Posted by seahunt on September 02, 1999 at 09:09:33:
Just a thought...
In California, we like our wetsuits.
Have you ever seen someone get into a 2 sided neoprene wetsuit? They
were called "skin in", because they have the neoprene "skin" on both
the inside and out. It was in the late 60's that wetsuits first got
nylon lining. This was not a warmer suit, but it made it stronger
and easier to get on and off than the previous "skin in" suits. After
that, various styles of neoprene got different kinds of lining
including various thicknesses of shag. The shag was ok, because it
made water flow through the suit much slower than the nylon lining
and so was warmer. Still, one funny fact remained. To those in the
know, the original "skin in" suit is still warmer than any of the
lined suits. It was just replaced because of strength and because
they are so hard to get on. When putting one on, you had to use
talcum powder or hair conditioner to lubricate it and you still would
most likely need a lot of gyrations and some help from someone
else.
Well, why I pose this thought is that I keep seeing posts asking
questions about Titanium suits and what it means. To make it short,
is Titanium just another way of lining neoprene, but one that
basically makes a "skin in" suit that can be gotten into easily?
Is this why it might be warmer? I have a new suit that has the
titanium lining and basically it is just mostly that, a "skin in" suit
that can be gotten into and out of easily. It does seem very warm,
but I need to use it more to know for sure. Also having no shag
makes it lighter and much quicker to dry.
Really, the effect Titanium has on the distribution of heat may be
irrelevant next to the fact that it just lets you get into a "skin
in" suit.
I have also heard that the Henderson Gold suit is similar in this
regard, though I have never seen one of them.
Just a thought. If you want to be warm, maybe you need to dump the
wetsuit lining. Any opinions or facts???
Enjoy the diving, seahunt