Lycra suit

[aquaregia]

I did two dives with a skin under my 7mm. I didn't think it helped donning/doffing at all, and I swear I felt colder than on any of my other dives.

 

[YakanNiDaiba]

Do lycra suits really help out much when donning a wetsuit? I have a once used 7mm wet suit that I just tried to get into today. I had one heck of a time trying to squeeze into it. I do know I have gained weight, But not that much. So would it be worth buying a lycra suit? or do I just need a new wet suit. I don't even want to try to get in my dry suit at this point.

I use a lycra skin for my wetsuit. I have a 5mm Henderson gold core that was, until I started using the skin, a real nightmare to don/doff (to the point that I contemplated diving without it a few times on warmer dives just to spare myself the headache). I haven't tried the dish soap method, but I won't touch my wetsuit without a skin. Plus, it works really well for warm water diving when you don't really want to wear a wetsuit but still want the UV and scratch protection of a full-body suit.

The only problem I have with skins (it might just be mine) is that they tend to wear quickly and the stitching around the zipper gives out quickly leading to a repair shop visit (but the nice thing is that it's covered under warranty!).

Hope this helps!