Just got my dry suit

[Bob3]

Just like any other activity, what you wear under your drysuit will depend on several factors, such as water temps, your work load, duration of dive, etc.
In warm water I just kick off my boots, empty pockets into them & jump into the suit.
For really cold stuff I've been known to look darn near like the Michelin Man, and once I had to remove a couple layers 'cuz I couldn't bend my arms anymore (28ºf water - 4 hours).
You'll want to log down the water temps, workload, type of undies & how comfy you were after the dive. If you dive a lot it'll become second nature, just like peeking outside before you decide which jacket/s etc to wear.
Military surplus polypro is excellent stuff to use; be sure to tuck the tops into the bottoms to prevent riding up.
You'll probably want to add some thin sporting polypro (maybe even a unionsuit) underneath the arctic weight stuff, and the "wooly bear suit" type of undies made from Polartec makes a great top layer for really cold stuff.
Have a vest of some sort available too.
Being over dressed isn't a good thing either, as sweating will chill you quite a bit 'till the moisture has a chance to migrate away. You'll be sweating for the first 10 minutes, then the teeth will be chattering for 15 minutes or so.
Keep the polypro closest to the skin, outer layers of 50/50 or 60/40 blends of wool/synthetic are OK.
In warm water the same proportions of a cotton/synthetic can be gotten away with, as in sweatshirt/sweat pants over polypro.
Any amount of cotton is a no-no in cold water though.

 

[pipedope]

You want to see a mad diver check out a FL commercial diver just after a contaminated water dive.

The suit is sometimes better called an isolation suit as the inside is no longer dry.

Sometimes we simply can't use the cold water oversuit.

 

[scubadobadoo]

I also just bought a bare ct200 and some light polypro long undies. What temps have they (the above combo) been good in for you guys that have them? How has the buoyancy been? Overall feelings welcome...thanks in advance.

 

[Paco]

I also just bought a bare ct200 and some light polypro long undies. What temps have they (the above combo) been good in for you guys that have them? How has the buoyancy been? Overall feelings welcome...thanks in advance.

I just did my ice dives (water temps 32F to mid 30sF) with the nex gen and ct200. Under the ct200 I wore a polypro top, just skivies on the bottom. I was very warm, though I think my 30 lbs. was a bit much weight. I'll take off two at a time for my next dives till I get it tuned just right. Oh, and under the booties I wore fleece socks with the foot warmers between. Feet were toasty too. Head was kept warm with a neoprene hood

 

[Warren_L]

I've had mine in 32F water in my XCD2 without wearing much underneath the CT-200 and was quite comfortable.

 

[scubadobadoo]

My Wife and I just got our first dry suits (tls350's) today at the LDS! Bummer though, the shop was trimming the seals on my Wife's and the neck seal split! OUCH!!! They are fixing it for us. Crud happens I guess.

So, I got home and put my poly pro undies, bare ct200, and tls350 on in the livingroom and I thought I would die from heat! Please tell me I will cool off in 50f water? Yikes! If I am going to sweat that much under my dry suit I might as well use a wet suit. Nonetheless, man I THINK I looked cool. LOL! I looked like a really rich bag lady...huh, bag MAN I mean. Thoughts on sweating and roasting? I have my pool session Monday for dry suit class. My wife is bummed. She will have to use a loaner for now. Congrats all on your new suits too!

 

[Warren_L]

50 degree water? A CT-200 might be a bit much, but then again, but when it comes to water temp, people have compared me to a penguin before (see avatar!). I've had my CT-200 in a 2mm compressed neoprene suit in the low 30s and have been toasty warm. But the tls350 is trilam with less insulating factor than 2mm neo. But still, I think in 50F water it might be a bit much, but this can vary greatly from individual to individual.

 

[String]

Ok, don't know if you can get them there, but have just bought and dived with a Weezle Extreme + . Is absolutley roasting. 9 Degrees water and i am sweating. Lovely. Maximum comfort.

I use the Extreme non plus. In the winter i tend to wear a tracksuit bottoms and thin top under it as without them im cold. Even in the summer ive never been too hot on a dive (water gets to maybe 16c) although surface interval on the 2 days a year the air temp gets about 22c is a bit uncomfortable as im stuck in the suit on a small boat for 6-7 hours.

The fact my old drysuit usually let in roughly 2 pints of water per dive may have something to do with cold though. Not had a chance to test my new suit - had it 2 months and weather has stopped me diving. 75mph winds again all weekend here.

On a side note i think ive broken my undersuit - bought the wash-in wicking replacer stuff for it but not drops of water stay on the INSIDE materal as well as the outside, they arent wicked through. Im guessing that wasnt meant to happen.

 

[jonnythan]

I use the Extreme non plus. In the winter i tend to wear a tracksuit bottoms and thin top under it as without them im cold. Even in the summer ive never been too hot on a dive (water gets to maybe 16c) although surface interval on the 2 days a year the air temp gets about 22c is a bit uncomfortable as im stuck in the suit on a small boat for 6-7 hours.

The fact my old drysuit usually let in roughly 2 pints of water per dive may have something to do with cold though. Not had a chance to test my new suit - had it 2 months and weather has stopped me diving. 75mph winds again all weekend here.

On a side note i think ive broken my undersuit - bought the wash-in wicking replacer stuff for it but not drops of water stay on the INSIDE materal as well as the outside, they arent wicked through. Im guessing that wasnt meant to happen.

Wicking is a property of the fabric itself, not any sort of coating. There's a thing called DWR (durable water repellent) sold as a wash-in under such names as TX-Direct. These are intended to reapply a Scotch Guard like coating to fabrics that are meant to be waterproof or water repellent.. I know of no "wicking" wash-in that may exist. I hope you didn't use a DWR on a wicking undergarment... if water "beads up" on either side of a wicking fabric, it's obviously repelling water like a wax and is no longer wicking. A wicking fabric absorbs water and disperses it throughout the [and preferably outer layer of] the fabric so it can evaporate.. it certainly doesn't collect it in drops on the face of the fabric.

 

[String]

The Weezle has Pertex which provides the wicking effect. Its that i think ive messed up with the rewashing.