Looking for reasonably priced, mid weight drysuit undergarments

Have you checked out the house brand undergarments from DRIS?

 

I am drysuit certified and finally found a good used suit so I have been trying to find undergarments too. I dive in Monterey, CA with temps that are usually 52-54. I usually dive in a 7mm wetsuit with a 5/3 vest & hood combo and I am warm through 2 dives. I got a set of the 32 degree base later from Costco and am going to use my buddy’s old fleece snow hiking gear from REI. Should this be enough to keep me warm? When I did my certification class in April they had us wear a 1 layer onesie and I was freezing for both certification dives.

 

What size are you looking for? I have a aqualung drysuit fleece undergarment worn maybe twice. I believe its a large but i will have to look. If you are interested I will take some pics and post them.

 

Check out Seaskin in the UK. They have some really reasonably priced undergarments (and base layers).

They have a 150 gram and 250 gram undergarment that are made to measure. I have both. They fit great and are good quality so far. (I don't have lots of dives on either one, so I can't say they will hold up forever, but I try not to wash them each time). The only beef I have with them is the wrist cuffs. They are a little stiff and sometimes chafe a bit. But other than that, very solid and literally 1/2 the price of other brands. You will have to pay duty if your order is a high enough total. I think if you only buy one undergarment the total will be low enough that you don't have to pay. But if you DO have to pay, the undergarment is taxed at a much higher rate than their drysuits. When I bought a drysuit and one undergarment, the total tax was about $90. But later when I bought just one undergarment, I didn't get a tax bill at all.

They also have base layers. It's a reasonably priced and nice quality wicking base layer. I am a size medium in nearly everything and their chart said to get a large, which I did, and it fits fine, so make sure to look at the size chart.

I also have some cheap base layers from Uniqlo. Their ultrawarm stuff is nice and adds some warmth (whereas the Seaskin is merely wicking). There is a Uniqlo store at a mall near me (apparently) but I just order online.

 

Base layer: wool. There's a lot of products out there, and unfortunately the great ones cost an arm and a leg. Not that you can't make do with cheaper alternatives, though. But if you can find woolmesh, I strongly recommend it.

Mid layer: whatever you can afford. I used to love the Thinsulate/fleece combos, but they're generally less flexible than the pure fleece undersuits available these days. My current winter undersuit is a Polish job, a No Gravity. Works pretty well.

 

I am a large too. I am 6ft about 190

 

Raiders,

I've dove in Monterey in polypro longjohns, fleece sweatpants, underarmour base shirt, Cabelas Polartec fleece sweatshirt, and a DUI vest. Very comfortable. All my gear is multipurpose hunting, skiing, and diving or whatever.

The trick is to find 100% fleece (ideally Polartec in my opinion). That can be tricky for the sweatpants which usually have cotton in them. My most expensive item was the DUI vest. I got it because it did't have a collar - which most fleece hunting vests have. And it gave a little business to the LDS.

This looks nice: Patagonia Men's Los Gatos Fleece Crew Pullover

 

I read on the Seaskin Nova thread that some people were warm in the 250g/sq m2 undergarments, others were OK. Do you know what weight of fleece you wore in your class? I am usually comfortable in Monterey with an 8/7mm and integrated hood, so I'm also trying to pick my fleece type. Most of the scuba stuff looks like a real ripoff. I can get really nice Patagonia fleece at full price from REI for substantially less. And I love those 32º Heat base layers, dirt cheap and outstanding performance. Since you already have them, I would try the fleece you have and layer as needed.

 

I buy cashmere and wool sweaters from goodwill for like $8. Get a seamstress to make pants from a couple of them. I did my own. Don't look great but the warmest stuff around for dirt cheap. Wear wool socks. I tuck the pants into the socks. Makes donning easier.

 

I am not crazy about heavyweight undergarment, because they restrict my range of motion, severely.