Undergarment Temp rating

[carrielsal]

I was wondering if there are temperature ratings for the undergarments. I recently purchased my first drysuit, the Fusion with LE skin and the M2k undergarment. I have found with even the M2k jacket on, I am a little chilly in 66 degree water. My LDS does not have any MK3's in stock to try. I was wondering how much warmer the Mk3 is and if there are temp ratings. I looked on the White's website, but didn't find this info.
The water temp gets down to about 50 degrees here in the winter and I'm thinking about taking an ice diving class in February.

Thanks,
Carrie

 

[fdog]

Hi Carrie. I'm not sure what the factory temperature ratings are, but, perhaps this review of the MK3 will help:

Review: Whites MK3 Undergarment



Hope this helps!


All the best, James

 

[carrielsal]

Thanks James. I had seen your review a few months ago and had forgotten about it. You mentioned an MK3 jacket. Is that the same jacket that comes with the MK2? I am thinking about just keeping the jacket that came with my MK2 and ordering the MK3.
I get cold pretty easily. In 80 degree water in the summer, I still wear a 5mm hood with my 3mm wetsuit.

Carrie

 

[fdog]

Yes, it's the same as the MK2 jacket. Honestly, I've never had the MK3 jacket in the water, as I've never needed any more warmth than the MK3. It's pretty nice to wear around town when the snow's flying, though.

As for cold tendency's, I took my Fusion to the Red Sea this summer, took my Fusion to Fiji late last year, and felt chilled in Bonaire this last July with a full 3mm & a beanie. ...If that helps in translating how warm the MK3 is...darn warm.

If you truly get cold easily, in addition to changing undies, adding dry gloves is a great way to add warmth. For such a simple thing, it changes 39 degree water from tolerable, to nice and snug.


All the best, James

 

[AndyDragon]

I have not tried the MK3 but with the MK1/MK2 and water temps of 46 F this past weekend, it was indeed chilly. I have used my Bare polar loft and it was warmer, but I think for anything less than 40 F, I will use my XCD2 Pro instead. Crushed neoprene has that extra bit of warmth, it's just that the Fusion is so much more comfortable in the water...

 

[carrielsal]

I ordered the MK3 yesterday. Hopefully it will be here next week.

 

[moonlight]

After trying the MK3 please update your post. I also freeze and always feel cold. I use the MK2 and have just bought some new undergarments to wear. But, to be honest I feel chilled on land in 80 degree weather. If you see a big difference I may have to bite the bullet and buy the MK3's.

 

[carrielsal]

Will do. I thought about just layering under the MK2. That would be good for now, but what happens when the water temps start dropping? Would I be able to layer enough and how many layers would I have to wear?

 

[moonlight]

I layer some now and I feel like I can't move as well as I would like. I hate using the sleeves on my MK2 because I hate the feel of being bulky. At some point I will try my new under garments with the MK2 and see if that makes a difference. That is if I can find time between other commitments.

 

[carrielsal]

I layer some now and I feel like I can't move as well as I would like. I hate using the sleeves on my MK2 because I hate the feel of being bulky. At some point I will try my new under garments with the MK2 and see if that makes a difference. That is if I can find time between other commitments.

What kind of undergarments are you going to layer underneath the MK2?

Carrie