Comparative warmth, or do "core warmers" work?

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!

lairdb

Contributor
Messages
706
Reaction score
211
Wetsuit comparative warmth; OK, I'm conflicted. I know that a full suit in 5/4 works for me down to about 70degF, I know that up through 84degF I tend to get chilled by the second dive in a 3mm shorty. So, I need at *least* a 3mm full. (Forget the lycra stuff; been there, froze that.)

This "core warmer" concept seems pretty clever -- if it works. If I've got my 3mm full, can I pull a core warmer (of what thickness) on over it and achieve comparative warmth to a 5mm (or more?)? (Doesn't that giant opening just suck new cold water in?)

(Yes, I could get a 3mm full *and* a 5mm full -- but I'd either pack the wrong one, or always have to pack both; seems to me that packing the 3mm and a core warmer would be more practical.)

Does anyone have good (or bad) experience with the core warmer concept? Thanks.

--Laird
 
I've been using hooded vests underneath suits since the 60s, they add an overall measure of warmth that's in excess of what would be expected just from the added insulation thickness.
The back of the neck on a suit just LOVE to scoop up water & it'll chill you very quick, no matter how thick the chest material is.
plain vest = waltz
hooded vest = rock & roll
 
Bob3:
I've been using hooded vests underneath suits since the 60s, they add an overall measure of warmth that's in excess of what would be expected just from the added insulation thickness.
The back of the neck on a suit just LOVE to scoop up water & it'll chill you very quick, no matter how thick the chest material is.
plain vest = waltz
hooded vest = rock & roll

Errrm, yes, hood good, hooded vest better, but I'm hoping for some comparartive sense -- say I add a 3mm hooded vest, or a 3mm "core warmer" to a 3mm full suit, will I be as warm as if I were in a 5mm full suit, or only as if I were in a 5/3?

--Laird
 
I'd have to say that a 3mm suit with a 3mm hooded vest might even keep you warmer than a 5mm full suit, depending on fit, hood, etc.
Adding a vest w/o hood will knock you back down to just the material thickness, 5/3.
I really can't overstate how much extra warmth you pick up by having that hood on the vest.
 
Bob3:
I'd have to say that a 3mm suit with a 3mm hooded vest might even keep you warmer than a 5mm full suit, depending on fit, hood, etc.
Adding a vest w/o hood will knock you back down to just the material thickness, 5/3.
I really can't overstate how much extra warmth you pick up by having that hood on the vest.

(Thinking out loud, here.) It's probably more trouble than it's worth, but I relaized one way to reporesent the question is in terms of having an ordered list of the possible combinations of exposure protection. This might be more trouble than it's worth, but conceptually interesting. Take, for example, this ordered list of four:

swimsuit
3mm shorty
5mm shorty
7/7mm FJ

Now, where does "3mm full" go? Is the perceived warmth of a 3mm full greater, eqivalent, or lesser than, a 5mm shorty?

My original question then becomes: Given

3mm shorty
3mm full
5/4 full

...where does "3mm full with 3mm core warmer" fall?

I would think that answering this would be less individual-related than the usual "what do I need for 68 degrees" questions; this is more comparative (though putting it to a scale eventually would be intereting too.

Bob3 has suggested putting in "3mm full with 3mm hooded vest" as warmer than 5/4 full, and tentatively compared "3mm full with 3mm vest" as being like a 6/3 full, though I'd guess there's some additional loss from the double layer, for:

3mm shorty
3mm full
5/4 full ~ 3mm full with 3mm vest (i.e. too close to call)
3mm full with 3mm hooded vest

Hmmm.

--L
 
I Am One Of Those Perpetually Cold Folks, And I Dive Ne Nj,pa. It Is Always Cold Up Here, And I Find The Core Warmer Over My 7mmm Is Just Fantastic. I Am Warm Even After The 3rd Dive.
 
I always avoid hoods when I can but they really do warm things up.North of Catalina they are pretty much a must. All us cold water divers have enjoyed that rush of 45 degree water down the back after getting heated up standing around in our wetsuit for a while. Recently I purchased a 5m vest with a 7mil hood to use with a 7m jumpsuit. I am hoping for less water exchange. We'll see if it works in Monterey the weekend of the 24th. Heres my theoretical ranking of comparative warmness:

drysuit
7m jumpsuit with hooded sleveless shorty.
7m farmer john with detached hood
7m jumpsuit with hooded vest.
7m jumpsuit with detached hood.
7m farmer john with drysuit hood
7m jumpsuit with drysuit hood

Thats as low as we go in Norcal but you can extrapolate from there. I am more than a little embarrassed to admit I have all the above configurations.Fortunately I have pretty much gotten a grip on my Ebay problem.
 
Brian Gilpin:
Heres my theoretical ranking of comparative warmness:

drysuit
7m jumpsuit with hooded sleveless shorty.
7m farmer john with detached hood
7m jumpsuit with hooded vest.
7m jumpsuit with detached hood.
7m farmer john with drysuit hood
7m jumpsuit with drysuit hood

With the drysuit at the top, I assume that's the warm end, but I'm surprised that the "xx with drysuit hood" is colder than "same-xx with detached hood" -- really?

--Laird
 
Laird:

Since your question was towards a Core Warmer, here's my results with that equipment.

I have a 3mm jumpsuit with a 3mm Core Warmer. This is made by Henderson, and the fit is excellent (it better be, it was custom made). The material for both is gold core.

On a recent trip to Nassau, we saw water temperatures of 78-76 degrees F at the beginning of the trip. We were doing 4 dives a day. My 3mm jumpsuit was more than adequate; I was plenty warm on the last dive of the day.

By the end of the trip, though, water temps had dropped to 70-72 degrees F. I noticed the DMs pulling on 7mm jumpsuits. After a single dive in these temps I could feel the chill with just the jumpsuit. So I chickened out and pulled on the Core Warmer, and it felt just like the begining of the trip, with the last of dive of the day (after 4 dives that day) being toasty warm. I do have to add about 4 lbs to the weight belt, though.

The Core Warmer takes up very little space, slips on easily, is not restrictive. I have not noticed a problem with water circulation at all, and I'm a wimp when it comes to cold. FWIW, my 7mm semi-dry is my "next step" when water gets colder.

Hope this helps! James
 

Back
Top Bottom