"Dave Van" wrote in message
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"MLL" wrote in message
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"Dave Van" wrote in message
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From: "Michael Daly"
Newsgroups: rec.boats.paddle
Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 22:52:50 GMT
Subject: To Steve: re Your paddle Length And Footwear
Suggestions
From
Previous Post

On 3-Feb-2004, "Rick" wrote:

I guess that my wetsuit is a drysuit, then. Strange how that cold
water
that
comes through the suit somehow.

Neoprene is porous, but it does not allow the water trapped in the
material
to circulate. The air trapped in the foam and is warmed by the
body,
which
provides insulation. It also stops water from circulating around
the
body,
keeping fresh cold water from the body.

I paddle and I dive. I know what neoprene is and what it does.
When
diving,
the neoprene lets water in through the neck. sleeve and leg
openings.
The
water does not pass _through_ the neoprene.

Sounds porous to me.

The passage you quoted said nothing about the neoprene being porous.
It
said
that it holds water inside it without mentioning how it got there.
Porous
means
that it allows water to pass _through_ it. Neoprene is air
entrained,
not
porous.


It is waterproof,

No, it isn't waterproof. Crushed neoprene, however, is (this
process
eliminates the pores in the cells, making the suit a drysuit).
Wetsuits, if
they are tight enough, allow very little water through, so your
booties
tend

You're telling me that the boots I own and wear, made of neoprene,
are
_not_
waterproof even though I wear them standing in water for any
arbitrary
length
of time without getting wet at all? They are _not_ crushed
neoprene.
They
are not coated with anything magic. They are not tight. But they
are
waterproof.

IMHE, Neoprene is waterproof unless it is not made correctly.

Herein lies the problem. You base your statements on what you have
seen
and
then generalize that ALL neoprene is closed cell. Maybe all of the
paddling
and scuba related equipment does all use closed cell neoprene but the
statement that open cell neoprene doesn't exist or is a result of
faulty
manufacturing is simply wrong.

Do a google search for open cell neoprene. Then do one for free diving
wet
suits.

Initial comments about open cell vs. closed cell were not meant to
imply
that paddling gear was made with open cell neoprene. I was merely
pointing
out the fallacy of the statement that ALL neoprene is waterproof
closed
cell
neoprene.



"An Open Cell wetsuit that fits well can keep the diver almost entirely
dry!"
http://www.nmd.net/freedive/pages/equipments.html
Comments?


Oh, for pete's sake, let's drop it.

My comments were merely to point out the open cell neoprene exists. I'm
right, it does. Michael's comments point out that, as far as anyone can
tell, only closed cell neoprene is used to fabricate paddling and SCUBA
gear, most notably boots and socks. He's right, it is.

Peace.

DV



It was an interesting discussion, so please don't be so sensitive. The open
cell is used on the inside of some suits and it's very prone to damage. I
learned this fact long ago, but I was never aware of exactly why. Now I
know.
Pace