Drysuit Undergarments for Dutch

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Mike126

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Herndon VA
I have my drysuit checkout dive this weekend and wanted to get some advice for undergarments. I have a 2 piece 250gram fleece set that I bought off eBay from Rondel, a set of REI heavyweight long underwear that is wicking and a polypropylene lightweight shirt and pants. So what is a good combination to stay warm? I'm also wearing wool socks. My drysuit rental is a Bare Nextgen trilam.

Thanks



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The correct answer is "It depends" really, since no one here knows anything about you, your temp sensitivity, etc.

Personally, I would always opt for a thin wicking layer plus a medium/heavier outer layer rather than just a single heavy layer. I find it's more comfortable/flexible to have two layers than can "slide" separate from each other. For the first dive I'd suggest the thin layer plus the lighter of the other two. Water isn't too cold this time of year (and you won't be terribly deep on a drysuit class) and even if you are a touch chilly it shouldn't be too bad. If you end up really/uncomfortably cold on dive one (or a set gets wet) you can swap for the heavier set for dive two.

Note that some instructors will get pissy if you change undergarments between dives as that will impact your weighting. Too bad for them... if you need to change undergarments or other config things that change your weight, so be it.

However, do be sure to discuss your thinking before dive one, and also tell your instructor if you do change anything between dives. It's a real pain to have a student corking/sinking during the second dive (after you've really dialed their weighting in on dive one) only to find out that they changed something between dives without telling me and/or making any adjustments to accommodate.
 
The correct answer is "It depends" ... Water isn't too cold this time of year (and you won't be terribly deep on a drysuit class) and even if you are a touch chilly it shouldn't be too bad. If you end up really/uncomfortably cold on dive one (or a set gets wet) you can swap for the heavier set for dive two.

RJP is correct. It depends on several factors, including how deep you dive. I was there last week. The water temperature below the thermocline was 50 deg. Above 30 ft. it was 70 deg! It felt tropical. Almost too warm above the cline. I was wet in a 7mm.
 
Yes I guess my temp sensitivity would help! [emoji3]. I guess I would say I can tolerate cold pretty well. Diving a 7mm I'm good into the mid 60s.

I was planning on having the light layer on and then adding a second layer. My guess is we will be around 30-40 feet max so temps should be in the 60s/ low 70s.

I guess I should add a couple of weight pockets to my BPW to make weight adjustment easier.


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I was there on July 18th, trying out my new drysuit. I had a 300g polartec undergarment on. I was nice and comfortable around the platform, temps in the 60's. When we did the tanker, 50 degrees, it was cold. I am going back this week end and will wear a wicking layer beneath the undergarment.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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