How should my suit fit?

[jiveturkey]

I just received my custom made 5mm semidry wetsuit. I have only dived in cold water a few times in my life. I'm really only used to how my 3mm fits. It's tight all around with a few slight creases at the armpits. My new 5mm has those creases when my arms are positioned up or down but they seem larger. This one is easier to put on than my 3mm. It seems way too loose. If I bend over, it bunches up around the stomach area and I'm able to grab several inches of neoprene and pull it away from my body. Is this just the way it is with a thicker suit? I would have thought the opposite.

Is it possible to get this taken in now or am I stuck with what I've got? The whole purpose of the "custom made" "semidry" was to have a great fit and reduce the movement of the water in the suit . I assumed that with custom made, I wouldn't have any problems at all. I was measured at an exhibition and the suit was sent from another city. Being in Korea makes this especially annoying because I've got a major language barrier. Arrgh..

 

[wreckchick]

I just bought an off-the-rack semi-dry and although mine fits nice and snugly pretty much everywhere except along my shoulders where the zipper is, the specs on it say that it can be worn looser than a typical wetsuit leaving room for light undergarments if needed.

If it was measured for you and assuming you haven't significantly changed shape since then, I would expect that you have the correct fit but it wouldn't hurt to get a friend with less of a language barrier to call the company and ask them what the fit should be.

Hope this is at all useful...

Rachel

 

[jiveturkey]

bump

 

[Dryglove]

Sounds like its on the loose side to me.Being custom fit it should fit your body very snuggly eliminating the flushing of cold water.You shouldnt have no excessive loose areas on your suit.I would get with them and find out who they custom fitted that thing too.

You will have bunching with the thicker suits but it shouldnt be excessive.I used to dive a 7mm that did bunch slightly in certain places but not as bad as you describe on yours and mine was an off the rack suit.

 

[jiveturkey]

mmmmm....maybe it's not that bad. Or maybe I'm just telling myself that because of the headache stuff like this causes when you don't speak the local language past "I like pizza". What do you think? I'm bending over at the waist here.

 

[astrofunk]

Jive -

You're not stuck with it. What a disappointment that it's not already a great fit, but these things definitely happen. You can have the suit altered to fit, and judging from the picture, I think you could benefit from taking it in a bit.

I dive an off-the-rack Xcel 7mm semidry; it definitely fits more snugly than yours. The great thing about the proper fit (with help from the the wrist, ankle, and hood seals), is that water flow through the suit is exceptionally minimized. When I jump off the boat, I no longer experience the rush of sea water that I was used to from ill-fitting rental suits. I sometimes even find that parts of my chest are still dry after a dive; they just never got wet. That's the whole idea behind the semi-dry. You're certainly still wet, but the water flow is minimized. It seems to me that an ill-fitting semi-dry somewhat defeats the purpose.

My girlfriend (Liz) had a similar experience to the one you described. When her custom 7mm suit showed up (based on measurements we took according to the manufacturer's instructions), she was dismayed to discover that there were several inches worth of excess material in the shoulders and armpits, and the legs and arms were many inches too long. One option was to mail the thing back to Xcel, and then go through (possibly) several tedious iterations of waiting for the suit to arrive, trying it on, being unhappy, sending it back, etc.

As an alternative, Liz found a custom wetsuit manufacturer who agreed to the alter the suit to fit her. It was a long drive to the shop, and it cost her $100 on top of what she had already paid for the suit, but it was totally worth the effort. She put the suit on in front of the "seamstress", who marked it up with chalk, altered it to fit, and then had it back in a couple of days. Liz's suit doesn't have any where near that excess material that yours has.

I have no idea how difficult it will be to find someone to alter your suit in Korea, but I'm sure it can be done. In Liz's case, it was really, really worth it. Good luck!

best,
steve