Scuba Gear for Winter?

[dim]

 

was browsing Ebay and came across some scuba gear (for cheap) that 'may' be good for cycling (waterproof and warm)?

Osprey 3mm Neoprene Wetsuit Hood Surf Dive Swim Gbs Bodyboard Cap Watersport - £11.99
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Osprey-3mm-Neoprene-Wetsuit-Hood-Surf-Dive-Swim-Gbs-Bodyboard-Cap-Watersport/112496554552?epid=1462626945&hash=item1a31513238:m:mZrLFTrkMn4M4bMym1tpllA



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Mens Heritage 3mm Half Zip Wetsuit Jacket Two Bare Feet Surf Sailing Top - £24.99
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-Heritage-3mm-Half-Zip-Wetsuit-Jacket-Two-Bare-Feet-Surf-Sailing-Top/362044771629?epid=12005787615&hash=item544b8ccd2d:m:mc5afttswiYt394mRrQxnWw

[PaulF]

Perhaps the skull cap* but I think you'd sweat like a pig in the jacket and possibly end up colder!

*even then I'd prefer something breathable, plus it would restrict your hearing

[mrcharly-YHT]

that sort of neoprene isn't actually waterproof ('wetsuit' is a clue). I had some neoprene overshoes for a while - they worked ok but once wet could be really cold, they didn't dry out and windchill meant that evaporative cooling turned them into very efficient feet-freezers.

[dim]

Damn! ....  was hoping that it was a good cheap solution to the cold

I'm going into my 3rd year of winter commuting winter has just started here and I'm freezing!

Here's today's cycling:

Wake up at 4am .... drink coffee.... read news on Internet

Leave home at 10 to 5 .... cycle 9Km to work .... then back home at 8am .... brekfast then leave to my day jobs (I work at several sites a day) .... I cycle 40Km a day commuting and start work at 05h30 and get home at 19h30

today I wore a thermal long sleeved top, a t-shirt, a very thich woolen jersey (from Edinburgh mill shop), a Deliveroo waterproof jacket, themeral longs, 2 pairs of thick socks and tracky pants .... plus a pair of Freezer gloves (rated to -18 degrees C and used when packing food in deep freezers ... plus a thick scarf and a wollen beanie

and I still got cold

[Adam]

If you're wearing a t-shirt which is cotton, then with any sweat, that will just accelerate heat loss.  Same for tracksuit bottoms if they get wet.  Best to either wear synthetic or merino wool for anything underneath.  On your legs wear proper cycling longs, and then have waterproof overtrousers to give you an extra layer.

Try a pair of silk liner gloves which are very thin to go on your hands first.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Don't take this the wrong way but it could be age.

6 years ago I was commuting in temperatures much colder than this wearing a similar list to yours and I was fine. Now - I'm freezing in a girt thick jacket standing at a bus stop in no wind.

Also, 9km isn't enough to start to get warmed up, get your body pumping out the heat.

[rafletcher]

that sort of neoprene isn't actually waterproof ('wetsuit' is a clue). I had some neoprene overshoes for a while - they worked ok but once wet could be really cold, they didn't dry out and windchill meant that evaporative cooling turned them into very efficient feet-freezers.

I thought that the neoprene material itself WAS waterproof - it contins bubbles of nitrogen - but a wetsuit itself isn’t of course, as it relies on heating the thin film of water (that gets in at cuffs etc.) next to your skin to keep you from getting too cold.

[mrcharly-YHT]

that sort of neoprene isn't actually waterproof ('wetsuit' is a clue). I had some neoprene overshoes for a while - they worked ok but once wet could be really cold, they didn't dry out and windchill meant that evaporative cooling turned them into very efficient feet-freezers.

I thought that the neoprene material itself WAS waterproof - it contins bubbles of nitrogen - but a wetsuit itself isn’t of course, as it relies on heating the thin film of water (that gets in at cuffs etc.) next to your skin to keep you from getting too cold.

Googling suggests that you are correct, however my experience with neoprene overshoes was that they became saturated with water (I could wring it out) and when I've worn wetsuits for watersports they have run with water after taking them off (and they have weighed a ton, compared to before going in the water).

So I dunno. Maybe the water I've seen was that soaked up by the facing fabric?

[Morat]

I'm not going to pretend they're cheap but these socks are great, even when wet.
https://www.naturallyselinascott.com/
I'm sure there are others out there but these are local to me and I've had great results. Somehow they're warm but never too warm.

[Dave_C]

Speaking as a former diver and cyclist....

Neoprene IS waterproof. BUT, the difference between a wetsuit and a drysuit (made from Neoprene) are the seals. Drysuits come with either latex wrist and neck seals or neoprene seals. With neoprene, one side of the neoprene has no woven material, where the side without material bonded to it, designed to sit against the skin. Wetsuits don't have seals, simple.
Neoprene wetsuits work by allowing water in which the body warms up. The neoprene then prevents the heat escaping out of the suit. In a drysuit, the wearer has a thermal dry layer on under the drysuit, like wither a type of fleece (Arctic) or an insulator like Thinsulate.

I don't think neoprene would work well, as you would sweat inside, which would then cool. Also the material would likely chafe! Plus 3mm is not that thick. Traditional thermal insulation works by trapping air which the body heats.

I have neoprene gloves, (both 3 & 5mm) & mitts. Non of them are as good as traditional thermal water resistant gloves. The best skull cap I have is this:

https://life.fourthelement.com/product/xerotherm-beanie-hat-black/

I have had it for ~15 years and it is still the best hat I own!!

[andrew_s]

Back when I used to go potholing, a wetsuit (4-5mm) was colder than mid- to light-weight fleece suit plus a cordura or PVC oversuit (similar to panniers, but a bit lighter), at all times except when you were actually in the water.