New 7mm Wetsuit So Hard To Get On

[SouthCarolinaDiver]

I used to dive every weekend for years and always used a 5mm wetsuit. Took a few years off and decided it was time to get back to it. This time around I bought a 7mm wetsuit. It is incredibly hard to put on. I had to use lubrication all over me to get it on. Water based lube of course. I never had an issue with a 5mm suit. It would slide right on, no lube. Why is the 7mm so much harder to get on?

 

[Rilelen]

I dive a 7mm and 7mm step-in hooded vest 99% of the time. I’m always AMAZED how easily my 5mm goes on when I get to wear it. Practice and time help - I find it much easier to don when the wetsuit is wet and “stretchy”; it’s much harder when it’s bone dry.

 

[SouthCarolinaDiver]

I just found another thread asking the same question. One of the responders had a link to some lube that comes in a spray bottle. I went ahead and ordered a bottle. They had a video of how to apply it and it seems to work pretty good. It’s called suite slide and it’s sold through Mako Spearguns. I bought the 7mm because I dive in lakes a lot and it gets cold when you go down to 40m. The 5mm was fine for more shallow dives.

 

[Richard Dayan]

I agree I bought a Xcell 7/6 its too hard to put on, but the 5/4 is great. So unless I am diving Antarctica I use a homemade electric heater with either a 3/4 or 5/4 and my problems got solved. I didn't want to go dry suit, tried this first and was happy. Now I have the equivalent of a 12mm suit.

 

[Richard Dayan]

You could do the same with 5mm and reusable chemical heat packs, 6-9 lbs of the stuff should work great in 5mm

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Put plastic shopping bags on your feet and hands first.

 

[SouthCarolinaDiver]

Put plastic shopping bags on your feet and hands first.

Tried that too. It did help slip through the openings but from there on it was still very hard. The lube worked though but it was still a lot of work. I believe this new Suite Slide lube I just ordered should help. On their website they go over how a closed cell wetsuit is easier to put on than an open cell wetsuit. I believe that may be why I had no trouble at all getting the 5mm on. Just guessing though.

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

One tip from using open-cell wetsuits, which are sticky on the inside: get a thermos of hot water mixed with some conditioner and pour into your suit before donning: you will slide in fine, and as a bonus your suit will be warm.

Open-cell suits have no lining on the inside so the neoprene of the suit sticks to the skin: incredibly warm, but also impossible to get into without the trick above.

Edit: is your 7mm open cell or closed cell?

 

[RIHappyDiver]

Put plastic shopping bags on your feet and hands first.

Back in the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s my dad and I would cut off the feet of my mom’s pantyhose that she was trashing. Worked great!

 

[happy-diver]

when older bones can't pull as hard you get a bigger suit