The Michelin Man

[Brian Sharpe]

Yesterday I had the humbling experience of getting fitted for my OW dive, the suit was a somewhat larger size than I had anticipated (I would not describe myself as petite at 5,9", 225 lbs) but the worst part was the actual donning of the suit.

It was a 7mm farmer john & jacket and by the time I was done you would have sworn I had just run a marathon - I was drenched in perspiration and felt very awkward, the suit seemed to really inhibit my mobility (at least on land)

I expect most of my dives will be in Eastern Ontario with the occasion trip somewhere warm. My newbie questions are:

1) How much easier is it to don a lighter suit? I'm contemplating layering with a vest for colder water.

2) Are the hyperstretch/elastek products all that they're cracked up to be? (I'm looking at the Bare product line as they make an XXL Short)

3) Is the difficulty I experienced donning the suit a normal part of the learning curve?

 

[Paco]

Donning wetstuits gets somewhat easier with experience. I also feel that the best wetsuit is the one piece jumpsuit used with a hooded vest. I just bought a hyperstretch and it is quite easy to get into. See if you can try this combo out as rental. My two cents.

 

[--tom--]

Wow, I love giving advice to skinny people. I am the same height and I weigh.....more.
When I came back to scuba the wetsuit was the biggest hurdle. So here is my advice (free advice and worth every penny):

1. Get a Lycra "skin suit". It helps the wetsuit slide on, (you could wear pantyhose, but your friends will take pictures and post them on the internet.)

2. Spend a little more on the suit and get the super stretchy material. Bare makes some great suits, (I just bought one of their drysuits). Shop employees and people "in the know" will tell you the suit is not as warm. Clinically they are correct, practically they are wrong. The stretchy material is not as thermally efficient, but the fit is so superior, you will end up much warmer. The mobility/comfort of the stretchy suits are much better.

3. On rental suits, & not being a "normal" size, you had the same experience I did--trying to get into them is not a happy memory.

I hope you have fun on your checkout dives.

 

[SkipperJohn]

A friends wife video taped him getting into a wetsuit. Won Americas funniest home videos. Then again won the $100,000. Gain more weight & take pictures!

 

[Doc]

If you haven't seen it, you can't know to recommend it.

Welcome to Wetwear - Custom Wet Suits of Rubatex Neoprene for Scuba Diving and All Water Activities has suits that you can get in and out of in less than 45 seconds.

EZ On Zippers, they add $120 for both arms and legs. Worth every penny. These guys go to many dive shows, excellent customer sevice.

 

[Brian Sharpe]

If I had been taped yesterday the censors would have bleeped out every 2nd word (in the dressing room) LOL $100K would come in handy though............

 

[Brian Sharpe]

Thanks for the ideas. I stopped by the closest LDS at lunch, the Henderson Lycra suit was $89.95 ($39.95 @ LP), my wife told me she'd take pictures and post them if I ever wore pantyhose! LOL

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

Scubatoys has the 2007 model Henderson Thermoprene suits at a great price. Take a look, I did and love mine.

 

[trailblazer1229]

I don't have a lot of dives under my belt, but had a struggle with the wet suit the first time also. But, they tried to squeeze me into a M. I am a large. I found that out the hard way. From what I have been told, and I ask a lot of questions...Farmer Johns are a lot more restrictive and cumbersome because of the layering effect. We used a full 5/7mm with hood and we were fine in 60 degree water. I heard the skinz is a nice trick. Triathletes use PAM, and put it on like bug sray, but that is mostly because they have to strip down very quickly in transition from swims to bike, etc. We got better with practice. The HendersonHyperstretch stuff is awesome but super expensive... Good luck.

 

[TSandM]

In one word . . . drysuit!

Heavy wetsuits are intrinsically heavy and hard to get in and out of, and worse when wet. I have one that has a fabric liner of some kind bonded to the neoprene, which does make it a little easier. But especially if you are going to do a bunch of diving in cold water, a dry suit becomes a very reasonable investment.