Fourth Element Arctic Undergarment a rare mix of warm and thin.
With most drysuit undergarments that keep you really warm in cold waters you can expect a suit that has lot of bulk or fluff. If you want thin flexible, it usually means you not going to as warm in the low water temps. With the Fourth Element Arctic you get both warm and thin, and for a bonus you get flexible and not bad looking. Before we tested the Arctic on a dive, we were surprised we don’t see more of these undergarments on divers in our area (the Pacific Northwest).
The technology
The full Arctic set consists of a two-piece garment and warm socks. The pieces can be purchased separately. They are constructed using a unique combination of low volume, high insulation materials including high density fleece. The Arctic’s two layer structure is designed to hold air next to the skin and wick away moisture from suit leaks or perspiration. The outer layer is high stretch, abrasion resistant material, which will not interfere with the operation of auto dump valves (a problem we have heard from many Weezle undergarment owners). Fourth Element makes the bold claim that even when a “drysuit has flooded; the Arctic continues to provide thermal protection”. This may sound hard to believe, but the Arctic owners’ we interviewed as well as those commenting in web forums say it is a fact.
Recently, while awaiting the arrival of our demo sets, we were on a dive on the Hood Canal (Sund Rock). It was an unseasonably cold day in early spring and the water was particularly cold because of the mountain run-off. During our prep, we noticed a pack of Weezle divers on surface interval. Mixed among the males of the pack was one petite woman. Unlike all of the others who were wearing identical puffy Weezle undergarments, she was wearing a set of the the Fourth Element Arctic top and bottoms. John was intrigued and approached her for a quick interview. He asked why she was the only one wearing Fourth Element. She explained that she previously owned a Weezle like the others, but was always too cold. With the Fourth Element suit she was always warm. Then, to his amazement he learned that she had serious suit flood on the previous dive. She was standing there the whole time chatting without any indication of being cold. She said she was that this undergarment was plenty warm even when she was wet. We have read other similar and amazing stories online about the ability of the Arctic to keep divers warm even after a suit flood.
We are both cold wimps and comfort freaks. We have always looked for the warmest undergarments. We have owned and tested other warm undergarments, including the Pinnacle Evolution Merino Lined and the Whites MK3. These are both great for warmth. But both of the aforementioned suits are also both also bulky and do decrease your flexibility in any drysuit.
Test Dives
We were told by the Fourth Element representative to not wear any other undergarments underneath; the suit was supposed to be more effective as a standalone. On our first test dive first dive I (Chaela) did not add any other layers. John was a bit less trusting and added our usual Hot Chilly’s La Montana base layer.
The test dives were done in the Puget Sound area in around 46 deg F water. Both of us were first amazed at how much easier to don our suits, no worries about the undergarment sleeve riding up even without using the attached thumb loop. I am normally used to tugging and struggling to get my front entry drysuit over my shoulders – with this undergarment I just slipped right into my dry suit. We both immediately, found that we had much greater range of motion. In the water, there was more fluidity and ease of movement. Quite warm in the core and legs, I noticed that my elbows and upper arms at times were just cold enough to draw my attention away from the dive.
However, on later dives I alleviated any sense of cold by adding my Hot Chilly’s base layer on top. John, on later dives, removed his base layer, went with only the Arctic and was still quite comfortable.
Fourth Element also has available the Xerotherm base layer made of Polartec® Powerstretch® which can easily extend the range of the Arctic to colder waters or for colder divers. For really cold waters, you can their Ozone out jacket or move up to the Sub x for diving in ice or the actual Arctic.
Be aware, there is a bit of name confusion in the Fouth Element line, which they are trying to clear up. Until recently the “Xerotherm” (pronounced Zerotherm) name was attached to most of the products. We still see that on the U.S. website. But they also sell the above mentioned, “Xerotherm base layer”. But the Xerotherm base layer in not only a base layer, as if can also be used as a stand alone undergarment or with the “DryBase” wicking base layer underneath. On the other end of the cold spectrum is the “Subx” which is for diving in the Arctic cold waters unlike the Arctic undergarment which is for diving in not as cold, or sub Arctic tempurature waters. Head spinning? In any case Fourth Element has enough or a range of undergarments that you can use diving any temperature in the world.
The Arctic is machine washable and we find there is no noticeable smell from several dives. I was thrilled that the Arctic comes in actual women’s size. For some strange reason only the women’s Arctic has a nice key pocket on the sleeve. This made John grumpy when he went on a dive with other divers and had no place to store the car key. I also noted that the two-piece garment design was very nice when performing my natural pre and post dive bodily functions. Although we were told that the base layer was attractive enough to wear beyond the dive, I (Chaela) would think twice before wearing it out to dinner or to the movies. Besides the fact that my body instantly starts to heat when I don it, I don’t feel I make a “strong fashion statement” unless I am dining at the gym or a to-go restaurant. On the other hand it is a giant fashion step above the look of most undergarments that would only be appropriate for diving or a pajama party. The Arctic can certainly be classified as multi-use garment as it is fine for other wet and dry sports and general activities in colder temps.
Don’t forget to get the socks. We hear a lot of divers say that are happy and warm in their current drysuit systems but complain about cold feet after a dive. Even if you are happy with your current undergarment but are in the above group, the Arctic socks are godsend. The Fouth Element socks are thin enough to fit in most current setup, but much warmer than another regular sock layer system we have found (The White’s MK3 sock is equally warm but more bulky).
The Arctic pricing is reasonable too with a competitive retail of $149 each for top and pants and $34.99 socks. Prices are less if you buy the set. We found street and internet pricing as low as $300 for the full set.
Now after testing, we are even more amazed that we do not see many more US divers wearing a Fourth Element undergarment. This combination of thin, flexible warmth and a good price should make it a no brainer for cold water diving.
For the above reasons, I give the women’s Arctic a full 5 stars and John dings them a small bit for not giving the men a pocket too and gives it a 4.9.
Testing and article by: Chaela Sumner and John McKenzie. We first saw this undergarment in the Bubbles Below Dive shop in Woodinville, WA
———————————
After note: We are looking forward to testing these suits with the White’s Fusion drysuit later this month and will report back on our prediction that it will like be a good match. DUI is coming out soon with what looks like an Arctic clone from the photo but we have heard there are some significant differences. We hope to get a demo set as soon as they are available. While we think Fouth Element has nailed the top position in undergarments for the moment. We know of a few other companies with products that are aimed at bumping them out. Stay tuned.