School a newbie on wetsuits please...

[purbeast]

I recently received my OW certification and am interested in purchasing my own wetsuit and possibly, BCD next. Can anyone recommend any shops in the central NJ or NYC area with a really good selection to help me find a good fitting, comfortable suit?

Bechi

I can't help you with shops in NJ, but here in MD I ended up going to 2 different shops. It seems like most shops around here carry a couple brands so if you want to try on multiple ones you may have to venture to different stores. The ones around here are pretty small too since it's not a place you can do any SCUBA so it's (obviously) not like the huge ones down in Florida or something.

I noticed it too for the dive computers. The one I got my wetsuit from only carried Aqualung computers.

I would definitely recommend trying them on too and not straight up order online. They all fit differently. I even tried on 2 Henderson ones that were different lines, in large, and one of them was way too tight where XL of that model fit me better, but I ended up getting a large in the Thermaxx line.

For some reason too, Thermaxx can't be purchased anywhere online. I also noticed that prices in store were comparable to what I saw prices at Leisure Pro for too.

 

[pf778c]

Thanks for the advice. Does anyone know if the NYC LeisurePro store has an extensive selection? I HATE shopping and would like to be able to just bite the bullet and find something acceptable in one trip!

 

[-JD-]

Thanks for the advice. Does anyone know if the NYC LeisurePro store has an extensive selection? I HATE shopping and would like to be able to just bite the bullet and find something acceptable in one trip!

They say on the website that they will bring the items you are interested into the NYC store from the NJ warehouse if you arrange it in advance.

 

[pf778c]

They say on the website that they will bring the items you are interested into the NYC store from the NJ warehouse if you arrange it in advance.

I didn't know that! That's great to know. Thank you very much!

 

[purbeast]

I know I'm reviving an old thread I started, but figured I'd just bump this one since it's relevant to noobs and wetsuits.

Today I just completed my OW and AOW dives in Grand Cayman and did 9 dives in 3 days (should have been 10 but night dive was canceled due to weather) and now my wetsuit needs a good cleaning once I get home.

I'm wondering what cleaner i good for this and how to clean it? I searched on Amazon and saw a bunch of stuff but not sure what to really buy. I'm open to ordering from other websites as well but looking to just have something delivered next week so I can clean it. My swim trunks after this last dive are funky so I'm guessing the wetsuit itself will need a good cleaning after it is dry.

Also I'm assuming my booties can be cleaned the same way?

Thanks!

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

In a pinch...Dawn works. The one time my wet suit got a bit funky while traveling...I got some Dawn dish soap, tossed everything (suit, swim suit, boots, and gloves) in the tub, let it soak for a bit, and hung everything out on the patio of the hotel.

 

[purbeast]

In a pinch...Dawn works. The one time my wet suit got a bit funky while traveling...I got some Dawn dish soap, tossed everything (suit, swim suit, boots, and gloves) in the tub, let it soak for a bit, and hung everything out on the patio of the hotel.

If I wait to do it at home is that okay? It's not that bad that I can't travel with it or anything, but I just want to get it fresh when at home and in storage.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

If I wait to do it at home is that okay? It's not that bad that I can't travel with it or anything, but I just want to get it fresh when at home and in storage.

If you have to wait, you have to wait. Just don't be shocked when you open your bag up after traveling 12+ hours and the smell is even worse. Just make sure to get everything soaking as soon as you get home.

For my road trip...one thing that worked for me was stringing 550 cord across the back-seat area of my vehicle, hanging everything up, and driving with the windows cracked to dry everything out.

 

[purbeast]

Okay thanks. So far it doesn't stink or anything but it's still wet. I'm flying out Wednesday so I may look at getting a small thing of dawn when we go to the store tomorrow to get water and stuff and soaking for a bit and then hanging to dry for 2 days. It should be dry by then.

Dawn doesn't damage or anything right?

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Okay thanks. So far it doesn't stink or anything but it's still wet. I'm flying out Wednesday so I may look at getting a small thing of dawn when we go to the store tomorrow to get water and stuff and soaking for a bit and then hanging to dry for 2 days. It should be dry by then.

Dawn doesn't damage or anything right?

That being the case...skip the Dawn thing. Hang it over the shower bar in your bathroom if there's not an outdoor place to let it air out. Do that now and it'll be either dry or dry-ish by this time tomorrow.

I didn't notice any ill effects from the one time I did it. We're talking about a few drops of the stuff. Dawn is used to clean crude oil off birds, etc. It's about as benign as a cleaner can be.

I've been meaning to get a "real" wet suit cleaner. I just haven't gotten around to it.