Last fall, a friend returned from a dive trip to the UK raving about his underwear. Make that his drysuit underwear.
It's really warm and comfortable, he enthused, and look how small it packs.
He then reached into a compression sack about the size of a cantaloupe and extracted a full-body jumpsuit and matching boot liners.
I was impressed enough to want my own pair. An Internet search led me to Weezle Diving Services, where I read about their new line of drysuit undergarments made from a trio of cutting-edge fabric technologies designed to increase diver warmth and comfort.
After reading all about micro-fine yarns and moisture-wicking technologies, I gleaned that the suits were constructed to allow maximum wicking of moisture and perspiration away from the diver, and had a unique, non-quilted lining that could compress or expand without a significant loss of insulation value. In other words, a suit that packed small, could be squeezed down on the surface to prevent overheating, expanded to fill any voids in the drysuit without hindering movement, and wicked away perspiration to minimize evaporative cooling.
Impressed by the technical descriptions of the product, I contacted the company and ordered an Extreme model, which, their literature says, breaks the boundaries of undersuit manufacture and is suitable for ice diving.
A few weeks later, I put that claim to the test on the frozen surface of a New Hampshire lake. On a 15-degree day with 25-mph winds, my Weezle suit worn under nylon wind pants and a windbreaker kept me dry and comfortable through a range of activities ranging from resting to the physically demanding task of carving a hole in the ice. As promised, the undergarment also compressed for easy entry into my drysuit, then expanded to fill voids that would otherwise trap air.
I must admit that I experienced some initial disappointment with the Weezle suit's underwater performance. Soon after I submerged, my feet began to feel the chill of the 33-degree water. After 20 minutes, the cold had spread to my legs and torso, and I called the dive. So much for high-tech insulation, I thought.
My opinion changed once again, however, when I surfaced and realized that my drysuit was filed to the thighs with cold water. A seam had failed, and the slight chill I felt had actually been a steady flow of bone-chilling water. The Weezle undergarment, which felt dry against my skin, had trapped several gallons of water, and had retained a fair degree of insulating ability even in the worst-case event of a full suit flood.
After drying the undergarment and resealing the offending seam, I went to enjoy several warm, dry dives. Now, like my friend, I am raving about my underwear to anyone who will listen.
Summary: High-tech drysuit underwear that packs small, fluffs to fill and really fights the chill. Undergarments are in the $200 to $300 range. At present, Weezle Diving Services has limited distribution in the United States. To learn more, or to place a factory-direct order, sales@weezle-diving.com or browse www.weezle.demon.co.uk
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