Buying Drysuit - measurements

[TommyBoyIreland]

Hi,

After 5 or 6 years diving in Ireland, and as I get older, I have decided I could probably do with a drysuit to help me cope better with the ~12C temperatures 30 M down I currently use a 7mm wetsuit (steamer) and, while its not too bad, I often come out feeling cold, especially on dives early & late in the season, and that probably adversely impacts my air consumption.

Anyway, based on a few factors I have decided to go with the ScubaPro Evertec Breathable drysuit.I can order it, at a good price, through my local dive store. As I am in the west of Ireland, online ordering is the only viable option, so I cant try it on before purchase - therefore I need to be sure of my size.

Scubapro sent me a size chart with measurements for chest, waist, hip, height, weight & shoe size. In all those categories, except one, the L or XL are the right fit, but when it comes to waist (measured around my belly button) I need a 4XL !!!! I am NOT fat, I'll admit to carrying a bit of a stomach, and lock-down hasn't been kind (but no more than 4 or 5 lbs gain), but you wouldn't look at me in the street and say "he's a bit fat"

For the record, my measurements are (these are only rough, I will do them more precisely when I come to select the final size):

Chest - 110cm (43.5")
Waist - 112cm !!!! (44")
Hips - 112cm (44")
Height - 180 cm (5'11")
Weight - 90kg (196 lbs)
Shoe Size - 45 Eur (11 US)

So a few questions:

- Have I measured the wrong place (round my belly button) for waist? I take 34" waist jeans, but they don't come up to my belly button
- If those measurements are real, do I go with the majority of my measurements and be a bit tight round the gut, or go with the waist measurement and be too loose everywhere else (including putting my 5'11" frame into something designed for a 6'6" giant)?
- I have been told it is a good idea to get a dry suit that is a "little" large as it allows for more layers as it gets colder, but is there a rule of thumb of how much larger it should be?

Advice very welcome, but if it is "you really should try it on first", that's not an option I'm afraid

 

[Marie13]

What does your LDS say about your sizing issue? You might want to pay a tailor or seamstress to do your measurements.

 

[TommyBoyIreland]

The good news is that ScubaPro have confirmed the "waist measurement" is the "narrowest part of your trunk" - i.e. the waist I use for my jeans size, and not (as some Google search suggested) the measurement around the belly button.

I now need to get more accurate measurements & then get advice on how much "extra" to allow for undersuits

I am not in a massive hurry as we are coming into the "bath water" times when the ocean can be as warm as 15C/59F

 

[lermontov]

go to the Otter website they have a vid on measuring for dry suit

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

How to measure yourself for a drysuit - Seaskin Custom Diving Suits

 

[TommyBoyIreland]

How to measure yourself for a drysuit - Seaskin Custom Diving Suits

I think this was the website I saw that confused me, as they say, for the waist measurement ::

"Record at the largest section of the belly usually at navel height"

And that is what got me confused as being "XL In all but waist" Scubapro have clarified that, for them, it is "narrowest part of your trunk", which then makes me an XL all over, and as I am not a very peculiar shape, that makes more sense

 

[TommyBoyIreland]

go to the Otter website they have a vid on measuring for dry suit

Thanks - watched that. Not sure I am going to splash out on a MTM suit just yet, but the video was useful, especially as he said "the waist isn't that critical as the suits are all elasticated in that area"

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Have a look around that website @TommyBoyIreland, it's a real tailor made suit and just over the sea, fantastic price


Seaskin Nova drysuit review

 

[clownfishsydney]

Seaskin really is the best place to get from. Even here in Australia, many of us have ordered from there via on-line. Very happy with mine.

 

[Brett Hatch]

I would not buy an off-the-shelf sized drysuit without trying it on first. Even if you fall approximately in the range of measurements given, there's a fair chance it will be off somewhere. Maybe you have particularly long arms or wide shoulders or skinny calves, or some other thing. Asking around at my local dive shops, they were seeing more than half of their customers go for an off-the-shelf suit and then pay about $400 to send it back to the manufacturer to tailor it in some way. Does your LDS physically stock these suits, such that you can try one on?

+1 to having a tailor do the measurements. You can surely find one nearby who will do it cheaply, like $20.

In the end, I did go with a SeaSkin Nova drysuit. I'm very happy with it, it's MTM so the fit is good. Including a bunch of options (pockets, drygloves, P-valve, etc) it came out to £990, plus about 60 pounds postage all the way to the US. It is at least worth clicking through their build-a-suit thingie to get another price point -- in my case the LDS suits were double the cost.