your body has heated up the water that comes in it is not replaced. Inside a drysuit there is no water so the wetsuit works very well to keep heat in.
As you go deeper the wetsuit does loose some of its thermal insulating properties. The air trapped in the neoprene is crushed and heat escapes faster. Have not found this to be a significant issue however as the suit is such a good insulator to start with that I am still warm at depth.
For those of you that think that wearing a wetsuit in a trilam drysuit is a bad idea I suggest that you try it at least once. Last person that saw me doing this and tried it was convinced in one dive. Warmer, with less weight. Wouldn't do this with a heavy suit like a 7 mil because then you do loose mobility, but a 2/3 tropical suit works really well.
JeffG
Contributor
You're the instructor. You should know this stuff.jepuskar:
Here's the classic theadjepuskar:
You could save your self the trouble and just trap water in your drysuit to see if that warms you up...
JeffG
Contributor
LOL...I forgot about that thread. That was a good daydo it easy:
Jeff, you seem to understand how wetsuits work better than I do, so please teach me something. As an instructor I am always interested in learning new concepts, so please let me know.
To my knowledge wetsuits work by trapping a thin layer of water between the suit and the skin. The bodys core temperature heats this water and that is what keeps a diver warm for a little while. If this is not how they work then do tell...
thanks,
To my knowledge wetsuits work by trapping a thin layer of water between the suit and the skin. The bodys core temperature heats this water and that is what keeps a diver warm for a little while. If this is not how they work then do tell...
thanks,
JeffG
Contributor
Read the thread posted by do it easy. I'm not in the mood to teach pigs to sing.jepuskar:
Thanks, but no need to be a dickhead about it
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