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Thread: Thermulate me!

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by victorzamora View Post
    Holy crap!! I hope those make your trim perfect, provide you with gills, and light up the cave while they're at it! $900 for something to go under a wetsuit or drysuit? No wonder you're not getting any reviews!
    We're all very different in how we look at things but I have a suspicion he may look at it the same way I do. Nobodys happy spending $900 if they dont have to but if it solves all of your problems and doesnt create new ones it would be worth it. It seems as though he's frustrated with drysuit issues after multiple tries with different suits, and so if he can be comfortable and safe diving wet then thats what hes looking for.

    I dont mean to be speaking for him, but you need to remember some people like me will happily spend more money on something that does exactly what they want, even if others think its pricey.

    Kinda like the old halcyon jokes. Lots think they're grossly overpriced and you pay the "H" tax but I think their wings are worth every penny and more.




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  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by jcr View Post
    The bottom line is how many watts of heat these garments transfer to the diver and I can't seem to find that important fact on their website. Based on the small battery size and the claimed burntime, I can't imagine it's very much. A typical heated vest will transfer around 50 watts to the diver.
    Here is a link to a test of several heated wetsuit vests:http://www.heatedwetsuitreviews.com/


  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by rddvet View Post
    Some people like me will happily spend more money on something that does exactly what they want, even if others think its pricey.
    No, I get that. I was raised with the mentality: "Buy nice, or buy twice" and that buying nice from the get go will save money in the long run because you'll only be buying it once. I'm cheap where I can be so I can splurge when I need to. However, this seems like an unnecessarily expensive item. Regardless of whether it works well for HIM or not, you won't find a ton of buyers for this. Of those, you won't find a lot of people wanting to write well-done reviews. Of those, fewer still will be on this board. If this works well for you, and you're willing to pay (or you're just THAT sick of drysuits) then this seems like a fairly high-quality product, and I'd love to hear from personal experiences with it as well. I just don't think there will be very many at that price point.


  4. #24
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    Review sounds great for the Thermalution. I for one would buy one in a minute if they worked well. After much trial and failure, trips to see The Great Gamble only to see him cringe and say "No way" when it comes to staying dry. My wrist leaks with every seal known to man. Pull and glide means "the water is a little cool coming in my arm" and hooking up a stage is a cold bath for the forearm. Reaching up results in the nice cold water running in the chest. Standing up when getting out means everything down below gets soaks.
    I started making shorter dives in a wet suit long ago to avoid a drysuit. To make several drysuit dives I own 3 sets of underwear because of the leakage issues. Spending a grand is not that much money considering I paid 650 for a flashlight to cave dive. Not to mention the money we spend to buy an electric motor to drag us around.
    I wish a drysuit was only a "minor annoyance" as Sludge said.

    If cave diving were Star Wars, who would be Yoda?

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by rddvet View Post
    We're all very different in how we look at things but I have a suspicion he may look at it the same way I do. Nobodys happy spending $900 if they dont have to but if it solves all of your problems and doesnt create new ones it would be worth it. It seems as though he's frustrated with drysuit issues after multiple tries with different suits, and so if he can be comfortable and safe diving wet then thats what hes looking for.

    I dont mean to be speaking for him, but you need to remember some people like me will happily spend more money on something that does exactly what they want, even if others think its pricey.

    Kinda like the old halcyon jokes. Lots think they're grossly overpriced and you pay the "H" tax but I think their wings are worth every penny and more.
    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    well stated.

    ----
    Cave Mann

  6. #26
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    Sarasota, Fl.
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    Default vest

    Let us know how it works. I'd be up for one. D.H.


  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wizard View Post
    I own 3 sets of underwear because of the leakage issues.
    LOL.

    "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." --JFK

  8. #28
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    I am still trying to dive up here the water temp is now less than 40f. I will think of buying the one to fit under the dry suit as soon as I come up with the bucks. It looks like a good fix as the others have wires that to be run through your suit. Just hope the discharge rate does not overheat the battery. Would not want a fire inside.


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  9. #29
    Memorial - RIP Jack!
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    Exclamation Need To Re-Name This Thread To: "Anyone Used the Solar Wetsuit Heating Unit From UTD"

    Boys, Boys, Boys: If you need a "Wetsuit Heater" THE LAST damn thing that you want is some POS LiPo battery that you can't access, i.e. stored under your main wetsuit. I mean, think about that nightmare for a minute (when Mr. Battery decides to go tits-up or you want to turn it off during a dive).

    I spent quite a bit of time researching what was out there for our Dive Shop and finally came up with one that works!!; For at least me, as well as the other who have used it. The unit will work both wet or dry. It is the Solar Wetsuit Heating Unit that is exclusively made by UTD: http://www.utdequipment.com/new/page...ies/solar.html

    We became a UTD Dealer just to be able to sell this unit to our Open Water customers, however you can buy it directly through UTD on-line for the same price we would sell it for, which is $279.95. I take a little comfort in the fact that this wetsuit heater is being marketed and sold by a technical diving outfit and not some "surfer-dude" store on amazon.com. You power it using an external battery source; For the cave crew, I recommend getting the Light Monkey 10AH EO corded Heater Battery. LM is about to release a canister top that gives you the option of a number of outputs by simply flipping the switch. I am using/evaluating that lid right now and it is GREAT: http://www.lightmonkey.us/#!10-ah-conversion/c19we Without going into the math, I'll just say that the burn time for this baby at full blast is equivalent to running a 35 watt HID for about 2 1/2 hours. For those folk who insist on using them Death Boxes for the 10 hour cave dives, LM has larger batteries as well. UTD does make an external battery for this unit, but it's a little less in amps and (IMHO) it's harder to butt-mount it in a typical rear mounted battery side mount configuration; at least for me.

    This thing works great for the conditions that we find ourselves in for the overhead. You can mash it, twist with it, load cylinders on it....whatever. any 9 mil wetsuit fits just fine over it. For some, who may want to use the heating unit for their front area, you can wear it backwards. It adjusts through the elastic cummerbund that comes with it. You can run the supplied standard EO cord out the sleeve, out the neck, or in any location that you want by putting a small hole in the wetsuit. And if you really want to be a wetsuit bad-ass, you can also buy one of several connection bulkheads that are currently used for drysuits.

    So there you have it. More worthless advice from Crazy Jack.

    Last edited by stickydeco; 12-21-2013 at 10:01 AM.
    Crazy Jackie Gregory for "Jumpin Jack" Gregory
    Marietta, GA
    jjgregory@mindspring.com
    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jumpin-j...ory/27/452/b80
    Working hard to get the following message from every Forum!!:
    "You have been banned for the following reason:
    Continued Disrespect"

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greenwood_60 View Post
    LOL.
    Walked into that one, duh. Cave water Jason, cave water.

    If cave diving were Star Wars, who would be Yoda?


 

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