Doctor Rig
Contributor
In my research on drysuit undergarment materials, I’d like to briefly summarize my findings on these insulation materials and get real world feedback from experienced divers.
As a general statement, I’ll start saying for a given thickness, Thinsulate is a superior insulating material than “Fleece”. Thinsulate keeps you warmer for a given thickness. As a result of this, a Thinsulate undergarment and drysuit will more likely require less weighting (lead) than a “Fleece” undergarment and drysuit (for a given temperature comfort level).
Thinsulate is a 3M trademarked product, so I’m guessing it’s properties should be pretty consistent. “Fleece“ manufactured with different specs and from different sources has variable insulating and physical properties. So some fleeces can be better than others, but in general Thinsulate should always be the better insulating material by a varying amount.
My take on this is a Thinsulate undergarment is likely to be a superior undergarment material and has the important attribute to allow divers to dive with less weight since it displaces less air for a given temperature comfort level.
As a general statement, I’ll start saying for a given thickness, Thinsulate is a superior insulating material than “Fleece”. Thinsulate keeps you warmer for a given thickness. As a result of this, a Thinsulate undergarment and drysuit will more likely require less weighting (lead) than a “Fleece” undergarment and drysuit (for a given temperature comfort level).
Thinsulate is a 3M trademarked product, so I’m guessing it’s properties should be pretty consistent. “Fleece“ manufactured with different specs and from different sources has variable insulating and physical properties. So some fleeces can be better than others, but in general Thinsulate should always be the better insulating material by a varying amount.
My take on this is a Thinsulate undergarment is likely to be a superior undergarment material and has the important attribute to allow divers to dive with less weight since it displaces less air for a given temperature comfort level.