Drysuit squeeze when fin kicking

[HantsDiver]

Since I have so far only done the pool session with the drysuit, I most certainly am new, which is why I am here asking questions. Plus, this "cupcake is sporting some extra buttercream", so your comment about obesity was also a direct hit. Plus my legs are short relative to torso even when at correct weight, and stock sizes of any kind of clothes give me "rumple legs" and "orangutan arms". Expensive as drysuits are, I am determined to get the fit that functions.

As I feel bad now I am going to try and be helpful.

If you have already brought the suit you can get it altered. The cost shouldn't be too ridiculous. However don't do this through your local dive shop. Go directly to someone who makes drysuits. They will be able to adjust the suit a lot and get it working for you.

 

[Marie13]

Since I have so far only done the pool session with the drysuit, I most certainly am new, which is why I am here asking questions. Plus, this "cupcake is sporting some extra buttercream", so your comment about obesity was also a direct hit. Plus my legs are short relative to torso even when at correct weight, and stock sizes of any kind of clothes give me "rumple legs" and "orangutan arms". Expensive as drysuits are, I am determined to get the fit that functions.

I'm short and round, which is why I had to custom for my drysuit. Only one of my shop's rentals (Fusion) even semi-fit me. Tight in the torso and way too long in the arms and legs.

Check what the custom cut upcharge is when you are suit shopping. USIA is $150. Bare is $200. Santi is over $700. I don't remember what DUI was when I looked last year.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I used the advice in this post by Diver0001 to test whether my suit fit me: Does this drysuit look too baggy?


Are you wearing the undergarment that you'll be using?

You should be able to do the following barring any physical limitations.

- reach across and put your left hand on your right shoulder and visa versa (length of arms/torso)
- reach back and put either hand between your shoulders at the base of your neck (length of arms/torso)
- reach both hands in the air without feeling tension at the groin or in the legs/feet (length from head to toe)
- raise either knee to 90 degrees (mobility in legs)
- raise either foot to the knee of the other leg (mobility in legs - important for putting on/off fins)
- squat on hands and knees and then put your elbows on the floor and touch them to your knees. (length of the back panel).

 

[Lorenzoid]

Check what the custom cut upcharge is when you are suit shopping. USIA is $150. Bare is $200. Santi is over $700. I don't remember what DUI was when I looked last year.

Santi allows four (or five?) custom adjustments to a stock size suit for free. Most people can get a near-custom fit with a stock size plus the custom adjustments.

For example, Santi recommended I have these done to a stock Medium:

arm length inner : -3
inner leg from the crotch point to the floor: +3
chest: +4
biceps: +2
body trunk: -5

 

[Froggle]

I had to go for O3's made to fit service as I have big shoulders and a big chest. I'm 5'10" but for a suit to fit me width-wise the manufacturers seem to think I should be 6'4"

 

[kelemvor]

I just got my first drysuit a couple years ago and am big (okay, huge). Custom cut / Made to Measure was the way to go for me. Mine was a bare, and the guy at bare actually argued quite a bit with the shop over my measurements... comments about how the measurements must have been in error as they couldn't have been those of a human came out of the guy on the other end of the phone.

Most manufacturers who make custom wetsuits or drysuits have a standard set of measurements to take which makes getting the sizing right "easy". For bare there was like 50 or so measurements, it was kind of crazy. See what otter uses for custom fit sizing and then compare your measurements to the measurements of your suit - or contact otter with your measurements and ask them for suggestions. Here's the info on how to measure yourself for Otter suits: Made to Measure Custom Made Drysuit dry suit It includes a video.

Fortunately, the suit came in fitting me well.

Since you've already bought your drysuit, check back with the shop you bought it from to see if it's possible to get it adjusted.

Edit: I found Wexford, and removed my irrelevant tidbits about a drysuit service guy in the USA from my post.

 

[Neilwood]

I had to go for O3's made to fit service as I have big shoulders and a big chest. I'm 5'10" but for a suit to fit me width-wise the manufacturers seem to think I should be 6'4"

The O3 service was really good with mine.

To the OP, if you have any issues, go back to Otter - their customer service is pretty legendary . I am sure they will be able to do something with it even possibly adding a panel to increase the diameter at the problem area.

 

[sunnyboy]

DUI has some nice sizes. My first was a custom, my second an XLS (extra large short) and then when I lost a bit of weight my last is a LS (large short). The legs are still too long, but they tuck very nicely over the turbo sole.

I tried a Whites fusion but because of the way my legs are shaped it gripped my calves and knees so tight that it refused to vent air from the feet. It blew up like a baloon below the knees while coming up from 60ft.

So the brand and cut are important. It should be loose but not baggy and definitely not tight. You do need to wear your full dive underwear when trying them on, and also do full range of motion - things like deep knee bends (or even lay on an bench and bend knees like the frog kick) as well as trying to reach the center of your back with hands behind the head. All of these motions should come easily or else the suit just isn't fitting.