TESTCENTRE
Under the skin
The two-piece base layer is designed to be worn next to the skin
Technical Base Layer
COMPANY : NORTHERN DIVER TEL : 01257 254 444 PRICE : £ 34 WEB : WWW . NDIVER . COM
At the time of writing , it ’ s the height of summer , with some of the highest land and sea temperatures ever recorded around the UK coastline . While that makes wetsuit diving all the more appealing , for drysuit users it can become a little hot and sweaty .
A lighter , thinner undersuit makes perfect sense in this situation , obviously when used in conjunction with a neoprene suit , which in itself provides a degree of insulation .
Norther Diver ’ s two-piece Technical Base Layer is a polyamide ( 67 %), polyester ( 30 %) and spandex ( 3 %) mix which offers a closefitting , flexible option and can be used on its own or as a base-layer .
The machine-washable garment consists of a long-sleeved top with thumb-loops for easy donning , plus a pair of leggings complete with foot stirrups . Both components are stretchy to the extreme , meaning that the size medium sent to Test Centre fitted myself and my much smaller model equally as well .
As with all similar base-layers , the idea is to wear them next to the skin , where their moisture wicking capabilities work to keep the body temperature regulated – whether you ’ re in the heat or the cold .
I ’ ve never enjoyed the process of kitting up for a dive in extreme heat so I was grateful to the Base Layer ’ s stretchy fabric . Its smooth rash vest-type finish also meant my 5mm compressed neoprene drysuit slipped over the top of it with little effort too .
Navigating my way to the water ’ s edge across a road , down a flight of stone steps then making my way across a rocky beach , I was still hot but not unduly so . Normally , at this point , using my regular undersuit I ’ d be desperate to get in the water to cool down .
However , I felt comfortable enough to slowly gather my camera kit for a last checkover before making my way to the entry point .
The Base Layer had no real effect on buoyancy so it was possible to make my descent with a little less lead in my weight pockets . While I didn ’ t feel any great body temperature differential compared with my usual exposure protection , I ’ d imagine that might be a different proposition come the winter months .
The beauty about a close-fitting layer like this is its ability to be paired with another undersuit so when temperatures begin to plummet , simply combine the Base Layer with another garment for extra warmth .
I also gave the Base Layer a run out using a trilaminate suit . In shallow water it performed more than adequately , but as such suits offer little inherent thermal protection it became less effective the deeper I went . Nevertheless , it would provide excellent use for membrane
Thumb loops and foot stirrups prevent the arms and legs from riding up
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