Under Armour under my dry suit?
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Bubbletrubble
Contributor
If your drysuit material doesn't provide much thermal protection (shell drysuit?), then the T100 may not keep you warm enough in water temps in the mid-40s. I have a Bare Nex-Gen (bilam shell) that I wear with a T100 and a medium-weight polarfleece top.
I always wear polypro long underwear beneath the drysuit undergarments. The underwear gets washed very frequently, the T100 gets washed very rarely, and I don't have any issues with funky drysuit gear. YMMV.
One more tip: pay attention to foot, hand, and head warmth. The foot material on certain drysuits doesn't provide much thermal protection. Thick wool socks work great for me. In the water temps you're diving in, you might also want to consider drygloves at some point. Get a nicely fitting 7mm (or thicker) drysuit hood and you'll be all set.
I always wear polypro long underwear beneath the drysuit undergarments. The underwear gets washed very frequently, the T100 gets washed very rarely, and I don't have any issues with funky drysuit gear. YMMV.
One more tip: pay attention to foot, hand, and head warmth. The foot material on certain drysuits doesn't provide much thermal protection. Thick wool socks work great for me. In the water temps you're diving in, you might also want to consider drygloves at some point. Get a nicely fitting 7mm (or thicker) drysuit hood and you'll be all set.
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UnderArmour Cold Gear is great stuff ... I wear it as a base layer underneath my Weezle Extreme for diving in Puget Sound ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
packeteer
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i wear my sharkskin inside the Fusion suit. it works whether it is wet or dry. During the colder seasons, I will also add a fleece jumper over the top
My Dry suit is a White Fusion. Next week, I am going ice diving in 37 - 39 F water and I will be wearing polypropylene socks and underwear, heavy weight wool socks, felt slippers, heavy weight poly/wool underwear and my MK2 long john. In addition, I will be using a White hood and dry gloves with wool inserts.
Having said that, I do not wear my MK2 jacket underneath as I find that it is too bulky with eveything else plus the fact that I do not feel I need it, especially while swimming around. By the way, I am a very lazy swimmer when I scuba dive. As somebody else mentions, dry suit material will dictate how much you should be wearing underneath for the comfort level that you require. I also find that extremities are areas requiring some attention (hands and feet) as they could easily make the dive not so enjoyable. Therefore you need to keep them warm as well.
Having said that, I do not wear my MK2 jacket underneath as I find that it is too bulky with eveything else plus the fact that I do not feel I need it, especially while swimming around. By the way, I am a very lazy swimmer when I scuba dive. As somebody else mentions, dry suit material will dictate how much you should be wearing underneath for the comfort level that you require. I also find that extremities are areas requiring some attention (hands and feet) as they could easily make the dive not so enjoyable. Therefore you need to keep them warm as well.
sdiver68
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I used to wear Underarmor until I discovered REI arctic base layer and Smartwool products. Smartwool is the best! In regards to cotton, pretty much it sucks in relation to hot or cold conditions above or below water.
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fisheater
Contributor
I use UnderArmour Base 2.0 as a base layer for my drysuit. (100 weight polypro undergarments with High Tide compressed neo drysuit.) No problems at 45 degrees.
The wicking effect is very pronounced in the UnderArmour.
As to overall warmth, don't skimp on a hood. Get something really warm. I LOVE my Otter Bay hood, as do many, many hard corps cold water divers on the west coast.
The wicking effect is very pronounced in the UnderArmour.
As to overall warmth, don't skimp on a hood. Get something really warm. I LOVE my Otter Bay hood, as do many, many hard corps cold water divers on the west coast.
fstbttms
Contributor
I doubt it. You need something to wick moisture off the skin, otherwise you get clammy and cold in a hurry. I wear medium-weight REI polypro underwear in 48° water under my 6mm neoprene drysuit. Keeps me comfortable for hours.
Rascally Rabbit
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I'm taking the multi-layer approach to undergarments after attempting using an undergarment that was advertized as far warmer than what you'd expect in a thin undergarment. I was far to cold using my thin carbon fiber and polyester undergarment. I have since acquired a set of Cold-Proof Polypropelene thermal underwear for under the carbon fiber jumpsuit and a Hollis AUG 100 as a final undergarment layer. The first 2 layers should provide good wicking and moderate warmth then when needed I can bump up my protection with the AUG 100 for colder days.
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+1 on UnderArmour Cold Gear 3.0. Although the water maybe cold, on the surface getting geared up, you sweat. The UnderArmour and other similar products mentioned above are really good at wicking this dampness away from your skin. Layers of thinsulate and polar fleece on top of that will be what insulates. I use 300gm polar fleece onepiece with a 300gm vest in SoCal, but here in FL use less over the UA. There is always a bit of trial and error in the beginning to figure out what layers work best for you. It took me a while to figure out that if my feet were cold, I was cold all over. When I reached 2 layers of wool socks under the 300 gm polar fleece socks, I was no longer cold without changing any of the other layers.
One other thing to consider in the beginning. As you decend you will add a bit of air which your body will warm to keep you warm. However in the learning phases, you'll probably spend more time venting and adding air over and over until you get the feel for your bouyancy. Remember that each time you vent, warm air exits the suit and when you add air, it's cold air. Essentially your body's "space heater" has to keep re-heating the same space over and over each time you vent using up your "core heat stores".
Just sharing part of my learning curve.
One other thing to consider in the beginning. As you decend you will add a bit of air which your body will warm to keep you warm. However in the learning phases, you'll probably spend more time venting and adding air over and over until you get the feel for your bouyancy. Remember that each time you vent, warm air exits the suit and when you add air, it's cold air. Essentially your body's "space heater" has to keep re-heating the same space over and over each time you vent using up your "core heat stores".
Just sharing part of my learning curve.
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