Advice on drysuit fit

[Bluefishy]

Thanks Z - really appreciate you taking the time to help

Let me put it in context - there’s two specific secondhand suits currently for sale that I’m considering (must be a fair few wide short people out there!!) but whilst they both fit on the width (one is 10cm bigger than my chest and hip measurements without undergarments on and the other is 15-20cm) but they are too tall. But one is barely dived and £360 rather than £1200 for the same suit new. So what I’m tying to work out is if it’s worth buying and either making do with it being a bit long l, or having it altered in the legs by 3-4 inches (even paying for that would put it at less than half the price). It’s got socks 2 sizes bigger than my feet so could have these replaced with boots at the same time. One of them is actually the brand and suit I was looking at buying new.

I’ve done a few drysuit dives in a very old baggy trilam and had no issues with trim or buoyancy but most of my diving has been wetsuit. So not really got any feel for sizes and impact on diving apart from knowing you don’t want lots of air in your legs/feet! So I don’t want to buy a suit that is SO long that it is daft to dive in it.

Ps I’m not a mad shaped bloke - I’m a busty lady that goes in at the waist and out again at the hips - great for burlesque outfits, not so great for diving haha. Ladies drysuit sizing over a certain bust size is even worse!)

 

[Zef]

Thanks Z - really appreciate you taking the time to help

Let me put it in context - there’s two specific secondhand suits currently for sale that I’m considering (must be a fair few wide short people out there!!) but whilst they both fit on the width (one is 10cm bigger than my chest and hip measurements without undergarments on and the other is 15-20cm) but they are too tall. But one is barely dived and £360 rather than £1200 for the same suit new. So what I’m tying to work out is if it’s worth buying and either making do with it being a bit long l, or having it altered in the legs by 3-4 inches (even paying for that would put it at less than half the price). It’s got socks 2 sizes bigger than my feet so could have these replaced with boots at the same time. One of them is actually the brand and suit I was looking at buying new.

I’ve done a few drysuit dives in a very old baggy trilam and had no issues with trim or buoyancy but most of my diving has been wetsuit. So not really got any feel for sizes and impact on diving apart from knowing you don’t want lots of air in your legs/feet! So I don’t want to buy a suit that is SO long that it is daft to dive in it.

Ps I’m not a mad shaped bloke - I’m a busty lady that goes in at the waist and out again at the hips - great for burlesque outfits, not so great for diving haha. Ladies drysuit sizing over a certain bust size is even worse!)

Question: when you say 10cm bigger than your chest and hip measurement is that 10cm bigger all around or will that be 5cm bigger on the left and 5cm bigger on the right?

I don't think 10cm is a huge amount and will be taken up by your undersuit and will be kept under control by your harness, weight belt, or BC (whichever you use).

If it is inexpensive to have the legs tailored then that would certainly be the way to go IF it fits your proportions in the other areas. Until your last post I did not know you were a woman and thought you were man. From my experience in the cycling industry, women have shorter torsos and arms on average compared to men....so the question is will the suit fit in the torso and arms properly/comfortably even though you can have the legs modified? I imagine tailoring the entire suit may be cost prohibitive but I really don't know and that is for you to decide.

I know I mentioned the Fusion Bullet, but that was because I thought you were a guy. Aqualung makes the Fusion Fit which is the women's specific model and is supposedly cut for the contours of a women's chest and hips plus it comes with nice purple accents (if that is your thing). Perhaps you new that, but if not you may want to revisit that.

Your body type is similar to my wife's except she has less of the "burlesque undulations" so fitting wetsuits and drysuits is quite a challenge for her at 5'2" and on the rounder side of the shape spectrum (she has a thyroid issue). She was able to find a cressi wetsuit that fit quite well a few years ago...but is a little tight on her now and she fears she will need an expensive made to measure suit to get a comfortable fit.

If you were my wife asking for my recommendation based on what you have presented, I would say go for what you think presents the best value and have the suit altered to fit your needs if that does not break your budget. £360 for a lightly used drysuit in excellent shape seems like it could be a really good deal...especially if you are planning to get something custom made in the future.

Cheers,
-Z