This post turned out ridiculously huge...so long story short, I love the Mk3s. The advantages greatly outweigh the slight disadvantages.
I received the MK3 a couple of weeks ago, and only had my first opportunity to dive it on Sunday. I ordered from Mike at Dive Right In Scuba. Great service, great price, fast shipping! And they're great with the hot deals too
The package deal from Dive Right In came with an MK3 jacket, which looks identical in all regards to the top half of the MK3 jumpsuit. The only difference is that the sleeves on the jacket zipper off so you can wear it as a vest. I bet Whites has/had an 2-piece Mk3 john in the works.
Note: Unfortunately for most reading this, I don't have a lot of experience for comparison. I've been borrowing a friend's USIA Bioflex bilam, using the undergarments that came with the suit (Polartec insulation). Monterey CA waters are usually between 50-54 degrees. If I ever get to try some DUI 400g or Weezles, I'll update.
Finish
Overall, very nice. Nylon shell exterior that's windproof and waterproof. When new, there's a crinkly sound anytime you handle the suit, but that goes away (or I stopped noticing) with a few wears. Plenty of pockets for storage, and I love how the main waist pockets are positioned high on the suit so you can still access them while wearing a suspendered-drysuit. The inside layer is soft polypro, and sandwiched between is the insulating "Primaloft" layer. There's the usual two-way convenience zipper in front, and a butt-panel zipper in back, which I haven't used yet :O I think fdog and others cover this aspect pretty well.
Speaking of zippers, this is really the only thing on the suit I'm not too crazy about. All the zippers and all parts of the zippers, including the teeth, the slider, pull-tab and stops, are all plastic. This is the first time I've seen a pull-tab actually bend as I zip the slider up and down, and I'm a bit worried as to how long it'll last. For an undergarment though, the zipper is the least of my worries - if it breaks and Whites doesn't fix it, I'll go to my drycleaner and have them put in a heavier duty replacement.
Sizing and Fit
I'm 5'10 140lb, so on the chart I fit a medium. At first, I thought the cut of the suit was odd! The shoulders are tiny (the sleeve part begins very close to the base of the neck). The arms seem slightly short too, by about an inch (OK I have long arms). You can just see my wrists when I stand straight up with arms at my side. While wearing the suit, if I reach back behind my head, the suit's wrists end up about 4 inches up from my wrists. No big deal, I've just given up using the thumb loops when putting on the drysuit. Interestingly the arms on the medium-size jacket version are slightly longer.
Also, while the total height of the suit was just about right, it seemed to me that the torso was a bit long and the legs a bit short. I felt a bit like MC Hammer, with the crotch of the suit sitting about 3" too low. If they had hiked up the inseam a bit I think it would have been just right.
Interestingly, this, along with the narrow shoulders, changed dramatically once i was in a horizontal diving position, with arms forward. I don't know if it's engineered this way or just happenstance, but while on my stomach, with arms comfortably extended, the narrow shoulders made perfect sense (no bunching of material at the top of the shoulders since the arms are up), and the pull from the extended arms naturally hiked up the torso (same type of extension you get with a drysuit's telescoping torso) so that the crotch was just right. Even here I did not feel that the legs become too short or restricted any movement.
I don't really notice the stretch-panels. Maybe I would if they weren't there, but the entire suit is more or less comfy-and-loose on my frame already (that's why i don't want to size-up to a large for longer legs/arms), and I don't feel any pressure or resistance no matter what kind of weird contortions I do (unless I grab the wrist of the sleeve and reach over my head behind my back). I'm sure many people will fill out the suit more than I do though; I definitely feel there is free space in the gut and chest, and if this were tailored for me, big swaths of cloth could be cut out there. One big plus: the Mk3 definitely does not have the "400G butt" that DUI owners love talking about.
Performance in the Water
First thing I noticed was that the MK3 is slightly thicker and loftier than the USIA. I had to shimmy a bit more to get into my tech-cut trilam.
I also think I need a bit more weight to keep it down. My first two dives using my standard weighting (32lb, consisting of 12lb bp/sta + 20lb weight belt) felt just barely enough to maintain depth at 500psi, whereas before I was pretty sure I was slightly overweighted. I need to dial this in. Of note, the nylon shell around the MK3 is on the stiff side; it doesn't impede mobility, but there's no way it can "stuff up" the exhaust valve on the DS like some have said other undergarments do.
The big question of course is warmth. Is it? Totally. Someone recently put up a post about nothing being truly "toasty" in any cold water diving, and I've really got to agree there. Is it warmer than the Polartec? Unquestionably, by a decent amount. But I tend to run my suit squeezed, letting in air only if necessary (usually if I have trouble reaching something), and of course by doing this the garment isn't lofted, so I feel a bit on the cold side at 51F. But it's still 10x better than "being cold and wet in a 7mm." Btw, these were dives of 40-55min, moderate levels of finning. My base layer was an underarmor compression long-sleeve, and capilene pants with shorts.
In the end, I never felt "chilled," and I never felt even close to calling a dive due to temperature--seems like I could have been out there for another hour or so no prob. Is it "too warm"? Not a chance. I think it'd have to be 60F before I could even consider thinking I was really "toasty," but my thought is you can never be too warm. If I weren't so lazy about readjusting my weighting again, I'd consider layering a vest if I really wanted to warm up.
I did have slight leaks from the wrist seals on my drysuit (pronounced tendons?), resulting in minor seepage going from my wrists up halfway to my elbows. I noticed this a bit while diving, but my arms didn't feel cold so it didn't bother me. After the first dive, I felt the wrists of the Mk3 and I could tell there was water in it because of the weight, but both the polypro interior and the nylon exterior were completely dry. So the wicking is good, and hopefully the salt doesn't mutz with the insulation.
Maintenance:
The Mk3 is machine-washable, but I haven't had to do it yet. I'm probably going to treat the suit as if it were thinsulate, by wearing base-layers for funk-trapping and washing only as necessary. IMO the washing machine is probably the most abuse drysuit undergarments will see.
That's about it. I'm happy to answer any questions.
I received the MK3 a couple of weeks ago, and only had my first opportunity to dive it on Sunday. I ordered from Mike at Dive Right In Scuba. Great service, great price, fast shipping! And they're great with the hot deals too
The package deal from Dive Right In came with an MK3 jacket, which looks identical in all regards to the top half of the MK3 jumpsuit. The only difference is that the sleeves on the jacket zipper off so you can wear it as a vest. I bet Whites has/had an 2-piece Mk3 john in the works.Note: Unfortunately for most reading this, I don't have a lot of experience for comparison. I've been borrowing a friend's USIA Bioflex bilam, using the undergarments that came with the suit (Polartec insulation). Monterey CA waters are usually between 50-54 degrees. If I ever get to try some DUI 400g or Weezles, I'll update.
Finish
Overall, very nice. Nylon shell exterior that's windproof and waterproof. When new, there's a crinkly sound anytime you handle the suit, but that goes away (or I stopped noticing) with a few wears. Plenty of pockets for storage, and I love how the main waist pockets are positioned high on the suit so you can still access them while wearing a suspendered-drysuit. The inside layer is soft polypro, and sandwiched between is the insulating "Primaloft" layer. There's the usual two-way convenience zipper in front, and a butt-panel zipper in back, which I haven't used yet :O I think fdog and others cover this aspect pretty well.
Speaking of zippers, this is really the only thing on the suit I'm not too crazy about. All the zippers and all parts of the zippers, including the teeth, the slider, pull-tab and stops, are all plastic. This is the first time I've seen a pull-tab actually bend as I zip the slider up and down, and I'm a bit worried as to how long it'll last. For an undergarment though, the zipper is the least of my worries - if it breaks and Whites doesn't fix it, I'll go to my drycleaner and have them put in a heavier duty replacement.
Sizing and Fit
I'm 5'10 140lb, so on the chart I fit a medium. At first, I thought the cut of the suit was odd! The shoulders are tiny (the sleeve part begins very close to the base of the neck). The arms seem slightly short too, by about an inch (OK I have long arms). You can just see my wrists when I stand straight up with arms at my side. While wearing the suit, if I reach back behind my head, the suit's wrists end up about 4 inches up from my wrists. No big deal, I've just given up using the thumb loops when putting on the drysuit. Interestingly the arms on the medium-size jacket version are slightly longer.
Also, while the total height of the suit was just about right, it seemed to me that the torso was a bit long and the legs a bit short. I felt a bit like MC Hammer, with the crotch of the suit sitting about 3" too low. If they had hiked up the inseam a bit I think it would have been just right.
Interestingly, this, along with the narrow shoulders, changed dramatically once i was in a horizontal diving position, with arms forward. I don't know if it's engineered this way or just happenstance, but while on my stomach, with arms comfortably extended, the narrow shoulders made perfect sense (no bunching of material at the top of the shoulders since the arms are up), and the pull from the extended arms naturally hiked up the torso (same type of extension you get with a drysuit's telescoping torso) so that the crotch was just right. Even here I did not feel that the legs become too short or restricted any movement.
I don't really notice the stretch-panels. Maybe I would if they weren't there, but the entire suit is more or less comfy-and-loose on my frame already (that's why i don't want to size-up to a large for longer legs/arms), and I don't feel any pressure or resistance no matter what kind of weird contortions I do (unless I grab the wrist of the sleeve and reach over my head behind my back). I'm sure many people will fill out the suit more than I do though; I definitely feel there is free space in the gut and chest, and if this were tailored for me, big swaths of cloth could be cut out there. One big plus: the Mk3 definitely does not have the "400G butt" that DUI owners love talking about.
Performance in the Water
First thing I noticed was that the MK3 is slightly thicker and loftier than the USIA. I had to shimmy a bit more to get into my tech-cut trilam.
I also think I need a bit more weight to keep it down. My first two dives using my standard weighting (32lb, consisting of 12lb bp/sta + 20lb weight belt) felt just barely enough to maintain depth at 500psi, whereas before I was pretty sure I was slightly overweighted. I need to dial this in. Of note, the nylon shell around the MK3 is on the stiff side; it doesn't impede mobility, but there's no way it can "stuff up" the exhaust valve on the DS like some have said other undergarments do.
The big question of course is warmth. Is it? Totally. Someone recently put up a post about nothing being truly "toasty" in any cold water diving, and I've really got to agree there. Is it warmer than the Polartec? Unquestionably, by a decent amount. But I tend to run my suit squeezed, letting in air only if necessary (usually if I have trouble reaching something), and of course by doing this the garment isn't lofted, so I feel a bit on the cold side at 51F. But it's still 10x better than "being cold and wet in a 7mm." Btw, these were dives of 40-55min, moderate levels of finning. My base layer was an underarmor compression long-sleeve, and capilene pants with shorts.
In the end, I never felt "chilled," and I never felt even close to calling a dive due to temperature--seems like I could have been out there for another hour or so no prob. Is it "too warm"? Not a chance. I think it'd have to be 60F before I could even consider thinking I was really "toasty," but my thought is you can never be too warm. If I weren't so lazy about readjusting my weighting again, I'd consider layering a vest if I really wanted to warm up.
I did have slight leaks from the wrist seals on my drysuit (pronounced tendons?), resulting in minor seepage going from my wrists up halfway to my elbows. I noticed this a bit while diving, but my arms didn't feel cold so it didn't bother me. After the first dive, I felt the wrists of the Mk3 and I could tell there was water in it because of the weight, but both the polypro interior and the nylon exterior were completely dry. So the wicking is good, and hopefully the salt doesn't mutz with the insulation.
Maintenance:
The Mk3 is machine-washable, but I haven't had to do it yet. I'm probably going to treat the suit as if it were thinsulate, by wearing base-layers for funk-trapping and washing only as necessary. IMO the washing machine is probably the most abuse drysuit undergarments will see.
That's about it. I'm happy to answer any questions.
