Exactly how tight should a wetsuit be?

[KeithG]

In an odd twist of fate, I now have a 2 full body wetsuits- a 3/2 in an XXXL and and 5mm in XXL.

I'm 6'2" and 225 lbs. Big dude.

SO anyways- the 3/2 is just a little loose in the armpits, and when I lean forward, bunches up a little bit around the torso. There's just a tiny bit of gap around the wrists and ankles. Likely not an issue with booties and gloves, etc. I'm thinking that pooling and flowing is possible with this suit.

I've also got a 5mm that's just a bit snug. Nice and tight all across the body.

So I'm wondering- are there really good metrics for a good fit on a wetsuit? How snug is too snug? Will the neoprene compression at depth make a change in how it fits and feels?

Good fit == snug around water access points.

I have always used custom fit wetsuits. I have always been amazed at all the other divers complaining about being cold and/or layering multiple (sometimes 3 layers) wetsuits in order to stay warm.

You do need to ensure the suit is comfortable. Having an extra 3 or 4 inches of arm or leg will not generally enhance your dive.

In order to stay warm, you must ensure your suit controls (limits) the water flow. So I make sure my suit tailor (attico) gets the neck, sleeves and leg openings properly fitted.

 

[hellhole]

http://youtube.com/TOcg6SUr6XQ

not sure why it didnt come out right...

 

[Hatul]

Pete makes a good point that the final arbitrator is how it feels in the water, that's why wetsuit fit, at least for the 7mm, is so difficult. Still you want to be able to walk to the beach in your suit without suffering from neck compression.

 

[spectrum]

Maybe I have been lucky but I'm by no means a "pencil neck". Dosen't the Vlecro cinch of a neck seal afford a comfortable range for everyone?

Pete

 

[Firebird2XC]

Good fit == snug around water access points.

I have always used custom fit wetsuits. I have always been amazed at all the other divers complaining about being cold and/or layering multiple (sometimes 3 layers) wetsuits in order to stay warm.

You do need to ensure the suit is comfortable. Having an extra 3 or 4 inches of arm or leg will not generally enhance your dive.

In order to stay warm, you must ensure your suit controls (limits) the water flow. So I make sure my suit tailor (attico) gets the neck, sleeves and leg openings properly fitted.

Good point on the water access points. I was considering trimming my 5mm around the neck, but I think I'm going to dive once or twice with it first and see how it shakes out. My instructor pointed out that I needed to remember my body posture in a neutral buoyancy horizontal posture before I considered the suit to fit right or not. He had a point- we'll see how it shakes out.

 

[toddster541]

I seem to have pupated again. Zippers won't stay closed on my lightweight suits and I can't even get in to my cold-water suit any more. This is the second time I've gone through that in the last 30 years. So I spent a whole day driving to different shops and tried on every make I could find. Nope. Nothing off the rack even comes close to fitting. This time, it's got to be a custom-job.

I'm not sure whether I've just become more dis-proportional with age, or whether they've just stopped making suits for people who aren't planning to smuggle a beach ball along in there. :alien: If only Igor had stolen all the body parts from the same sized corpses...

But seriously, if you don't have a perfectly "average" body, you may not find a suit off the rack that fits well.