Northwest Dive Club

Hey y'all,

I currently dive the Fourth Element Arctic and it's cold here in Seattle! It also does not hold up well when flooded. That's why I'm going to thinsulate.

I've narrowed my choices to the Diving Concepts TPS Extreme, Santi 400BZ, and DUI Xm450. What does everyone think about the under suits?

Cheers!
Will

I hear many people SWEAR by the weezle. If only there was someone on this board that could answer questions about that particular undergarment,,,

The Weezle stays warm by loft. I've heard that it sucks when wet. Thinsulate has been proven to stay warm when wet. Thats why I want thinsulate.

I have a USIA Exotherm III and I'm very well pleased with it. You might also check out their "Exotherm Superstretch" which is supposedly tested in the cold waters in Oregon and the Puget Sound.

You planning to flood your suit a lot?

I assume you dive a shell suit, so my suggestions would be not-so-useful...(I dive a neoprene with a dive skin/fleece combo)

Not sure about 90 minute dives but I am very happy with 4th Element Halo + Xerotherm base layer.

KaizerWilhelm wrote:The Weezle stays warm by loft. I've heard that it sucks when wet. Thinsulate has been proven to stay warm when wet. Thats why I want thinsulate.

The Weezle most definitely does NOT suck when wet.

KaizerWilhelm wrote:The Weezle stays warm by loft. I've heard that it sucks when wet. Thinsulate has been proven to stay warm when wet. Thats why I want thinsulate.

You heard wrong. I'm not sure who would have told you that lttle bit of nonsense, but reality is quite the opposite!

If you don't believe me, check out this thread: http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=17536

Staying warm while wet is 0ne of the best selling point's of the Weezle! Lot's of folks here will swear by them.

So how is the Weezle compared to the UGs I listed?

KaizerWilhelm wrote:So how is the Weezle compared to the UGs I listed?

I can't comment on the UGs you listed, but I found the Weezle Extreme to be about the same as the Artics. I haven't tried the Extreme Plus personally, but I understand it is considerably warmer.

I have a weezle and its probably the warmest undergarment ive had.. And i;ve had multiple zipper leaks on my previous drysuit with this undergarment and it kepts me pretty warm when wet.

I love my weezle, the only gripe I have is it makes my legs floaty in my TLS.. but i guess you can fix it with some ankle weights body positioning and Jet or F1 fins.

What are these 'ankle weights' you speak of????

whaddaya mean? I never said anything about ankle weights...

must been a ninja. Time to bring the pirates out to fight them!

I had to use gaiters with my Weezle to help reduce the floaty legs.

Hello, my name is Gdog, its been 5 days since my last dive, and I use ankle weights....
is there a 12 step progam available?

I like my Fourth Element Arctic, but then again I have no problem diving wet either.

I'm surprisingly a fan of my new Hollis undergarments. Wicked cheap in comparison to other undergarments, and really warm. The Aug100 is the lightest one they had. I get cold after about an hour or so, but the Aug200 is very very warm. I'll have more details on that after this weekend. $160 for the 200 I believe.

D

eliseaboo wrote:You planning to flood your suit a lot?

+1

This cracked me up...

The idea of spending 3 or4 scuba units on an undergarment and being cold EVER just makes me twitch. So, taking no chances, when I did drop the coin I bought a Weezle Extreme Plus. I will NOT wear this suit in the Summer, but I am absolutely toasty warm right now in the coldest part of the year. Extra loft equals extra warmth and extra air, so I added a couple pounds to stay comfy and comfy I am!

Im using a thinsulate USIA undergarmet with a lyca I wear under it and I am extremly warm in the thinsulate... Al lof my mountaineering gear is thinsulate as well as it not only is very warm but it wicks away moisture, which is nice becuase when you are wearing a damp suit, oh wait I mean a dry suit... any bits of water that comes in is wicked away towards the top or it just beads up on the outerside of the undergarmet keeping the mositure inbetween the drysuit and the garmet for the most part. Anther gret thing about thinsulate is that not only is it pretty thin in comparison to alot of the other undergarmets i see people wearing, its very very durable. Plus it doubles as a adult onesy pajama that you can run around in when you are at a dive suit or just at home in privacy

The diving concepts TPS extreme is 200gm thinsulate. Not going to be any warmer than your artics.

I have not used the lastest "XM450" from DUI but I have used their old 400gm undies (which were cut horrible like a potatoe sack). When new they were roughly as warmer as my current weezle extreme+ but they broke down very fast.

Will, If you get a weezle, make sure it is long enough. Errr, tall enough in the torso. I have a "small-tall/long". I have found that you need a little extra material as it doesn't stretch much. If you like touching your toes all the time . Fortunately I tried one on first and got it sized perfectly.

I love the suit, it is every bit as wonderful to dive as multiple threads on here describe. My drysuit had a leak in the crouch and my boxers showed no signs of being wet when I finished the dive. I believe it has five layers, and they seem to work well at keeping water up/out and warmth in/against you. I'd also recommend being bare skinned in it, kind of like down sleeping bag warmth maximization. A few people in my crew have one. Might be able to snag a medium or large for you to try.

Good luck in the decision, I wish I could give a full report on the other suits for you! I know I always research user reviews on this sort of thing too! I'd venture to say you probably can't make a bad choice from your short list.

See you around. I'll be dropping by the shop soon.
Jacob

spatman wrote:

KaizerWilhelm wrote:The Weezle stays warm by loft. I've heard that it sucks when wet. Thinsulate has been proven to stay warm when wet. Thats why I want thinsulate.

The Weezle most definitely does NOT suck when wet.

I wore my Weezel to shovel last month--while it was snowing--and I stayed toasty and dry inside the undergarment.

KaizerWilhelm wrote:The Weezle stays warm by loft. I've heard that it sucks when wet. Thinsulate has been proven to stay warm when wet. Thats why I want thinsulate.

I'm not sure where you heard the weezle sucks when wet.... they're 180 degrees off course. You'll find the weezle is one of the BEST undergarments to have on when wet. Plus a weezle will outlive those expensive thinsulate suits.

The worst thing you can say about a weezle is that it likes to be fully lofted... you can run thinner on the air in your suit with thinsulate as the structure of the fibers allows for better insulation when compressed.



----edit too add---- guess i should read the whole thread...