Drysuit fit

[Spg01]

I am wondering how much space should there be between your legs and the suit?

I tried on a fusion bullet today 2xl/3xl and with the shell on it was kind of hard to work my hand next to my calf. I took the outer liner off and tried again with just the suit and I was able to slip my hand next to my calf. Now I was not wearing an undergarment, just work pants that are very thin.

The dealer said it looked like plenty of room and not to worry about it. But I can help thinking with the slight squeeze from the outer shell and undergarments it might get pretty darn tight down there. But then again I don't know if that is how tight they are supposed to be. When I was in the suit the guy inflated it until I looked like the Michelin Man. And there was quite a bit of room everywhere except my calves. (sp?)

So am I just paranoid or is that how it is supposed to fit?

 

[FWADIVER]

work your hand next to your calf on the inside? as an fyi i find it harder to put my fusion on (2x3x bullet) with jeans or khakis than with the mk2 with underarmor and fleece leggings under it. I have really big calves and dont have an issue.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Why didn't the dealer have you try on the drysuit with the heaviest undergarment that you intend to use? That would be the easiest way to address the issue.

One of the issues with earlier versions of the Fusion is that the cut in the lower leg region was too tight. I believe Whites has improved the cut in recent versions.

 

[elan]

Ideally you should have no extra space between the undies and the suit in the calf area. If you dive horizontal , thats the ideal position for drysuit, that space will be filled with air and you will have hard tome maintaininf the trim

 

[Spg01]

"FWADIVER
work your hand next to your calf on the inside? as an fyi i find it harder to put my fusion on (2x3x bullet) with jeans or khakis than with the mk2 with underarmor and fleece leggings under it. I have really big calves and dont have an issue."

Yes. I thought there should be some space around my calf, I just have no idea how much. I was in work pants that are some polyester blend and thinner than regular jeans.

"Bubbletrubble
Why didn't the dealer have you try on the drysuit with the heaviest undergarment that you intend to use? That would be the easiest way to address the issue."

They did not have a 2XL/3XL undergarments in the store. But I would still have the question of how much extra room around the calf is normal. I will see if they can get an undergarment that will fit. I also did not try stretching in all positions yet, reaching valves etc...


"elan
Ideally you should have no extra space between the undies and the suit in the calf area. If you dive horizontal , thats the ideal position for drysuit, that space will be filled with air and you will have hard tome maintaininf the trim "

I guess that makes sense. I was just thinking about getting in and out of the suit would be more difficult with no extra room.

 

[FWADIVER]

yes you are not going to get your hand down the inside, it should be tight around your calves. the actually mk2/mk3 have slippery outer panels which make getting it on easier plus the stirrups, jeans or dockers tend to bunch up and make it harder to pull up. my calves are 24.5-25 inches around (bare) and i typically wear under-armor, fleece pants, then the mk2 john over and dont have any issues.

 

[turnerjd]

I remember a wise old guy fitting my first drysuit a long time ago. The aim with fitting is to get it as snugly fitting as possible whilst sill being able to do things in it. If my memory hasn't failed me these where:

1. squat down. on toes bum on heels the suit shouldn't kill your knees or crotch.

2. stand up. lift right foot up infront of left leg to above knwee height so you can adjust fin strap with left hand.

3. repeat with left foot and right hand.

4. reach with left hand over left shoulder and right shoulder and tough first stage.

5. repeat with right hand.

If you can do these, the suit is not too small. if it rubs / hurts / imposible to do something then too small.

But you don't want a suit too big either. This is because you will get pockets of air flopping around and it makes it harder to keep good control of your buoyancy.

 

[TSandM]

Ideally, you want the legs of a drysuit to be just big enough to accomodate your undergarments in a fully lofted condition. Anything more than that is wasted space and potential gas trapping.

If, in truth, you CANNOT fit the thickness of your hand between your calf and the suit, it's too tight. But I think that can be hard to assess in the Fusion, unless you had the legs first pulled all the way up, and then rolled down until only the calf remained in place. Otherwise, the compression from the skin is going to make it seem more difficult than it is. That said, the Bullet skin is much more compressive than the Tech or Sport skin, at least from my experiences with it. I doubt the inner bag is too tight, but the skin may not be encouraging much expansion.