Custom wetsuits

[Keilidh]

hi....this is my first post so here it goes....

Q1. What makes a good custom wet suit (specs, ideas). I'll mainly need it for tropical conditions (e.g. red sea, caribbean)

Q2. Has anyone come across custom wet suit makers in Miami or the UK?

thanx a million,

 

[rcohn]

I've visited Wetwear ( http://www.wetwear.com/ ) which is just a bit north of Miami and my wife had a custom 5 mm suit made for her. They use Rubatex neoprene and her suit mqde with R-2100 turned out very well. They were a little late in getting the suit made so they shipped it to us by overnight express. Of course they charged her the $50 for this unnecessary rush. Just be precise when dealing with the service rep, don't load up the suit with unnecessary zippers, and it should work out fine.

I have a custom 7 mm suit from Deep Thought in California (Rubatex G-231-N) which is also a fine suit. I prefer freediving style suits with attached hoods and no zippers for all but the warmest conditions but most people stick to standard scuba suits.

Ralph

 

[Tavi]

I Can't help with your question. I just want to say Welcome to the Boards!.

Tavi

 

[Warhammer]

I have a couple of custom fit suits, both are Liquid Fit Platinums. A 3mm full and 3mm short sleeve shorty, to be exact. It took a couple of re-fittings to get the fit right, but the trouble was well worth the fit. They fit almost perfect and keep me warm in just about any condition I care to dive in. I've dove them in temps from 52 to 82 degrees and so far, I haven't been cold. But they aren't the sexiest suits to ever hit the market, at least mine aren't. And I've had a little trouble with the seams coming loose. The seam under both arms and the one in the rear end on the full suit have both came loose. But Liquid fit was prompt to repair the suits, no questions asked, so I can't complain. I'd buy another suit from them, without hesitation. The tears were most likely due to be a little too tight in those areas.

 

[FinMeister]

Keildh,

As a relative newcomer to this board, myself, welcome. You will find a lot of good information in many of the posts here, and the discourse--in general--is reasoned and civil.

To me, the most important thing in a wetsuit is proper fit. If you are not comfortable in the suit, the dive can be ruined. Off-the-rack suits often don't mold themselves to your 'special' shape. It may fit well in one place, but not in another.

As to your custom wet suit query, the only Florida company I have personal experience with is Aquaflite in Lakeland (800/581-7916 - ask for Ed). I can recommend their product without reservation.

My wife and I recently purchased custom made 3 mm full wetsuits with sleeveless jackets, hoods, wrist and ankle zippers, the works. We even got the special super slick inside liner which certainly makes the suit easier to get into and out of when it's wet. The cost was modest, $345 per suit with unlimited modifications (gain weight/loose weight, etc.). Delivery was FedX to my door, no charge.

The bottom line is we are completely satisfied. We found 3mm to be just right for Caribbean diving, and the sleeveless jacket is sometimes used in the 68-72 degree springs here in North Florida. FWIW, I have no interest in Aquaflite other than being a very satisfied customer.

Good luck.

 

[mandygal]

Hi,

I just have a quick question about liquidfit. Can you tell me approximately how much it cost you for the custom suit? I called today, and I am not sure if I heard right. She said they start at $280.00. Is that correct? I just did not know if I was imagining things. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about these people. Lucky for me-It turns out that the lady who owns liquidfit lives 10 minutes from where I work, so she told me she could do all the measuring for me! What a relief!
Any suggestions would be just great!

Thanks,

Mandy

 

[Warhammer]

If memory serves me correct, I believe I paid around $350 for a 3mm Platinum full and shorty combo.

 

[rcohn]

I just want to comment that after our experiences with Carolyn on the Rodale's board (before she was kicked off by Rodale's) I personally would never consider a Liquid Fit product. Too many good alternatives available (Kettenhofer, Wetwear, Deep Thought, M&B, Atlan, Aquaflite, etc.) to deal with her.

Ralph

 

[Warhammer]

I don't know exactly what happened with Carolyn on Rodale's board cause I tend not to get involved or pay any attention to flame parrades. But I do know that didn't involve Liquid Fit nor the quality of Liquid Fit products. All I can go by is my own experiences. And my experiences with Carolyn, her staff, and Liquid Fit have never been nothing short of great. In my opinion, Liquid Fit has an good product with superb service. And frankly that's all the matters when I'm in the market for that product.

 

[simonk999]

As another information point, I have an Aquaflite custom suit. They use a gold-ish colored smooth sided neoprene. Don't know how it's wear, compression-wise, as I've not done a whole lot of dives on it yet, but it does fit tightly. It is difficult to figure out if the measurements I took were ideal -- the suit seems to fit fine, but I wonder if it could fit better?

I basically have the same problem as the original poster, body size wise, tall and skinny, so production suits for my height were always quite loose in the torso. I'm pretty happy with the aquaflite, though there was a glueing problem on some of the seams. The owner said that with this new smooth neoprene, they're still doing a bit of trial and error with the glueing technique given the humidity of Florida, where they're located. I ended up using some aqua-seal to reglue the parts of the seams that had come apart. Not a big deal.

If you're interested in spending quite a bit, Harvey's has the new Kobalt smooth neoprene that can be ordered custom, and they offer the advantage of double-blind sewed and glued seams. Liquidfit and Aquaflite only sew the outside seam (plus glued, of course).

-Simon