Can drysuits be refitted / downsized? Any drawbacks of this?

[Edward3c]

Can a drysuit that's too big be re-custom fitted and adjusted to a smaller size? Any drawbacks to doing this that could compromise the suit?

How much might I expect to pay to have someone do this?

Talking about moving down 1-2 waist sizes, plus about 4 inches shorter in height.

When I was being fitted for my current suit the owner told me that anything can be altered EXCEPT the hoop. The measurement from the nape of the neck, down through the crutch and up to the Adam’s Apple (for men). If that’s wrong the manufacture has to start again.

In UK waters most students use dry-suits from the start. There only difficult if the instructor isn’t totally familiar with their use. My students haven’t taken any longer learning in dry-suits than those whom chose a wet-suit. In fact they often get certified quicker as they don't get as cold as wet-suited students whom often only do one dive a day.

 

[Doby45]

Within two months I have purchased two Fusion drysuits, a Bullet and a Sport. Same suit just different skin on the outside. They have both been in the $700 range and so far great suits. I got the Bullet for myself and I got the Sport for my dive buddy (he is paying me back). The Fusion to me basically feels like I am diving a wetsuit, very easy to manage.. I am 5'11, 210lb and I fit in the L/XL with no issues at all, even with thick under garments. Dive buddy is more like 6' and 185lb and he has plenty of room in his L/XL also..

First DRY dives

 

[Hawkwood]

Doing OWD in a drysuit is quite common in some regions and perhaps the best option if dry diving is what you believe you'll be doing after certifying. Over here, all OW courses are done in drysuits, and I know quite a few divers who have never dived wet.

That's how we do it here. Most students opt to do their OW dives in dry suits. Learn to dive in what you will be using. It's all new to them anyway, so to them it's "just the way it is".

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I have used Mark at Superior Diving Repair, Inc. for several drysuit alterations. He does great work and will work on any brand of suit.

 

[JohnnyC]

Doing OWD in a drysuit is quite common in some regions and perhaps the best option if dry diving is what you believe you'll be doing after certifying. Over here, all OW courses are done in drysuits, and I know quite a few divers who have never dived wet.

Absolutely, but my take was that his course wasn't offered with that option. Maybe I misinterpreted. Which unfortunately removes that "water baby" type of ingrained learning from the get go. For whatever reason it seems as if people are trained from the get go in a drysuit, they have no problems (not to mention the rental cost is usually built into the course), but for some strange reason if they become OW divers without it, they have a much harder time. I can't really explain it at all, but I've seen it often enough that it seems to have some merit to the idea that if you miss that first bus stop it's more of an uphill climb. Not that the plural of anecdote is data.....

It's like teaching divers on their knees vs not even giving them the chance. The ones that never have that opportunity to be lazy seem to get buoyancy much much easier than those who are allowed to do the skills overweighted on the bottom.

I'll add that Steve Gamble does great drysuit work, as well as the folks at DRIS. If anyone would be able to tell you if it's possible to radically alter a drysuit like that, it'll be Steve or Mike.

 

[filmguy123]

So, I talked to the USIA factory directly and they seemed to indicate making those changes would be no big deal - about $200 - and would not compromise the quality of the suit at all. I am thinking I could get the suit for $500 cash locally, and the changes for $200.

At the same time, I talked to Steve and he indicated "no way, that would be a mess, unless you had someone with the machines, etc. but even then I wouldn't recommend it" and the opinions here seemed to vary. Not sure if the USIA factory just wants my business, but the lovely lady I talked to seemed like a peach and was like "no we do this all the time, the changes you are talking about are no big deal".

So, just wanted to bounce it off here to make sure I'm not getting a run-around line. $700 to a like new, (re-sized to custom fit) top end USIA dry suit? I think it was 4-5 years old, but only used a handful of times... so whatever model they were selling in 2011/2012.