Thinsulate Compression

[FishDiver]

I used general purpose poly plush undergarments for my first few hundred drysuit dives. When I began to do mostly sub-50 degree dives, I broke down and bought a specialized thinsulate drysuit undergarment. The brand is Mobys by Mares and is is (or was) 400g.

I have used it on a few dozen dives and washed it 3-4 times; cold water, delicate cycle. Once I let it hang dry, other times it went in the dryer on the coolest air temp setting.

The garment has lost significant loft since it was new. I would estimate current loft at 1/3 of new. The thinsulate was much warmer than generic plush when new, but the plush didn't lose any noticeable loft no matter how often it was used or laundered.

Part of my decision to buy a special thinsulate garment was that it was supposed to retain loft better when wet and/or under compression. Is my experience common?

 

[BabyDuck]

oh, honey, that's a *lot* of washing. did you use detergent? did you use fabric softener?

yes, i think your experience is common with heavily washed thinsulate.

 

[PfcAJ]

Stop washing it. Washing it is the worst thing you can do to it. If you do need to wash it (such as a severe p-valve mishap), use just a little powder detergent on old water as gentle as you can get it (consider hand-washing it in the bathtub) and rinse it twice. Air dry, no heat.

Also, don't hang it. The inner thinsulate material will pull down and separate.

To make your undergarment stink less between washings, try wearing a wicking baselayer under it. I use UnderArmour ColdGear, which can be washed repeatedly.

On a brighter note, there are some ridiculously cheap undergarments for sale on DUI's factory refurbished list.

 

[PfcAJ]

.....

 

[kathydee]

+1 for stop washing it & for UnderArmour ColdGear 3.0.

I either air or tumble dry on the most gentle dryer cycle.

 

[FishDiver]

oh, honey, that's a *lot* of washing. did you use detergent? did you use fabric softener?

yes, i think your experience is common with heavily washed thinsulate.

3-4 times is heavily washed???-oops. I used very little liquid detergent and no softener.

Stop washing it. Washing it is the worst thing you can do to it. If you do need to wash it (such as a severe p-valve mishap), use just a little powder detergent on old water as gentle as you can get it (consider hand-washing it in the bathtub) and rinse it twice. Air dry, no heat.

Mea culpa on the need to wash. It really had to be done. If you can't dry it and can't hang it how do you dry and store it???

Would it help if I ran the garment through the washer on cold and delicate just to rinse out any excess soap?

 

[Can't swim]

Put a tennis ball or two in the dryer with the garments, it will refluff them. We did that our down jackets/vests years ago. Works like a charm.

 

[PfcAJ]

3-4 times is heavily washed???-oops. I used very little liquid detergent and no softener.


Mea culpa on the need to wash. It really had to be done. If you can't dry it and can't hang it how do you dry and store it???

Would it help if I ran the garment through the washer on cold and delicate just to rinse out any excess soap?

If you really need to wash your undergarment 3 times in 12 dives, you're doin' it wrong.

Most in home dryers have a no-heat setting. When I lived in an apt that didn't have a dryer, I laid it out on the carpet with fans over it. It took a while, but it worked. I store mine in the DUI bags or supermarket fabric Green Bags (I own a bunch of thinsulate undergarments).

 

[PfcAJ]

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