Flexible but warm drysuit undergarment?

[Hal]

Recommendations for undergarments that are warm enough for 40-50 degree water but still not so bulky/constraining to prevent reaching posts/manifold on doubles? Anyone every try woolx - 400g merino?

Thanks,

Hal

 

[Marie13]

My Thermal Fusion is very flexible. I dived it in 41F Lake Michigan water Sat. Core was warm (feet and hands were chilly).

 

[Storker]

I wouldn't recommend wool for your thermal layer, but I'd most definitely recommend it for your base/wicking layer. For the thermal layer, I'd go for a synthetic-based undersuit. Much lighter, transports moisture better and dries a lot faster.

The funky odor is more or less trapped in the base/wicking layer since that's what's next to the skin, and apart from its many other excellent properties, wool is unique in how much funk it can handle before it gets funky.

What undersuit to choose depends a lot on what is available to you. Unless the conditions are fairly extreme (typically below some 4C), there are a lot of brands which will work just fine.

 

[taimen]

Recommendations for undergarments that are warm enough for 40-50 degree water but still not so bulky/constraining to prevent reaching posts/manifold on doubles? Anyone every try woolx - 400g merino?

Weezle is actually very unrestrictive when correctly sized (means large and baggy). You don't say how long dives your dives are, so the correct model is somewhere between compact and extreme+
Polartec fleece undersuits like Kwark Navy are great and surprisingly warm for their thickness/weight.

 

[Scuba Cobra]

I use fourth element arctic undergarments. They are thin and even flooded with 40 degree water they have kept me very warm.

 

[elgoog]

I use the WoolX 400g as a base layer with 450gr Thinsulate in 50F water - no way it's sufficiently warm on its own.
In fact, I did a dive with those paired with a 150gr PolarFleece undergarment and got cold after 45min in 51F water.

Kwark Navy or Bare SB (which I think are very similar) are the most flexible I've tried and still work in this water temp but, for me, only for dives in the 45-60min range. As @taimen mentioned, duration of dive will be a huge factor - most of my dives are in the 90min-2hr range and I layer 400gr WoolX, 450gr Thinsulate and sometimes even a 200gr Thinsulate vest.

 

[taimen]

A vest can make a big difference and a combining a vest with thinner undersuits allows very good flexibility.
In 4C water I am warm with 200g merino wicking layer, Santi heated vest and a Santi BZ400X or Weezle extreme+ for 3 hours. Usually do not need the heating at all.
For 1 hour, a merino layer, Santi vest and Kwark Navy is warm enough and much more flexible and enjoyable to dive. That time can be extended with heating, but you should not rely on electric heating if planning deco.

 

[DBPacific]

Is there anything that needs to be special about drysuit undergarments? Like, would thermal clothes for skiing/snowsports work just as well?

 

[Storker]

Is there anything that needs to be special about drysuit undergarments? Like, would thermal clothes for skiing/snowsports work just as well?

Depends on how much insulation you need.

I'd think that both this and this undersuit would be way too warm for topside activities like skiing/snowsports (but perhaps suitable for fishing on the ice...), although they are well regarded around here. If your waters are only moderatly chilly, you might get away with fleece undergarments for topside use. And if you're diving a neoprene drysuit, you usually won't need such heavy undergarments since the suit material provides a bit of insulation in itself. My first drysuit was a 4mm compressed neoprene, and I was fairly OK down to some 6-ish degrees C with only a couple of layers of wool underwear.

 

[ajduplessis]

Weezle's hands down