Anyone have DUI Electric Divewear details or impressions?

[-Aaron-]

I was curious if anyone on the board had information on or impressions of the DUI Electric Dive Wear? My dive buddy is so obsessed with the possibility of heated dive undergarments that he is pretty much on dive boycott until we can get our hands on some. Before I turn in to a cyber diver I am hoping to get some details from the board :P Does anyone know when these undergarments will be available or have even a general idea on pricing? Laura any udpates? I haven't heard much news since your test dive back in August (http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php ... ic#p159342). Any info is appreciated . If anyone from DUI needs test divers we will be your guinea pigs :P.

[ljjames]

My dives once i got the '2nd' gen have been simply delightful. Part of it was 'figuring out a system' and part of it was figuring out what the heck to do with the battery bricks (I was not so fond of the heated elements being part of the actionwear 100 because it was a PITA to get on under my regular undergarments)

For the batteries, they are are still not my 'ideal' configuration, but i actually 'weave' them together on the light retaining assembly on my Cinch harness. There is just enough room for a big video light canister (13.5) and the battery bricks. They also fit well in my drysuit pockets, so after the dive i can just wear them there

with regards to getting dressed, YMMV, but...

the lycra supergirl suit is awesome. First of all it allows your 'real' undergarments to slide on easily, and second (and a surprise benefit) it keeps the chest and back pads from riding up. I put the lycra suit on first, then my fuzzy booties and plug in. Follow that with the bottom half of powerstretch undies. At this point i can either stand around for a bit on my turbosocks (I don't like doing this) or somewhat clumsily continue to don the bottom half of drysuit. it depends a lot on how much its raining. I try to do it this way because i need my hands (not drygloves) to get the Rockboots properly installed. Rockboots in place and laces tidy, i then put on the heated gloves and plug them in. I use the thumb loop on the lycra suit to then push my arms through the powerstretch 300 garment and un do them so i don't forget still no riding up or weird tugging and bunching. I try to be slow and methodical so i don't unhook any of the couplings, but honestly that has not been an issue. They zigzag extra wire inside the suit so you have quite a bit of play in the wiring. the final thing to remember is to make sure the suit connector wires are in a easily accessible place before getting into the top of your suit (and drygloves) otherwise you are begging your dive buddy to go look for them. For those who use a ring system, this may or may not be easier, i like everything to lay nice an tidy and flat inside the suit, so i'd probably do it this way anyway.

The hands and feet heaters are just divine. the torso (front and back) portion covers much more area than my BTS vest. Overall it feels warmer, although the hands and feet seem 'hotter' than the torso. If i'm just hanging out, i have both on 100% and am comfey. If i'm doing anything with my hands, i'll put the gloves/footies on 75% and the body on 100%.

I have about 30 dives on the lycra suit system so far this year. I wear middle weight long johns under it so i don't have to wash it if possible. on my feet i wear mid/thin wooly hiking socks. It had been 100% reliable and functions exactly as it was designed. I have gotten addicted to it. I can get about 90 min on it at full power (or so it seemed) longer at 75 or 50%. I'm going to start trying it shortly with the XM450 to see if i can run it at 75 and 50% for a few hours. I will report back

I don't know when it is going to be available. Susan mentioned that it is coming 'soon' and the torso heater will likely brought to market first. it will be fully modular though, so depending on what you want, you can upgrade

I did not think 'warm hands and warm feet' would make that big a difference but ..simply... it does.

the only things i could possibly think of would be make the torso able to get warmer still, and have some other 'battery' options. I don't mind so much that it is not same voltage as my lighting systems, mostly cause this means I have all my packs for lights

[-Aaron-]

Laura,

Thanks for the detailed review. Nice to finally get some information . He is definitely interested in both headed hands and feet, but it would be great if being modular allows the torso to come out sooner. I was able to come across this post (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 8187267906) on the DUI Facebook page that seems to show a battery configuration similar to what you are describing. My buddy uses a DUI weight and trim harness, so I was wondering about maybe putting one battery in each front pocket. Seems like it might fit nicely, though you would have to open the velcro on the weight and trim pocket to adjust the heat or turn it off. Thanks again for the info, I'm looking forward to getting a chance to check the system out.

[CaptnJack]

I had a heated vest for a year, but went to a Weezel extreme+ and haven't need it since. What are you wearing for undergarments?

I found that once you turn any kind of heat on its very easy to sweat and/or encourage skin prefusion. If you then turn the heat off you REALLY get cold and fast.

I am getting new suit heat for our cave diving project this year but its 41F there. I didn't really "require" it last year so I know I can survive if it were to fail.

[selkie]

If your buddy is using the weight pockets for ditchable weights having the pockets still attached by battery cords after ditching may be a PITA.

[-Aaron-]

selkie,

You are totally right, I forgot about that. Sounds like mounting them on the backplate waist strap might be the best option then. My buddy talked about potentially putting them on a tank band, but that would probably put them out of reach for turning them on and off and adjusting the temp.

CaptnJack,

We have talked about this before, but basically my dive buddy is really lean, he just really doesn't produce much external body heat, and we aren't working hard enough in the water to make him sweat. He has a neoprene dry suit and lots of insulation, but it just isn't enough to keep him warm. Not to mention the more insulation decreases his mobility and increases the weight load on his belt. He already requires over 40lbs of lead to get underwater and keep a tolerable layer of air insulation in his suit. These are recreational non-decompression dives we are doing. If the heater fails or he has a problem we can get out of the water. Basically we just want a way that he can be comfortable and enjoy his time in the water and for a person as cold blooded as him I think active suit heat may be the only way to go.

I know the other side of the coin, I do the same dives in a TLS-350 and an Action Wear 150 with a 3mm hood and I feel fine :P. Everyone has different levels of cold tolerance and heat generation I suppose.

[ljjames]

If your buddy is using the weight pockets for ditchable weights having the pockets still attached by battery cords after ditching may be a PITA.

they will pop free easily.

[CaptnJack]

12mm hood from Otter Bay and dry gloves with good liners. Weezle, Whites MK3 or DUI 450 undies under (paradoxically) a sheel suit. I know people have various cold tolerances and mine is one of the least, eclipsed only by TS&M's. And these combos actually work.

I have found neoprene drysuits have alot of bulk and buoyancy for minimal insulation. Maybe it was a function of my Apollo neo suit maybe not. But I have tried alot of different suits and undergarment options and know from first hand experience its quite possible to pile on 40lbs of buoyancy and still be cold. And to add suit heat and still be cold (at least in part or at times and to nearly burn you at other times).

Some of this is trial and error to see what works for him and some is through educated choices. While I'm sure a suit heat salesperson can convince a cold person to part with their money its not necessarily all its cracked up to be. Is you're buddy a member here?

[-Aaron-]

CaptnJack,

We have been through nearly everything. He has dry gloves with the thickest fleece liners he can find, he wears Weezle booties, and recently got a dry hood. He wears Under Armor Cold Gear Metal as a base layer and we have tried all sorts of undersuits including a Waterproof of Sweden 300g Polyfill suit, 4th Element, a Whites Mk3 with extra Vest, DUI Power Stretch, etc. Nothing has kept him warm they just made him get cold a little slower. I agree that a different drysuit would probably help, but at this point he is sick of trying passive heating solutions and tired of the extra bulk all these layers is adding. There is no "electric suit salesman" pushing the product, if anything we have a surprising difficult time finding information about the suits, outside the ever so helpful Laura of course .

I appreciate your feedback, it sounds like you have been through similar issues, but at this point he is pretty set on wanting to try out active suit heat. If it doesn't provide enough heat then it sounds like the suit is thin enough to allow him to layer up on top of if. If it does work for him then he gets the benefit of being comfortable and gains back some dexterity from shedding those bulky layers. All I really care about is that he is comfortable in the water, so we can dive more. He isn't a member here, but I do pass on suggestions and information.

[-Aaron-]

I thought I would resurrect this thread and see if anyone had a chance to try out the DUI Electric Dive Wear at the Dive and Travel Expo. I'd love to hear some impressions. I'm especially interested in anyone has heard more details on a release date. My dive buddy is still pretty much on cold water boycott, so I could really use one of these suits ASAP :P. Thanks in advance .

[CaptnJack]

The BTS vest has been out for at least 3 years and I haven't heard of any failures. Radar would probably know details as they are a dealer.