How do I convince my overweight friend that it's ok to dive?

[Victoria3379]

Hi all!!

My best friend and I are going to Thailand in August 09 for 3weeks for our 30th birthday. I really really want to go scuba diving. That would be the highlight of my trip. She is really overweight and someone told her that you have to wear a wetsuit when diving, you need to lather yourself down in dish detergent to get the suit on, and they don't make wetsuits in her size. In my amatuer scuba diving experiences (2), I've never had to wear a suit and I don't know enough to tell her the gospel truth. Apparently, the person she got this info from is really experienced. But I cannot believe that you have to use dish soap to get it on which make me a little suspicious of this person. So my questions are:

1.) Do you need to wear a wetsuit to dive in Phuket?
2.) If you do, are overweight people able to wear them and be comfy?

Any help would be greatly appreciated because I can't go by myself and I really want her to experience it.

 

[Code Monkey]

For me, if the water temperature is greater than 82 degrees, I'm fine without a wetsuit. YMMV, of course, and I know that people with more, um, intrinsic insulation are better in colder water (I'm guessing, only a couple of degrees, though). I believe that the Lonely Planet diving books have water temperatures for a region plotted by month. Alternatively, you can probably Google it.

I hope this helps!

 

[tstormdiver]

Can't help you with question #1, but on #2, overweight people can get into wetsuits. For myself, I have to wear a men's XL wetsuit (I'm female). I'm 5'6" & weigh about 200. The men's suits tend to be too long in the arms & legs, but I just fold them over themselves (telescope style) in the middle of my forearm or in the middle of my leg. That takes up the extra "slack" & helps keep the water from flushing in & out so much. Generally I wear a customized dry suit in colder waters, that fits me like a charm. You can also opt for a custom wetsuit. They're a little pricier than an of the rack type, but the comfort can be worth the additional cost. I would suggest a wetsuit for diving almost any water, unless the temperature is 90 degrees or higher. Eventually you WILL loose body heat & become chilled. Even in an indoor pool I wear a 3mm wetsuit. Since I must be in the water 2- 3 hrs at a time, I tend to get rather chilled by that time.

 

[SteveAD]

question 1) maybe, it depends on the individual.
question 2) absolutely

My recommendation would be for you and your friend to find a local shop and arrange for a discover scuba type experience to sort out your initial comfort level. If you have fun then think about doing a full certification program before your trip.

As a definitely "not off the rack person" I never assume that any operator will have equipment that fits me so I always bring my own.

 

[spectrum]

Here are some answers to your questions. It might be good to comeback and explain the overall situation since it seems your friend is not yet a diver. That may be where the bigger challenges lie.

Since it sounds like she is not yet a diver and you describe her as "really overweight" don't overlook the need for a medical clearance if she plans to get certified along the way. In general she need not be marathon material but should be a fit active person.

1.) Do you need to wear a wetsuit to dive in Phuket?

If the objective if to make a discover or resort dive as part of the trip then if Phuket is as tropical as it sounds the answer is that she can just go in a swimsuit A wetsuit is not required for diving. If the dives will be more frequent over multiple days then a suit becomes more important for dealing with cumulative body heat loss.

2.) If you do, are overweight people able to wear them and be comfy?

If she get's serious about diving the the custom wetsuit suppliers can set her up to enjoy the underwater world with little limitation. More here.

The shampoo you refer to amounts to what we call suit snot, usually 1/3 cheap hair conditioner and 2/3 water used as a lubricant if parts of the suit are difficult to don. I find it helpful if I'm sticky or sweaty but it won't really correct a bad fit. With a tropical weight suit the need should be remote.

Pete

 

[don Francisco]

Based on the size of folks I regularly see on dive boats, I'd say she'd have to be w-a-y overweight not to be able to find a wetsuit that fits comfortably.

As to whether she needs a wetsuit of not, that's a personal issue. Look around on a winter day and see the variation in how much different people wear. Same thing in the water. On the same dive in 80 degree water, you'll see everything from no wetsuit, to 5mm full suits with hoods.

If she decides to buy a wetsuit, a 3mm or 3/2mm suit should do, shouldn't be too expensive and with hyperstretch or a similar material, getting it on or off won't be a problem.

The real question is does she want to dive? It might be that she really doesn't and is seizing on an excuse.

If she really does want to dive, she shouldn't let minor problems or self conciousness get in the way, and you'd be doing her a favor by helping her overcome these issues.

 

[Damselfish]

well, I googled 'phuket water temperature' and found something that says the water stays between 27-29C (80-84F) and another with a chart by month. In that range some people wear 3mm thick suits or even more, but others don't wear more than maybe a tshirt over their bathing suit, or a lycra or neoprene dive skin (looks like a wetsuit but is thin and stretchy and easy to get on, and can even make someone look thinner. ) A "naturally well insulated" person will probably be fine without a wetsuit, especially if they're not from a real tropical climate to begin with, and especially if you're just talking about a couple resort dives. They could probably get away with it for an OW course too, though if you're doing that she might want to consider getting at least a skin of her own to take along - if she does need something she might have trouble finding a rental that fit and was comfortable.

As far as the dish detergent thing, it's not unheard of for people to do that or other tricks to get into a tight suit, but that sort of thing is more common with thicker suits which you wouldn't be wearing in Thailand, and certainly not standard procedure for everyone. Suits are supposed to fit snugly, but as far as I'm concerned if you really have to resort to dish soap it's too tight.

If she got certified and continued diving she would probably want a wetsuit of some sort. It could be something off the rack, maybe one of the hyperstretch type models, or could be a custom suit.

Possibly of more concern than a wetsuit is what kind of shape your friend is in. Some overweight people are actually in pretty good shape, but if someone (of any size) is in really bad shape that can be a problem. Also make sure this is really something she wants to try and not just something you want her to experience. Maybe she is really concerned about wetsuits or whatever, but with some people they will come up with various excuses when they simply don't really want to do it.

 

[Victoria3379]

Thank you all for your wonderful answers to my question. I'm going to ask her if she really want to dive and if she's really interested. Then, I'll go from there if she's game. Either way, I'm taking her to the dive shop with me to buy my suit.

On a personal level, I'm feeling very inspired because of all of you and I think I'm going to become certified before my trip.

Thanks again.

 

[Teamcasa]

Be sure and post a followup on your trip. I hope your friend decides to dive with you. It may just inspire her!

 

[famfubar]

I'm 5'8" 275 lbs. and am not the biggest diver in my family and nowhere near as big as divers that I have dived with. A dutch man we dove with in Bonaire was "around 200 kilos" as he put it. Neither I nor any of my family have had any difficulty getting gear off the rack. We have never had to use any type of lubricant to get into any of it. The only comfort issues we have encountered have been being too warm in warm water. After 3 days of diving in Bonaire, we went without for the rest of the week. I would recommend wearing one though if you are inexperienced just to protect against abrasions. My 19 year old son is much larger than me, has high blood pressure and is a high-functioning autistic and has more dives than me and loves it!!!.. Please do everything in your power to get your friend to give it a try. They will love it too!!!