Heated vest, options?

[MedCop]

I'm doing longer dives and thinking of a heated vest. The Santi looks like a nice option but what else is available?

[w ripley]

I've been using this one for several years now. Well not this one, as I have the smaller battery pack. I can do 2+ hour decos with no problems, although I do carry neoprene gloves when I deco over an hour. You can use other batteries, but this one comes with 3 heat settings + off. Turn it on low when I start to deco (or have a long scooter ride back to the entry after a hard swim), and turn it up if and when I need it. Works flooded (wires are encapsulated in rubber)

http://www.golemgear.com/p-663-q-ves...o-version.aspx

Here's how I attach it to my backplate:

[chilldive]

Page 27:
http://www.nsscds.org/files/uws/v39n...llprintweb.pdf

FYI... Next I setup a dry suit for this I will use Golem Gear's bulkhead that fits under dry suit inflator. The rest I'll keep the same. Low cost and very effective. Hours of heat with good battery pack.

[allen]

Another alternative is a sodium acetate heat pack. I used to use one under my wet suit when I dived Dutch Springs in spring (48 F). You charge the heat pack by boiling for 15 min to dissolve the sodium acetate as a supersaturated aqueous solution. To get heat, snap the clicker inside the pouch, and the heat of crystallization of the sodium acetate will warm you for an hour. You have to keep the heater in a cloth pouch because it is too hot for bare skin.
Amazon.com has a 5x9 inch one for $22. Onlinesciencemall.com has an 8x8 inch one for $15 plus shipping.

[PeterVICEG]

I have the Santi vest and suit valve. I thought that one of the positive features of the vest would be the crutch strap, but have found that feature mostly just complicates plumbing options. The vest is warm and comfortable and a good thermal layer even if off.


The suit valve electric connection combo is wonderfully low profile but the valve is really slow. Too slow! You can't just give your suit button a shot and expect to stop short as if on a leash. I am not sure what to do about that, I expect that I will have a separate wiring thru suit connection on the next suit so as to allow for a faster suit valve.


For my diving I use it mostly for deco. I share the battery with a light and simply unplug the e/o plug from the light and switch it to the suit. I am careful to switch off the battery and keep the e/o connectors greased up.


I am very happy to have this set up.


Peter

[data2]

Another alternative is a sodium acetate heat packs

keep in mind that pressure is often a factor in reaction speed. There have been bad burns caused by these, sometimes even unnoticed for sometime, because most body parts were in contact with cold water at the same time.

Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk 4

[apitkin]

The Santi is pretty good, but like Peter says it can interfere with pee valve plumbing - I have modified my vest to get around that.

Many of us have used the Tourmaster Synergy motorcycle vest with quite some success. Its main disadvantage is that if you fold it and bend the wires, eventually they develop hot spots and the vest effectively becomes useless.

The other good motorcycle vest option is the Heat Demon, which uses pads rather than wires, and they are removable. Unfortunately it doesn't get as warm as the Tourmaster or the Santi (about 30W vs 50W). The size is very easily adjustable which is a nice feature when you are using different undergarments.

DUI have a thin heated full body undergarment but it uses a different voltage (6.9V), only heats the torso and the battery pack is the size of a small submarine.

Light Monkey have just started making a controller for heated vests that can be used with any E/O cord 12V battery pack and any heated undergarment. Have a look at their website.

I personally use the Golem integrated inflator connector, but many more options for the through-suit connection have appeared in the 5 years or so since I started using it. I have not used the Golem vest but I have only heard good things about it.

For your kind of diving you do not want any kind of chemical pack inside your suit, or a battery pack for that matter.

Andy

[aa3jy]

As an avid adventure motorcycle rider that rides year round may I recommend Gerbing heated gear and their thin wire technology.

http://www.gerbing.com

Clay
Kimberton,Pa

BMW R1200GS/A

[rddvet]

Another alternative is a sodium acetate heat pack. I used to use one under my wet suit when I dived Dutch Springs in spring (48 F). You charge the heat pack by boiling for 15 min to dissolve the sodium acetate as a supersaturated aqueous solution. To get heat, snap the clicker inside the pouch, and the heat of crystallization of the sodium acetate will warm you for an hour. You have to keep the heater in a cloth pouch because it is too hot for bare skin.
Amazon.com has a 5x9 inch one for $22. Onlinesciencemall.com has an 8x8 inch one for $15 plus shipping.

I'm glad it's worked for you in the past but that is an exceptionally dangerous way to get a very bad burn. Especially in a Drysuit where your ability to surface is limited by the overhead or deco obligation. Not only does pressure affect their heat, it's possible it could move to a position where it gets pushed tightly against the skin and even with a protective cloth bag could burn you.

[stickydeco]

I just signed us up as a UTD Dealer because of this product right here. Works wet or dry. http://www.utdequipment.com/new/page...ies/solar.html

With standard EO cording it will work with any canister battery. The unit pulls the equivalent of a 35 watt light, so if you are going to use it for a full dive, you would likely need an EO'ed 10 amp canister. If, on the other hand, you want it just for deco, then you could plug it in to your primary light canister, provided that you EO'ed that. Myself, I'm opting for the stand-alone canister. Good-bye drysuit, at least for around here!