Awkwatic
Registered
First, I'm a big dude. 315lbs and 6'3" tall. Finding anything that fits is a disaster, and finding anything that fits well is usually impossible. So when I got into scuba I was scared I wouldn't be able to participate due to lack of fitting gear.
Some of my fears were true, some weren't. It turns out, yes, it's still hard to find anything that fits comfortably well, and size charts seems to stop being true after 2xl, but diving still has a surprising amount of options for us absolute units.
The Akona Quantum Stretch full suit 7mm is what I ended up fitting the best, almost like it was made for me. I think the reason is because of how stretchy the material is. It glues to my skin and is easy to peel on and off. I went with a 5XL, which is a size up compared to my measurements, but it ended up working out perfect.
Compared to the Henderson Thermoprene I tried, it fits 10x better. The Henderson wasn't terrible, but they did the classic "If you're a big guy, we assume you're 7ft tall too" thing and the legs and arms had 6" of extra length more than I needed, and it had some weird fit / air bubble problems behind the knees that'd cause some flushing.
The very first suit I ordered was a Pinnacle Cruiser 7mm in King 1 size, which according to the size chart and my tailor took my measurements, it should have fit like a glove. Alas, I couldn't even get it over my legs. Absolute no fit at all. Damn thing was sized for someone like 5'9" even though the size chart said 6'+
The Akona size chart isn't perfect, but it at least runs true to height more than anything, which I find is most important. Fat can compress, and you can slip into smaller sizes than you think, but if the damn thing is too tall or too short, you're either not getting it on, or not getting a good seal on the legs and arms.
Some of my fears were true, some weren't. It turns out, yes, it's still hard to find anything that fits comfortably well, and size charts seems to stop being true after 2xl, but diving still has a surprising amount of options for us absolute units.
The Akona Quantum Stretch full suit 7mm is what I ended up fitting the best, almost like it was made for me. I think the reason is because of how stretchy the material is. It glues to my skin and is easy to peel on and off. I went with a 5XL, which is a size up compared to my measurements, but it ended up working out perfect.
Compared to the Henderson Thermoprene I tried, it fits 10x better. The Henderson wasn't terrible, but they did the classic "If you're a big guy, we assume you're 7ft tall too" thing and the legs and arms had 6" of extra length more than I needed, and it had some weird fit / air bubble problems behind the knees that'd cause some flushing.
The very first suit I ordered was a Pinnacle Cruiser 7mm in King 1 size, which according to the size chart and my tailor took my measurements, it should have fit like a glove. Alas, I couldn't even get it over my legs. Absolute no fit at all. Damn thing was sized for someone like 5'9" even though the size chart said 6'+
The Akona size chart isn't perfect, but it at least runs true to height more than anything, which I find is most important. Fat can compress, and you can slip into smaller sizes than you think, but if the damn thing is too tall or too short, you're either not getting it on, or not getting a good seal on the legs and arms.
