My boots ruined my wetsuit

[Dogbowl]

I'm both confused and intrigued by this post. My wife and I both use the Avanti Quartos and we both wear 5mm boots. Neither of us have any problems with the fins and boots not working together. We both use elastic straps and each of use have a snug, but not tight, fit. So I don't know what your issue is that the boots don't work with those fins. Could you elaborate a bit more as what the issue is there?

And while we both use the Henderson Thermaxx wetsuit, ours are 3mm. We were our wetsuit legs over the boots and neither have had issues with the legs stretching.That could be a difference between the 3mm and the 5mm, but I'd be surprised.

I'm very curious as to what is causing this problem for you.

I have size 7 women's feet. With 3mm tropical short booties, the size small Quattros are too big. So I bought 6.5mm zip up boots with thicker soles and just overall thicker. This worked on land. Once I got in the water, this combination was wobbly, indicating it was a tad too loose. @uncfnp has suggested an even thicker soled boot than the one I have and it works for her, and I believe she is the same size feet as me. The Quattros doesn't come in an extra small. It's just a sizing issue really.

My Henderson Thermaxx legs stretched over my 6.5mm booties over 9 dives and they did not bounce back. I can no longer wear this wetsuit without these or another pair of thick boots.

I didn't expect them not to bounce back. I am bummed about it.

 

[Dogbowl]

I always wear my wetsuit over my boots.

My first wetsuit was an inexpensive Akona wetsuit with Dacor boots. I always wore the wetsuit over the boots. After a while I realized that the wetsuit did not snap back and I had to wear it over boots from now on. After quite a few years the ankle seals just didn't work well at all but the neck and wrist seals are shot too. So I think the entire suit needed to be replaced. It was cheap and now it was old.

My second wetsuit was a Henderson Thermoprene. I stretched it over my boots as well. It did fine. I can wear the Thermoprene without boots and it still had a great seal. I continued to wear it over my boots. So I guess it didn't really matter.

I'm a little surprised the Thermaxx does not keep a good seal at the ankles after being stretched over your Aqualung boots. So long as you wear the Thermaxx wetsuit with the Aqualung boots, does it keep a good seal? If even this does not work after a while, maybe the Thermaxx is defective. Or it isn't really the quality I would have expected from a Henderson wetsuit.

So far, if I wear my Thermaxx over the same pair of boots, it will keep a good seal, but I can no longer wear it over my 1mm neoprene socks or bare ankles as water will rush in. That's how much they stretched and stay stretched - won't bounce back. I've only got about 30 dives on it total.

 

[boulderjohn]

If you have light enough fins the piss will actualy flow trough your hood. Another point for heavy ruber fins I guess.

If it's cold enough for me to wear a hood, I will almost certainly switch to a drysuit, so that problem is solved.

 

[boulderjohn]

I will be wearing a 5mm Henderson Aqualock when I do some of my diving in Florida over the next few months. It has separate thin seals at both the wrists and ankles, with the main body of the wetsuit going over those seals. The main body is zippered.. Those thin seals go inside both the gloves and the booties, and the zippered main suit goes outside.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Some of you might be following along my journey of discovery during the past several months with the purchase of lots of new gear and putting them to the test in Cozumel over Christmas. Issue after issue...lesson after lesson. Well, here's another one, albeit minor.

I bought a new pair of boots: Aqualung Superzip 6.5mm. They are zippered. I was unable to zip them up over my wetsuit so I zipped them up and then pulled my wetsuit legs over the boots. I didn't think anything of it, until after several days, I realized that my wetsuit legs were stretched out so much I can no longer wear them without these dang boots. So effectively, I've ruined my wetsuit.

So, do you zip your boots over your wetsuit or under them???

Sorry to hear about the problems with the wetsuit. If I understand correctly, you feel that you have overstretched the ankle area of the suit and it is baggy now? Also that there are no ankle zippers?

If you have exhausted other options and really feel that the suit is no longer functional in the current condition; there is one option you might consider.

If you feel you have nothing left to lose, take scissors and cut the cuffs up a distance of 6 or 8 inches (longitudinally upward toward the knee). Probably best to cut along an existing seam. You can cut out both sides of the seam, so you have clean material remaining and then use wetsuit glue to bring it back together after you have removed a wedge shaped piece of neoprene. You will want the pointy portion of the wedge to be at the upward end of the cut. It may not be perfect, but there is a good chance you can salvage the suit without too much trouble.

After you have glued the suit, you may want to hand sew the seam or you can use some iron on seam tape. We stock wetsuit glue and the iron on tape.

Seal Cement and Neoprene Cement

Iron On Patch

 

[Akimbo]

I got in the habit of pulling the leg over the boot soon after learning to dive. It reduced how much sand ended up in my boot during surf entries and exits.

 

[Kimela]

Did you contact Henderson? I had a problem with a Henderson suit and they were very responsive and helpful (the suit was fine - just a huge PITA to don and doff as it was a semi-dry 8/7).

 

[Dogbowl]

Did you contact Henderson? I had a problem with a Henderson suit and they were very responsive and helpful (the suit was fine - just a huge PITA to don and doff as it was a semi-dry 8/7).

No, I haven't contacted Henderson but I thought it was user error. Now seeing that most divers put their wetsuits over their boots and didn't have this crazy stretching issue, maybe I'll see what my LDS can do about it.

 

[Kimela]

No, I haven't contacted Henderson but I thought it was user error. Now seeing that most divers put their wetsuits over their boots and didn't have this crazy stretching issue, maybe I'll see what my LDS can do about it.

I always put my wetsuit over my boots and have never had an issue either. I wonder if it's a quality control issue. Off topic but sort of related, I have the SeaLife Micro SD camera that is totally closed so it can't flood. Mine did. I contacted SeaLife and they made it right. They were aware that there was a batch of cameras that had an o-ring somewhere that was a problem. Maybe your particular wetsuit has a similar issue. I hope you're able to resolve it without further cost to you.

 

[Akimbo]

... If you feel you have nothing left to lose, take scissors and cut the cuffs up a distance of 6 or 8 inches (longitudinally upward toward the knee)....

Here's a variation on the same theme that I found works even better.

Cutting the seam near the opening this way reduces the stress without significantly increasing the reduction in stretch inherent in a seam. The major stress is nearly perpendicular to inline with the seam near the opening.

This image is of a custom suit that came from Greece a little shorter than I prefer. I cut the leg shorter near the largest point in the calf at about a 45° angle. A straight perpendicular cut would reduce stretch much more. I then used the piece I cut off as a pattern for cutting the replacement but added about 2" to the length.