drysuit undergarments - which one

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

I have dove artic, artic expedition, and whites fusion.

My favorite is the whites fusion one piece, it has the best mobility, is as warm as the FE. But it is harder to get on. The artic expedition was just as warm but too bulky for me. The Arctic’s are almost as warm, a lot easier to put on, and my go to in a little warmer water.
 
so I just got my first drysuit, a waterproof D7. now comes the choice in undergarment. the two I am trying to decide between is the waterproof meshtec and the fourth element artic. I plan to use either wool base layers (which I don't have yet) or nike hyperwarm top and bottom (which I do have). this will be mainly for quarry diving through the winter here in NC. any thoughts are appreciated.

im guessing 40-50 F and 40-60 mins

I have a trilam suit and dive 40-50F for around 30 to 60 minutes (multiple times a day for multiple days) and I found the 4th element arctic to do great. I currently have a leak in my right leg right now. I can feel the cold when the water gets down around 40F but it is still comfortable enough to dive.
 
thanks for the input. I am definitely open to suggestions. what might be better?

For that temperature, I’d do the Halo instead of the Arctic.
For comparison, I’m using an Arctic for 1-2 hour dives in 70 degree water with a rebreather.

I don’t think it’ll be warm enough for 1 hour dives in 40-50 degree water. Arctic is kinda an entry level suit in terms of warmth.
 
I have the Fourth Element Halo 3D and the Santi BZ400. In terms of bulk, the Santi makes harder to put on my dry suit. In terms of warmth when dry, they are about the same.

The real difference is when you have a leak. I froze with a minor leak in my chest with the Santi. With my 3D, it insulates much better when wet. I experienced leaks with the same tri lam dry suit

Once I had a full flood in a crushed neoprene dry suit. I knew something wasn’t right, but I was perfectly warm still. I was pouring water out of my dry suit while I was still in it by being in a push up position with my feet elevated.

I don’t dive my crushed neoprene dry suit that I’ll sell after an ice diving class
 
I dive the Artic Expedition ones, I have been comfortable down to the mid 30’s that being said, it depends on your suit material as well. A trilam would be colder than my 4mm neoprene. But if you want warm, check out weezle dive wear from the UK a lot of our local commercial guys use them here.
 
im guessing 40-50 F and 40-60 mins

That is already cold, and your dives most probably will get longer. I you can don your equipment without sweating too much, most good medium weight undergarments will be fine. For one dive. But if you plan doing several dives per day and don't have a nice cold climate and shadow on surface, you will eventually be diving with damp undergarments with significantly reduced efficiency.
I think Santi BZ400X or Weezle Extreme+ won't be overkill for you. Thinner undergarment and electric heating is one option, especially if you don't do deco. For deco you must wear enough garment to prevent hypothermia in the case your electric heating fails.
 
Which one requires more weight?
I think they are fairly equal, as the BZ compresses far more than the 3D. So it starts bulkier above the surface, but it doesn't appear to remain that way under pressure.

Now maybe I'm pulling that out of a dark place, as I haven't tried to do precise weight determination with the BZ. I haven't noticed any difference/issues when switching.
 
just wanted to provide an update. I decided to go with the Waterproof 300g warmtec because it was the cheapest option and was among the 'heavier' options. this past weekend was the first opportunity to try it out. I had the 250g meriwool top and bottom base layer and the Waterproof suit. the dive was 45 minutes at 55F. I was very comfortable the whole dive and maybe a little warm on top (air temp 58F). we'll see how the rest of the winter goes LOL. thanks to all for the input.
 

Back
Top Bottom