3 mill wetsuit as undergarments?

[mudchick]

I switched from a neoprene drysuit (was warm but suit was too small) to a Hollis trilam believing it would be more comfortable. It is, but I'm freezing even with a Bare undergarment with polar fleece and patagonia underwear. I've been looking at a number of options including the Fourth element Arctic one piece either to replace the Bare or wear with it.

But then it occurred to me: if the neoprene kept me warm, what if I just wear my 3 or 5 mil wetsuit under the trilam (realizing there is a difference between the closed cell neoprene and open cell wetsuit neoprene)? Is this stupid? Has anyone ever done it? Or a combination of any of the above? Any thoughts on this, even if I'm being silly, would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Will not work. The wet suit will not wick sweat away from your body. You need layers of material and air to insulate you and slow the heat loss. It could also seriously restrict your movements. You'll not be able to get efficient air circulation between your skin and the suit. You could end up trapping air that you would not be able to vent. What temps are you diving in? Not that what I use will mean squat to you but for really cold water I use a layer of under armor cold gear, a fleece jump suit, and then a Pinnacle Merino Wool Evolution undergarment (very warm) or my OS Systems heavy jump suit and 4th element heavy socks over one or two layers of fleece socks. I am going next week or so to look at some of Cabelas Extreme Cold Weather System stuff to try and reduce bulk without sacrificing warmth.
In short try more efficient layering. Forget the wetsuit idea.

 

[HeatCker]

jim is right .. neoprene next to your skin won't work well
i had the same problem and thoughts as you, i tried the neoprene under drysuit idea
at depth the neoprene will compress and loss thermal efficiency
you will sweat and there is no where for the sweat to go
you will be cold and soaked at the end of the dive
i dive a bilam shell suit, my cold tolerance is very low, i get cold easily
i'm closing in on 60, the older i get the colder i get
i dive spring 40 F, summer 75 F and fall 40 F
i had to wear way to many layers and about 36 lbs of lead in cold water
i solved my problem by purchasing a "thermalution" heated under shirt
the "therm" can be worn wet or dry so it was win win for me as i dive both
i also had a custom adjustable neoprene vest made that i wear over my 4th element artic
i took my idea, undergarments and drysuit in to a custom wetsuit shop and got measured up
the vest even has a hole in the chest for the inflator to sit into
the vest looks similiar to a bullet proof vest
the neoprene vest acts as an isolator and keeps the cold out and the heat in
at depth the pressure keeps the bilam tight to the neoprene
so in effect i am diving a neoprene suit over my core and shell suit over my legs and arms
the nice thing about the vest is it does not get wet and heavy as it is inside the drysuit
the other nice thing is i can also wear it over my exiting wetsuits as a core warmer
i now wear less under garments, am much warmer and dropped about 12 lbs off the 36 lbs

 

[mudchick]

Thanks to both of you for your help.

jim is right .. neoprene next to your skin won't work well
i had the same problem and thoughts as you, i tried the neoprene under drysuit idea
at depth the neoprene will compress and loss thermal efficiency
you will sweat and there is no where for the sweat to go
you will be cold and soaked at the end of the dive
i dive a bilam shell suit, my cold tolerance is very low, i get cold easily
i'm closing in on 60, the older i get the colder i get
i dive spring 40 F, summer 75 F and fall 40 F
i had to wear way to many layers and about 36 lbs of lead in cold water
i solved my problem by purchasing a "thermalution" heated under shirt
the "therm" can be worn wet or dry so it was win win for me as i dive both
i also had a custom adjustable neoprene vest made that i wear over my 4th element artic
i took my idea, undergarments and drysuit in to a custom wetsuit shop and got measured up
the vest even has a hole in the chest for the inflator to sit into
the vest looks similiar to a bullet proof vest
the neoprene vest acts as an isolator and keeps the cold out and the heat in
at depth the pressure keeps the bilam tight to the neoprene
so in effect i am diving a neoprene suit over my core and shell suit over my legs and arms
the nice thing about the vest is it does not get wet and heavy as it is inside the drysuit
the other nice thing is i can also wear it over my exiting wetsuits as a core warmer
i now wear less under garments, am much warmer and dropped about 12 lbs off the 36 lbs

 

[soonerwink]

I have a 2 piece lava core suit that I wear as an undergarment when the water temps are in the 60's. It works very well.

 

[Ken T]

My wife has used her 3mm wetsuit under her Bare nex gen drysuit.
She was happy with the results.

Disclaimer, this is in mountain lakes during the summer with warm days for the surface interval.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Which one is it? The standard or the extreme? GF is interested in the extreme. The lavacore that is.

 

[soonerwink]

I would say it is the standard since I never heard of the extreme. I bought it through leisure pro.