Wet Suit Help - Comfortability

[Interceptor121]

I have similar problems 44" chest 35" waist 40.5" hip 16.5" 5'10" height and 188 lbs

I have found only two brands in the UK market that suit my shape: Gul (make surf wetsuits) and O'Neill
O'Neill is the only brand I can wear 5 and 7 mil suits without gagging their size chart for once is reliable you can check it here
O'Neill Sizing Chart - Mike's Dive Store, Chiswick, London
You can be guaranteed that if you measure yourself properly and there is a suit in range it will fit like a glove.

 

[tracydr]

Waterproof and Henderson both fit me pretty well, in a 5ml and a 3 ml.
I did get a custom drysuit and if I were to dive a 7ml, I'd probably need custom as well.
I also have a Henderson 1 ml, which is too baggy but very comfy. I use it for outdoor lap swimming at our city pool.
My suits are always too long at 61" tall but I've not found that to be a huge issue, if the hips and shoulders fit.

 

[dmoore19]

It really does amount to brand. Henderson fits me like a glove. I tried on O'neil, Bare, Body Glove and a couple of others. They should have fit from their charts, but Henderson fits. You gotta try em on, or spend the bucks for a custom..........

 

[spectrum]

Captain... There are plenty of divers that can be well served with an off the rack suit. Having brought a number of custom suits into the household from several makers I can say that it's not always an instant slam dunk. If one can walk out of a shop well fit in an off the rack suit done deal, amen, badabing badaboom go dive that's a winner in my book.

For all the others custom not super stretch is the answer.

Pete

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I don't think super stretch is the answer, it's a cheap answer to get people to buy the suit as soon as they put it on in the dive shop. They are so comfy and stretchy and feel good until you take them deep one dive and they smash down to to the thickness of printer paper and are worthless. When you come up they never return to their former thickness. I've ruined those so called "super stretch" cheap ass suits in one dive before. The way I know is the next dive I have to remove a few lbs of weight to match the same buoyancy characteristic as the previous dive.
The only cheap suits I use are for boat cleaning because I'm never in more that 4 or 5 feet of water. I still have to buy a suit one size too big and custom cut it and re-glue it to fit me. I've never had luck with getting an of-the-rack to fit me well.
I have 2 customs as well and there is no comparison, especially if you are hard to fit.
The stock size on OTR suits are made for people with cankles and big fat waists and generally have no contouring to allow for people who are in shape, because the norm now is straight or cigar shaped. The normal size reduction from chest to waist on stock suits is only four to five inches at best from chest to waist. I have a fourteen inch difference between my chest and waist and it's always been a problem even with dress suits, so custom is really the only way for me.

 

[NAM001]

I bought a harveys 4 way stretch and am very happy with it. Do the custom fit thing and get the sizing done by someone that knows what they are doing. Being too tight or too loose just doesnt cut it. And as long as you are doing a custom suit get the semi dry qualities to it. IE my harvey has the seals in the arms and legs, it does not let water flow freely. i have to actually pull my leg seal to drain the suit so i dont look like the michilen man when i exit the water. That 3mm farmer can easily take me into the 50'sF and keep me comfy. Of course there is always teh DS route.

 

[Interceptor121]

Super stretch materials compress at depth in the same way they stretch at the surface and are a way to mask bad fit. Still acceptable on arms and legs but definitely not on the torso. A semi dry with glide skin seals and a dry zip does not need to be as good fit as long as there is no leakage. The best is a suit that is reasonably stiff and only allows for movement but stretches the minimum amount on ankle and wrists seals just to let you in