Tried on the Bare Elastek wetsuit today...man I am in trouble

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EFB

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Location
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Hubby and I went to try on wetsuits today. I tried on two Bare wetsuits...the Artic and the Elastek. While the Artic 7mm was better than the thick, inflexible, super long astronaut suit I had to wear last weekend, it was nothing like the Elastek. The only thing about the Elastek is the arms are still a little long (my hands are covered but you can see my fingers) and of course, the price.

And because the two of us are now into scuba, all our costs are doubled. EEKKK.

I think if I can get a better suit, it will make diving easier indeed.

One more question- when I do get this suit (and I will) what do I do about the extra material on my arms? Hubby said that you can tell where the seal is, so can the excess material be trimmed? Is there a wetsuit tailor? Or can we just go with hubby's idea of using a really sharp box knife to cut a little of the ends?
 
I know of some divers who have had their wetsuits professionally altered.
Possible problems with hacking off material at the end of the arms with a box-cutter include: (1) compromise of the wrist seal and (2) fraying of the ends of the material.
#1 is bad because, if water is flushing in/out of the suit, you'll get cold more easily.
#2 can be addressed by finishing the edge with some sort of binding material.

If your body doesn't fit off-the-rack sizes, it's probably best to spend a few extra bucks and get a custom-tailored Rubatex neoprene wetsuit.
I've heard that you can purchase such suits from WetWear.

If your exposure protection doesn't fit you properly, you won't want to be diving much.
 
You're absolutely right. Comfortable exposure protection is very important to enjoying diving.

I'd get the suit altered rather than cutting it yourself.

Beware, diving doesn't get any cheaper! Wait until you start looking at underwater cameras, international trips, liveaboards......... :D
 
I can't believe I'm the first one to say save your money for a drysuit. :) I'd rather have a used drysuit than a new top of the line wetsuit. Unless you are in the warm part of Canada? :wink:
 
I can't believe I'm the first one to say save your money for a drysuit. :) I'd rather have a used drysuit than a new top of the line wetsuit. Unless you are in the warm part of Canada? :wink:

Is there such a place?? LOL.:D I am in Ottawa and only plan on diving here in the summer months.
 
You're absolutely right. Comfortable exposure protection is very important to enjoying diving.

I'd get the suit altered rather than cutting it yourself.

Beware, diving doesn't get any cheaper! Wait until you start looking at underwater cameras, international trips, liveaboards......... :D

Before I even started the OW class, I looked at the cost of the housing for my Nikon D7000. EEKKK.

As for traveling, I am a big fan already, so I know hubby and I are in for it now. We are heading to Paris soon and I swear I googled "Paris scuba" (obvioulsy didn't find much...but you get my point). I think "where can we dive" will come into play with the future vacations.:D
 
Wetsuitrepair.com, they do great work. Their website has a form with instructions. Fill it out and get a quick estimate. If it needs zippers now would be the time to get that done also.
 
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I have that same suit and love it. I got the large short because the legs and arms are shorter if that will help you. If you cant get the correct size I would ask Bare to make one for your measurements. The wrist seals are great on that suit and I wouldnt want to change them. With XS dry five gloves you wont get any water intrusion. The sad part is in really cold water your going to want a 7mil hooded vest to wear over top and the cost of both was about the same price I paid for my drysuit. In 40-60* water you will see me in my drysuit,no questions! Hope this helps, Keith
 
Sine you are looking at Bare wetsuits, look at some of the ones they sell in short sizes. May fit you better.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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