Custom wet suit?

[Tripod]

I am debating about buying a custom wet suit. A little about me. I am long and skinny... 6'4 and 155 lbs so I was having trouble getting the perfect fit in wetsuits. I tried on a Henderson Hyperstretch Medium. It fit OKAY but was a little loose in the waist and tight around my shoulders.

I called a few dive shops and not many of them offered custom wetsuits and the few that did were in the $500-600 range. Is that about what they run? can anyone recommend a good custom wet suit manufacturer?

Also if anyone has any recs on a wet suit (pre sized) that may work for me, that would be appreciated.
thanks

 

[DiveMaven]

Try Liquidfit.com

 

[ChrisA]

JMJ in California. They make a very nice simi-dry suit (horizontal zipper across chest) it will cost about $360 to have it made. One advantage of going full custom is that they can make the suit with stiffer neoprene. The off the rack suits have to fit a wider range of divers and they do this by usiong ultra-stretch rubber. This kind of material compresses more at depth and is not as warm and does not last as long. The costom suit can be made with a longer lasting and warmmer material. Or it can be made of anything else you specify or even unsual colors if you like.

Take a look here. But they can build anything you can think of. The "freedive" suit is nice and woks fine on scuba.
http://jmjwetsuits.com/styles.htm
The web site is not so great. call them.

JMJ is run by people who used to work at Body Glove. De[pending on who you talk to it was either Body Glove or O'Neil who invented the idea of the neoprene wetsuit in the 1950's. One of them was first by about 6 months I think.

 

[drbill]

I had a custom suit from M&B in Long Beach, CA, that was the warmest and longest lasting wetsuit I've ever owned. Funny thing is that I was the second owner and not the guy it was custom fit for! I second JMJ as well... those I know with their suits love them/

 

[Captain CaveMan]

I know the feeling Tripod. IM 6'6" and 175lbs. Nothing as far as dive gear will fit right.
I have a Henderson 7mm wet suit that I bought that is a size large and it fits really good but is too small in the legs. Im not diving the suit any more (only 10 dives on it and switch to a dry suit) Now it just sits.

 

[mrjimboalaska]

You also can try www.scubal.com

 

[Bwanar]

Try diveskin.net, you'll thank me when you see the value your getting AND a custom suit that will keep you warm! Spiros is a great guy to work with.

 

[CompuDude]

Wow, I thought I had it tough at 6'3", 175.... with a 36" inseam and a 34" waist, there's very little out there made for someone my size. Ironically I'd do better if I was fatter! I can "make do" with certain brands off the rack, but barely, and it's definitely a compromise. I figure if it's warm enough to dive wet, however, making do with off the rack will suffice, and usually a little strip of skin where the legs end the booties begin isn't a huge problem. I'll save the big bucks for a custom drysuit.

Good luck! I will say that, too, have heard nothing but good things for both JMJ (a local company, so I see a them a lot) and LiquidFit (not local, never seen, but read many good reports here on SB).

 

[Tripod]

thanks for the info guys.
Yeah i got it kind of tough. 6'4, 32" waist, skinny chicken legs (according my exgirlfriend) and broad shoulders. whatever i tried off the rack was too loose in one place and too tight in another.

I am leaning towards JMJ right now since I am planning on doing most of my 7mm diving in California waters and it's local and am told that they specialize in suits for california diving. The price seems pretty reasonable (~$330, about the same as a hendersen) and they said they would have it ready in 3 weeks.

I recently became dry suit certified, but had a really tough time maintaining my buoyancy with a dry suit (maybe i just suck and am inexperienced with it), and plus I don't really want to commit the funds for a dry suit yet, nor do I dive often enough to make it really worth it (once a month maybe).

I plan on getting an off the rack 3mm for my tropical diving. I figure the fit isn't as important since the warmth won't be factoring in as much as the protective aspect. anyone have experience with that Oneill tropical explorer suit i see in there website?

 

[CrazyScuba]

If the Hyperstretch is a little big around the waist, remember, you'll have a BCD on with a cummerbund that will tighten things up around the waist. We have a 6' 5" skinny as a rail DM in a Hyperstretch and he loves it. I believe he is in a large long.

Good luck!

Britt :fish:
:fish: