Underwear Ripoff...?

[mossym]

And you Moss can just shush up. :10:

---
Ken

me? i was only trying to help..

 

[jonnythan]

I've been resisting, but may roll soon.

Roll, dog.

You know you wanna hit it.

 

[yukoneer]

Quite interesting discussion here. I dive with fleece, the top is a pullover longsleeve fleece, and the bottom is fleece pants - both are "hunting" clothes and i bought it from Cabela's for $60 on a winter clearance sale. I didn't have any problems during my last dive in Puget Sound. I can't afford the "real" underwear, but I'd have to admit that I have no problems (so far) with the 2-piece fleece I am wearing.

 

[jonnythan]

Quite interesting discussion here. I dive with fleece, the top is a pullover longsleeve fleece, and the bottom is fleece pants - both are "hunting" clothes. I didn't have any problems during my last dive in Puget Sound. I can't afford the "real" underwear, but I'd have to admit that I have no problems (so far) with the 2-piece fleece I am wearing.

I used various pieces of fleece for over a year.

I always said I never had problems, until I got some Thinsulate. Now I realize I was often borderline hypothermic.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

This is interesting. Sports where one is active (i.e., skiing, mountaineering, etc.) and creating heat, you can get away with fleece, etc. Hunting in a treestand for hours in sub-zero weather is different where more insulation is better. Hell, you should see my moon boots, 1 inch felt insulation inside a thick rubber boot and my feet still get cold. I'd imagine it's the same with drysuit diving.

Jonnythan, you mentioned using thinsulate but have you tried primaloft (made by your neighbor at Albany Int'l)? The guys at Eastern Mountain Sports are raving about it and think it will supplant thinsulate, polartec in the near future. I'm not sure if they make primaloft underwear but they do make them in outerware (Cabelas has them).

Otherwise, it's http://www.weezle.co.uk/products/undersuits.htm

 

[jonnythan]

I own a ton of Primaloft.

Totally inappropriate for diving, since it's almost as compressible as down. The Weezle series of undergarments uses insulation very similar to Primaloft.

I worked at EMS for a year and a half, and Primaloft is the bee's knees on land.

 

[jonnythan]

BTW, an Albany Int'l rep told me last summer that Primaloft isn't made in Albany, it's made in MA, NJ, and somewhere in Europe

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

There you go. Fleece is fine if you don't mind getting hypothermic when your suit floods and you never dive water less than 50 degrees (high 50s if you're in there for a good long while without working very hard, or you're a skinny butt like me and get cold easily when not working hard).

Not been my experience. I own two undergarments ... the Diving Concepts 200g Thinsulate that came with my original suit, and a SoftWear 300G fleece undergarment that I currently wear under my CLX450. Both keep me about equally warm for hour-plus dives in Puget Sound ... which ranges from low-40's in winter to mid-50's in summer.

And BTW - I have flooded both and remained warm enough to complete the dive in both. Then again, I'm built like a harbor seal and am probably less susceptible to cold than most folks ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mossym]

Totally inappropriate for diving, since it's almost as compressible as down. The Weezle series of undergarments uses insulation very similar to Primaloft.

jonnythan brings up a good point, these undergarments lose all their warmth if they get compressed..not much good for diving

 

[Jason B]

Totally inappropriate for diving, since it's almost as compressible as down. The Weezle series of undergarments uses insulation very similar to Primaloft.

I know some divers (250-300ft depths) that would totally disagree with this statement.

Jason