Will be visiting Seaskin to purchase first Membrane suit. Bearing in mind this will bring me near to top end of budget, has anyone got any gems of advice for undersuit? Was originally thinking of buying MTM with suit, although I keep hearing 4th Ele Arc are held in high regard. Alternatively, is there a cheaper option out there that anyone has discovered? Thanks.
Northern Diver do a version of the 4th element arctics,
A lot cheaper than a set of 4th element stuff,
Dont know what they are like for quality of how they compare to 4th elem stuff though
For membrane, go with an undersuit 200gm thickness or above.
Arctics under a membrane are too cold for winter months, unless you layer up with a load of other undergarments.
There are cheaper options, best option is to try and find one secondhand, as they do come up fairly regularly. Not worth going with the cheaper undersuits from other manufacturers, as either the build quality is crap, or they're not very warm.
4th elelment arctics plus O3 PBB and a wicking base layer are toasty warm. Just strip off the PBB for summer use. Or even the arctics and stick with the PBB only if it's really really warm.
Mid you I'm still after some XXL-short arctic leggings, if you spot any going cheap. £89 at Capernwary!
I used to have a 300g Otter and it was colder, bulkier and the seams split. Plus the cuffs sucked up water and the insulation in the legs ended up all round my shins with nowt on the thighs. Am not a great fan of Weezles having seen a few buoyant ascents with blocked dump valves. They don't like getting wet, say if you were a sweaty girl.
Wow! Hadn't budgetted for extra expense of multiple undersuits! Might have to re-think suit and opt neo, or tell kids that santa might not be coming this year.
Best to start dropping hints to the kids now then!
From my experience, if your looking to dive throughout the winter I would definitely opt for a decent neo (O'3 for e.g.) then an Arctic should be fine for the winter & you can also use it for summer or scale down to tracksuit bottoms & a cheap 'wicking' top.
P.S.
I looked at the ND version of the the Arctics but without trying them on a dive & finding anyone that had used them for a recommendation decided to go for the Fourth Element,
I thought all those people cant be wrong! .................. and they were'nt!
Excuse my ignorance here, were you wearing ND undersuit under neo or membrane suit? If I can get away with just one suit (and cheaper at that) under membrane, sounds like I've found a bargain.
It's not thick enough for winter under a membrane. I've felt the material, and it can't be.
OK under a neo, but not a membrane. Personally, I didn't like the outer material on it, didn't seem as good as the fourth element, but then if you're on a budget and you're getting a neo and don't feel the cold you might be fine.
I dived Wraysbury earlier in the year with temps under 5C and found a Seaskin membrane and Arctics fine. Granted the Arctics aren't cheap but I've had mine since 2005 and over 200 dives on them so they seem to be lasting OK.
Like another poster mentioned, the numbers speak for themselves. Quality gear costs in the first place but you'll get the value out of it over time IMO.
I feel the same way as Chaz and Woz. For me Artics untill Jan then base layer underneath.Yes good gloves and socks make all the difference.You could allways use that two welcome mats tied together like Rick Stanton uses.
I was cold today in a membrane, 4th element Arctic's and merino wool base layer. This will be my first year with the Arctic's and I expected them to be warmer, maybe I'm just nesh, but my £15 go-dive, dive show special polar bears undersuit I bought 5 years ago when I started diving, seemed warmer through the colder months.
I don't know whether to try and get that on as well or a PBB layer?
If you are considering 4th element undersuit under a membrane, you should be going for the SubX rather than the artics.
I use my artics under my neo and dive no problem all year round although I do add an extra layer under my artics if the temp really drops or there is a biting surface wind. I also have the 4th element hotsocks + 5mm gloves (limited flushing so my hands keep warmer for longer) and would recommend them everytime (and everyone I have recommended 4th element too who have subsequently bought them have thanked me for helping them to see the light)
I just replaced my old 125gm cheapo undersuit with a Weezle Extreme. The difference was incredible, it was more comfortable and warmer. On top of that my suit pretty much completely flooded (turned out the taping inside was pretty much coming off, bought it second hand and it seems it had been used in the pool a lot). With the old undersuit I'd had the arms leak and had been freezing, with the weezle I had a near full flood and was still quite warm. If you're getting a membrane I'd say consider getting a Weezle rather than Artics.
Just come out of Wraysbury after day 1 of my rescue diver course. 3.5mm Predator neo suit and full set of artics. Water 7C and was lovely and warm all day.
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