Do wetsuits break in, stretch, or loosen up over time?

[dive_turkey]

So, I bought a BARE Velocity 8/7mm sem-dry in size Medium. I am at the high edge of a size M according to their chart. Height: 5'8-5'10, I'm 5'10; Chest: 37-39, I'm a 39... you get the idea. This works for almost all of their parameters.

So I've now put this thing on twice, once at home and once at the pool where I then dove with just mask, fins, and weight up and down to about 10ft. I can get into the thing, but I'm not sure if that's an indicator of "fit". It's very tight around my chest and shoulders. If I relax my arms, it will actually push them up and away from my body, about like a gym-rat trying to look bigger. Taking it off both dry and wet was a challenge.

I had hoped it would feel better in the water. In all honesty, it felt the same. I don't really know how to describe the tightness except to say that I felt "aware" of the suit and it's feel the entire time, where normally once I'm in the water, the suit is just there and I only notice every now and then if some cool water sneaks in. Once in the water I also noticed that it felt tighter around my crotch.

I also own a BARE Elastek 5mm Hooded step-in vest, it is a M/L. It feels like as near a perfect fit as I am going to get, understanding that there are little pockets of air where the suit simple doesn't fit my contour perfectly. In the water it feels like a wetsuit with water sneaking in here and there (mostly through the arms), but for the most part it's doing it's job.

So, to get to the end of it all. Does the general population believe that my sem-dry suit will stretch out, break in, or loosen up to a point that it will become the perfect suit? Or, should I make the exchange for the next size up in M/L with the understanding that it may not be as closely fitting, but that it's still a sem-dry and will be more than adequate? Maybe I should take the next size up and wear a rash guard underneath? Maybe I should keep my suit and just loose 10 pounds?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Bottom Surveyor]

Well, providing you have a surplus of 10lb of BODY FAT to spare (and not muscle!), losing it would benefit you in more ways than simply enabling your shiny new suit to fit you perfectly
Having said that, majority of people carry most of the excess body fat around their waist, hips and upper thighs. Since you're not complaining that the suit is too tight in those places, you may end up losing 10lb and the suit would still not fit you, if your chest and shoulders are rather lean (as this is where you say the suit is the tightest).
So be careful what you do...

I have a simple rule (not confined solely to buying sports/scuba clothing): if it doesn't fit NOW - I don't buy it.
I used to do it in the past, but I got a lot wiser since then!

Regards, and good luck whatever you decide to do!

 

[Quero]

It's probably a little too small across your shoulders. That would cause the effect you get with your arms and also would make it difficult to don and doff. You could try the M/L, but if the suit you've got now seems to fit everywhere but the shoulders, I would guess that you've got the right size, but the wrong cut. Every manufacturer cuts their suits slightly differently--narrower in the shoulders/hips or shorter/longer in the torso. If you stick with Bare, and particularly with the same style of suit, you may get a good fit in the chest but perhaps a poor fit everywhere else. Normally wetsuits give a little once they're wet, but if yours didn't do that and you still felt squeezed in the chest while in the pool, I would just say to see if you can return it to where you bought it and get a different brand.

 

[dive_turkey]

All sound advice! I do have the ten to lose, but it probably wouldn't help, and the act of losing it would probably just increase the difficulty in my shoulders and arms. I forgot to mention that the suit was very tight around my upper arms to the point that I could easily distinguish bicep and tricep.

I guess the next question is, has anyone created a matrix of manufacturer to body type?

I'm fairly cylindrical. I'm average build to fit build, but I don't have a pronounced trapezoidal shape. I tend to maintain a consistent thickness from my shoulders to my knees. My other BARE fits my body great.

I think I'll start with a size exchange and then start researching other manufacturers as well.

Thanks!

 

[supergaijin]

It sounds to me that it's too small- if you can, return it. However it sounds like an internet purchase so... good luck with that.

 

[dive_turkey]

It was a target of opportunity from Leisure Pro. I kept all the original packaging and can send it back for the exchange. The only kicker is waiting several weeks for delivery to Germany.

 

[spectrum]

It's too small from what you describe.

Difficulty donning and especially doffing could be attributed to technique. And feeling "aware" takes a bit for some that are not accustomed to such a form fitting rubber garment.

However the lifting of arms and resistance when breathing are red flags.

The arms lifting could be size or length. The suit is a medium but the companion vest that feels good is a medium long. That "long" is in the torso such as the circumference through your crotch and up over a shoulder, you may in effect have a rubber band around there. Along with that does the suit fail to seat well up into your armpits? This would suggest that the suit at least needs to be the long variant.

The length could be contributing to the breathing but you may also need the large, probably in the regular cut. How much stretch does the zipper need to pull in? With the suit pulled well into place and even wetted how close is the zipper to closed as the slider approaches. If it's truly stretching the suit by much more than 1 inch it will mess with your breathing and eventually break. Sometimes this will also show up as a zipper that will race back down if you let go of the lanyard half way up.

More here

Pete

 

[maniago]

I'm on the fence for you on this one. Semi dry suits are tight by definition: 1 - they are thick thick thick 2- the cuff damns have to be tight enough to do the job 3-new they are an SOB. My 8/7 Aqualung Solafx is an exercise in fighting with a large rubber band. Most definitely you need a body skin to put it on - forget it with just dry skin. I also use the plastic bag trick on my hands and feet in addition to my dive skin. And if I can stand the cold water, I get wet first too. All these things are necessary to get mine on, but I wouldn't change the size. I'm 5'8" 165 and a gym rat. Medium fits me like a glove. I've been diving mine for about a year and a half, and its loosened a little, but not a lot. Its pretty much the same fight as the first time I put it on - I'm just more experienced at beating it. But I'm never cold in it unless I'm legit below 40F. And then its my exposed face areas that suffer, not my core or limbs.

 

[Dsix36]

I have never had a wetsuit loosen up over time. They have always shrank just a bit over many years. Yes, even if I did not gain any weight. I have been told this might be due to the exposure to UV rays.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I am a hard to fit for wet suits and until they went under, got sold, and came back Pinnacle was the one that fit me best. I have a BARE as well and find that their sizing limits tend to be a little generous. So when it came time for a new 3 mil I went full custom and got one from Wetwear. I'll never buy an off the rack wetsuit again.