Skinny women and wetsuits

[Groundhog246]

gardener once bubbled...
Hey you goof balls, I better clear some things up here. If I bought bigger breasts then an off the rack (so to speak) suit might fit better since they are made for the "average" body size. Whatever that is.
But if I could afford new breasts, I could afford to buy a custom suit, thereby eliminating the need for augmentation. Do you follow?

But if any of you are in the wetsuit business how's about woman's suits made for different bra cup sizes? This would be a great idea as cup sizing is easy to get standard measurements for. You wouldn't have to make many more sizes since generally a size 6 woman is either an A or B, while a size 14 woman may be either a B, C or D. This would eliminate some gapping around the arm pits for us small girls, and give the larger girls a little less constriction.

My wife often struggles with similar problems. She's 5'9", quite thin, has a heck of a time getting bathing suits, etc, long enough in the torso (of course, I just encourage her to wear a two piece). She's currently wearing a men's medium wet suit, john & jacket. I can squeeze into her suit (streeeeetch) I'm 5'9' also, but a little heavier), but mine would swim on her. Currently considering a one piece semi-dry for her.
I really do think the people designing these suits (and other gear) must be men and too cheap to hire a female to test fit. :mean:
Good luck on the search. Being cold certainly takes some of the joy out of it. I went through 3 pairs of gloves, before I found a pair that fit my hands well.

 

[mddolson]

Gardner, I'm an instructor (25 years)
Your problem is not that uncommon.
It is typical of athletic females.

I had a student this fall who is a triathlete, and runs half-marathons.
As women train , their fat content drops and breast size goes down as well.

Her problem was the same as you describe. The bumps in her suit were too big, compared to her actual size.

We tried a 3 mm piece (back zipper) men's suit. The 3 mm suits are much more flexible and have more stretch than a 7 mm suit. The back zipper suit provides a good barrier to stop water flow through the front of her 2 piece farmer jane, and adds insulation as well. Having a low body fat makes you less tolerant to the cold water.(less natural insulation)

This worked well for her.
She wears this under her 7 mm farmer jane wet suit. It does add some buoyancy, you'd need more weight on your belt, but it reduces the water pocket problem under her arms and around her breasts. We're in Canada and our water is in the Hi 30's low 40's °F range, right now.

Make sure you are wearing the 3 mm suit when you are fitting your top suit.

best regards

MikeD
:blfish:

 

[gardener]

You guys are alright in my book. Such great ideas!!
I am going to work on getting a small thin suit to wear under a larger one. My shorty is great and 3mm but it does gap a bit under my arms.
I'm going to try a small farmer john...er...Jane and cut off the legs as a core warmer. Any suit I rent can go over the top and even if it gaps it won't matter too much.
As far as your right to leer, I couldn't agree more. I'm rather proud that at 30 I still look good in my wet suit, and would be a little offended if my athletic build went unnoticed.

Lets work on those suit manufacturers. It sounds like it's in the best interest of us all to have them make suits that actually fit all sizes of women.
If any of you know any, I'd be happy to test out a suit on my upcoming trip.

 

[gardener]

Groundhog,

There are many swim suit makers who make 1 piece suits for long torso women. The good ones are usually a little more expensive and are not usually displayed in the stores. Here's a link to a place where I have shopped. They have a shop here in Denver. Their suits are a little expensive, but their suits are very well fitted. Especially for 2 piece suits, because all of there suits are sold as two pieces. Therefore I can find a suit that fits perfectly even if the tops and bottoms are nott eh same size. They also have a great selection of long torso 1 piece suits.

http://www.everythingbutwater.com/

being comfortable in a bathing suit will make it much easier to be comfortable in a wet suit. in my humble opinion...

 

[inletsurf]

Gardener,

I think the suit would fit a person about 135 lbs and up. 120 is a little small for this suit, and you would probably have the same problem with this one. Sorry. Keep your eyes open on ebay for suits...they're a dime a dozen and most are relatievely cheap. If you're diving up north all the time where it's cold, a surfing wetsuit won't be the way to go anyway...

However if you do your diving down here in the south (florida) where the temps never get below 65 deg, then a surfing wetsuit might be a good bet--they're specifically designed for a tight-glove like fit but have 2X the flexibility of any diving suit...

Good luck

 

[gardener]

Thanks again inletsurf.

I will keep watching. Most of the diving I do is warm water. After I get back from my big trip (early March) I'll really start looking around for the perfect suit.
For now I will make do with what I have and hope for the best. As long as there is plenty to see I can put up with a little chill.

Evryone has been so helpful. Thanks to the powers that be at Scubaboard for making all this info available in one place and for keeping us from getting too off color.

 

[wreckchick]

As someone who shares many of your, erm, characteristics, I found the hyperstretch to be a fabulous wetsuit for the warm water diving I've done.

My 2 cents....

Rachel

 

[gardener]

Thanks Rachel,

I'm going to experiment a bit on my upcoming trip and then see what I can afford to do when I get back.

I definitely like the idea of the hyperstretch suit. They look like they would fit really well.

 

[Sugar_Kayne]

Hi Gardener

I am very new to diving, but i too have very little uhm, "padding" and have found that a .5mm dive skin makes a big difference. I suppose the extra insulation helps to keep me warmer and the extra padding, however slight, provides a moderately tighter fit.

I have a mens wet suit and have found that it isn't all that uncomortable in the chest region, but is very binding in the hips and the crotch seems a bit high. As a student however, I can deal with the bind caused by the wet suit more easily than the bind caused by replacing it, i.e. eating Raman Noodles for the next month, so I will deal with the fit for the time being.

 

[JustJules]

If you've got a shop that sells Henderson wetsuits in your area, try on a hyperstretch wetsuit. Mine is snug (I joke that I feel like a sausage in a casing when it's zipped up!), but it has a lot of stretch for those of us who need some extra space here and there in the wetsuit. The bonus is it's the most comfortable wetsuit I've ever worn... and that I can get a 7/5 on and off with little trouble!