Body suit under wet suit

[Laurie S.]

Lycra diveskins work great. I use them under my 3 mm and 5 mm, but not my 1 mm, although I could. It does provide a bit more thermal help.

 

[ams511]

+1 on the lycra but I think the thermal protection comes from water trapped underneath and within the fabric rather than the fabric itself. I hate neoprene, especially thick neoprene - weight issues, flexability issues. I never wear more than a 3mm even when the water temp is in the low 50's °F (and here it always is, at the second thermocline). I layer one or two polyolefin full body suits (2mm equiv, no buoyancy) and a 3mm vest (minimal buoyancy) as needed. Wearing all of them I've got 7mm equiv arms & legs and 10mm equiv core and only need 12 pounds of lead and have good flexibility. If I could lose my gut I could drop even more lead.

What polyolefin suits do you use?

 

[Kharon]

What polyolefin suits do you use?

I have 2 henderson suits - a L and a 2XL so they fit over each other. The L is actually a wee bit small for me and I may get an XL and try to sell the L. The one thing I don't like so much about the hendersons is that they have a lycra shoulder (probably to make it easier to get on and off). If that area were polyolefin as well I wouldn't need the 3mm vest. The thing I do like about them is that they are half what the Lava Core suits are. Here are a couple of links:
Buy Henderson polyolefin jumpsuit P810UF with reviews at scuba.com
Henderson Polyolefin Jumpsuit with Spine Pad Unisex at LeisurePro

 

[Nirvana]

I like to use a Lycra suit underneath the wetsuit, too. I find it helps putting the suit on and taking it off. I haven't tried diving with just the Lycra and I very rarely don't wear it which my wetsuits, though, so I can't comment in depth on its thermal benefits. I can say it doesn't make me more comfortable than other people diving without it in similar wetsuits, based on what they report.

 

[Ricky B]

Does a bodysuit help with warming up during a surface interval? It appears that stripping off a wet wetsuit and then putting it back on when the surface interval is over is a lot easier (and more pleasant). So it would help in that you get rid of the evaporative cooling that comes with wearing a wet wetsuit. Aside from that, does wearing the bodysuit help with warmth on the surface. Or, because the bodysuit too is wet, you would strip that off as well and put on some fleece? Or does it dry quickly enough that you could put a fleece over it and not be cold? I am thinking of Northern California diving, not the tropics.

 

[billt4sf]

Does a bodysuit help with warming up during a surface interval? It appears that stripping off a wet wetsuit and then putting it back on when the surface interval is over is a lot easier (and more pleasant). So it would help in that you get rid of the evaporative cooling that comes with wearing a wet wetsuit. Aside from that, does wearing the bodysuit help with warmth on the surface. Or, because the bodysuit too is wet, you would strip that off as well and put on some fleece? Or does it dry quickly enough that you could put a fleece over it and not be cold? I am thinking of Northern California diving, not the tropics.

No, a "skin" makes you more cold during a surface interval, because it is wet and evaporating, as you suggested. But sometimes that's a good thing -- like on a very warm day in the tropics. And it helps with sun protection. If I were using one under a wetsuit in N. CA, I would plan to take it off, and then probably you would want a fleece.

We dive in Northern CA too and dry suits are great (once you get used to how they work). Those Northern CA winters often provide GREAT temps for a dry surface interval! Our "winters" are better in so many ways for diving than our summers.

- Bill

 

[lunula]

I have 2 lycra skins I take with me and switch them out so I'm always using a dry one. They definitely help with getting my wetsuit on and I like them b/c they provide sun protection since I can't slather on sunscreen. I love mine.

 

[Meggie66]

Don't know whether these are available anywhere else but Australia, but I wear a Sharkskin under my wetsuit - it's lycra on the outside and fleece on the inside, the manufacturers say it adds equivalent warmth to 3mm of neoprene. Not sure how they figure that out, but I do find it keeps me warmer plus makes the wetsuit easier to get on. I wear it under my 7mm wetsuit in winter so I don't need a dry suit (water gets down to about 15-16 degrees celcius here) and then in summer I just wear the wetsuit. If your priority is getting the wetsuit on rather than warmth, one low cost option is to put your foot in a plastic bag and slide it on over that, then remove the plastic bag when the wetsuit's on. I've gotten some strange looks doing this but didn't have to work up a sweat struggling with the suit!

 

[knotical]

Don't know whether these are available anywhere else but Australia, but I wear a Sharkskin under my wetsuit - it's lycra on the outside and fleece on the inside ...

Sounds like the so-called polyolefin suits mentioned in posts 6, 10 and 13 above. More generically they're known as fleece wetsuits. Available in many countries, under multiple brand names, including Sharkskin and Polartec. Each major manufacturer does something a bit differently, but essentially they are all as you describe. I like them because they are neutrally buoyant, stretch nicely to hug my weird body, are easy to doff and don, and lend themselves to layering. I even use one as a drysuit undergarment. Downsides, they are rather expensive, and need to be treated gently.

 

[CathyE]

I always wear my Lycra skin under my wetsuit. The suit slides on and off easily, right side out for ease in getting back into after the SI.
No sunscreen required and no wardrobe malfunctions to worry about.


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