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As near as I can tell, wetsuits work under 2 principles- 1. They trap a thin layer of water between your skin and the suit. The less pumping or water transfer between this layer and the outside the warmer the suit. 2. Using air trapped in bubbles in the neoprene to act as insulation. The more air between you and the water the warmer you are. This is physics and there is no "miracle" foam where thin=warm. There is no point in using drysuit material in a wetsuit, the two systems have different goals. If you are trying to find the "ultimate wetsuit" the best you can do is to have one custom made to your frame using neoprene which does not have the cloth liner. You need a neoprene-to-skin connection, this is the only way to keep pumping to a minimum. The problem with these suits is that you have to use either KY jelly or hair conditioner to get into them as they need to be skin-tight to work. They do have "semi-dry" (what marketing bullshit) suits which have improved neck, wrist and ankle seals, but even these are no effective unless custom fitted. Save yourself a lot of time and money and get a drysuit. Jim Sender: Dean Murray Date: 7/12/98 6:21 PM >Hi all, > >I have a number of questions all relating to the posibility of me purchasing >a new wetsuit. > >1. Are crushed, compressed & microcell neoprene all the same thing? >2. Does this type of neoprene although thinner have similar thermal >characteristics to thicker "normal" neoprene? >3. Am I correct in assuming its bouyancy characteristics would be much >better ie less bouyancy on the surface and less compression at depth due to >the smaller bubbles? >4. Can this material be made into a wetsuit rather than just drysuits? >5. Are there any commercially available wetsuits made from this material? >6. Does anyone know of a manufacturer of custom diving wetsuits (that may be >able to do this) in the Sydney northshore area? > >Thanks in advance, > >Dean Murray > >-- >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. > ------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn About Trimix at http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/trimix.html -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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