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.