Stretching a wetsuit? (with pic)

[First_watch]

I picked up the same O-Niell wetsuit. Donning the suit was a total pain, but I picked up a full Lycra skin and a pair of Lycra socks, which when put on first made a night and day difference.

I'd seriously give this a hard look as you don't want her wearing herself out just getting a suit on.

Cheers, Bill

 

[Agent 47]

Sounds like she should try a larger version of that same suit. The cut may be nice, but if you're stretching the arms or legs to make getting in easier, then it's probably too tight, and too much squeeze is a bad thing.

Sizing can vary a lot between manufacturers, too...my L Seaquest suits are roomier than my XL Henderson. And keep in mind that recommended body weights are ballpark figures at best. For most of my life, people always guessed my body weight to be 10 to 20 pounds lighter than it really is, for example, based on my size, so buying a suit based on weight recommendations would never have worked for me. Body composition just varies too much from person to person....everything from body fat ratio to bone density come into play to some degree here. I'd say take her in to the dive shop and have her try on progressively larger suits until she finds one that's just obviously too big. I mean bulky and loose fitting. Then, with that point of reference, step back down until you get to one with no obvious gaps. It should fit snugly, but not be too tight or squeeze. I guess you could say you want it to hug. And really, although any wetsuit is a pita compared to regular clothes, it should only take a couple of minutes to put on. I'd bet you'll end up stepping up to a larger suit, and being better off both in the water and out.

Also, you might try some different dive shops. Get a second and third opinion on the fit of that suit.

I may be wrong, even delusional...just my two cents....but if you're feeling froggy, give it a go and see what happens.

 

[markr]

I have a Henderson suit that doesn't have zippers at the sleeves or ankles. I had a similar problem the first few times I tried to get into it.

I found that by turning the suit almost completely inside out I could get into it quite easily. Get it inside out to the point that only the legs from the knees down are right side out. The suit will look kind of like an inside out shorty with the lower part of the legs folded into the upper part. Stick your legs in, grapping the suit where it's folded at the knees and push the feet into place. Use a mild soap solution or baby powder if you have to. Once your lower legs are in place, roll the suit up your body.

Not having zippers in the suit actually makes it warmer by reducing the amount of water entering the suit. Even if the zipper has a gusset behind it, the neoprene won't be tight enough to your skin to prevent water from entering.

 

[nisswavic]

The lycra skin makes a big difference and the 'snot' also helps. When I tried a hyperstrech I absolutely could not believe how effortless it was to get on! Have now added boots, hood, trunk warmer and gloves in hyperstretch.

 

[Liquid Fit]

Floater, if you would like your gf to be able to get into her suit in jig time, send it to me and we would be happy to install extended leg zippers and wrist zippers. The hardest part of getting a wetsuit on is to get the suit over the foot and calf. On most people, our extended leg zippers will come to the calf or above. The wrist zippers are 5 or 7 inch zippers. Don't worry about water seepage into the suit, as we will install a 2.5 inch flap behind the zippers. If you are interested, you can email me at wetsuits@liquidfit.com or call at 800-785-8362
Carolyn .

 

[*Floater*]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I believe she is fine now. The suit will stretch a little bit with wear and also the use of plastic bags helps. Zippers would be nice (thanks for the offer), but she doesn't think they will be necessary. Also, she tells me the fit is good once she has the suit on - she claims not to feel constrained in it and she also had no trouble reaching her valves when we took a cave course.

This suit is just the type of design that is naturally difficult to put on. First it's a thick 7mm suit with attached hood:

And it has another 5mm built in vest for a total of 12mm (where attached) to squeeze her butt through:

And given the design you have to go through the left shoulder/neck hole (it has a Velcro strap):

And once you make it through you have to deal with getting it past the heals with no zippers, and the material is slick and tight on her, so it's difficult to fold up to get a good grip to really pull on it:

Personally I think it just needs more raw force - she should work out.

Other than that it's a great suit and with her build (5'5.5" and 105#) it's about the only stock size that will fit. In fact, she just sold all her other suits that didn't fit well and bought another O'Neill (5/3mm for warm water) in the same size.

I guess she could get O'Neill's size 6, but I'm afraid it might not keep her as warm because it would be looser. Having said that, I think O'Neill currently only has drysuits from size 6 up for women, so she might have to get one of those when she goes dry.

Thanks for the help.