Long post incoming. I haven't been around that much lately. I've been out for a few dives here and there and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the my new GoPro HDHero3 Black
![:) :)](./../images/smilies/smile.gif)
Here is a list of the Drysuits and Undersuits we have tried so far:
Drysuits:
DUI CF200
DUI TLS350
Mares Neoprene Suit
Whites Fusion
(Outside the Fusion being especially cold the suits didn't make much difference)
Undersuits:
DUI Powerstretch with Dive Concepts Thinsulate Vest
DUI Heated Suit Demo
Weezle Extreme
Waterproof of Sweden Warmtec
Whites MK3 with Extra White's Mk2 Fleece Vest
4th Element Arctic Undersuit with Xerotherm Underlayer
Beneath the undersuits is thin insulating technical outerwear (Under Armor Cold Gear Metal)
There wasn't a drastic difference in the feeling of warmth between the various undersuits. We had high hopes for the DUI Electric suit, but the prototype (last year) was very weak. The heating it provided was inconsistent and would regularly shut off producing "waves" of heat and then extreme cold. I know there is a higher level of Weezle (the Extreme+), but we haven't been able to try that yet. We planned to try a 4th Element Halo suit, but haven't yet had the chance.
Outside of the insulation we have tried various options. He wears a double layer of thick liners in his gloves and we use disposable chemical heat packs to warm them. Even so he is forced to keep his gloves inflated like hamburger helper hands to keep them insulated in the water. I looked in to switching him to a dry hood. However all the dry hoods we tried on fit his head very poorly and seemed to lack a form fitting shape or smoothness of a latex seal.
Lately we have talked about potentially getting him an Argon tank setup for his suit. At 3X the density of air it would seem to provide a significant boost to insulation, however most of the descriptions I have read from people that use it seem to imply the insulation increase is fairly marginal, especially compared to straight air with no Helium. Not to mention the annoyance of needing Argon fills, booster tanks, a new bottle and regulator, etc.
Looking around this year I see that there are some new heated undersuits on the market. DUI has revised their system and is listing it under the "BlueHeat" name. Not sure if they have resolved the inconsistent heating issues we encountered in the test system. I see that Santi is selling a heated version of their BZ400 undersuit. The suit isn't cheap, but has some nice options like being made to measure and support P-Valve holes. I know people on the board like Santi's gear, has anyone dove a BZ400 undersuit? or tried their heating system? The other option would be some kind of heated vest. I've looked at a few options, but haven't tried any.
One final note, this suit is just being used for recreational, non decompression dives. The improvements are purely for comfort in the water, so concerns about the electric suit not having redundant heat for safety aren't a huge deal. Basically I am just trying to get my buddy to want to do more than one dive without calling it a day. I have noticed that my buddy seems especially affected by tiredness after dives which I attribute to a combination of the fatigue from the cold and less efficient nitrogen off-gassing.
I'd love some more ideas or impressions of the various suits (and Argon). I know the knee jerk reaction is to say, just dive tropical. With my buddy's schedule short local trips are a lot easier to arrange, so I'd rather not give up on cold water diving with him if I don't have to :\.