What should a tall and skinny beginner do?

[pauliunas]

The Fourth Element size chart has incorrect conversions from Inches to Cm. Not sure if that helps or not in your case.

If possible I’d definitely try out a Proteus II Small Tall. I’m 187 cm, 85kg and the Large fits me very well. The arms and legs are very slim cut and take lots of pulling to get on my skinny limbs. The ankle and wrist seals are tight and the uniquely designed neck seal cuts down on water circulation big time.

The other bit of equipment I always recommend to purchase rather than rent is a computer. Makes you an independent from the guide and is very easy to pack.

Thanks - I don't think that helps because the inch measurements are apparently just a little wider than the centimeters. I would definitely try one on if I knew a place that had them, or an online retailer that has easy returns, but I couldn't find any. Their "find a store" page is completely useless, it lists some businesses that either don't exist or have nothing to do with selling diving equipment, and the ones that do exist mostly only have their neoprene socks in stock I'm reluctant to buy it from the official website, sounds like they ship everything from the UK so I would not be able to get back the VAT and import taxes if I have to return the suit.

 

[ColoDale]

If you have no luck with a full wetsuit you might have a look at kayak pants and a zippered jacket. I have a pair of 3mm kayak pants that have a draw string and sometimes in Cozumel I use the 3mm Henderson jacket. I am 6'7"/201 cm) but not skinny (~250lbs/~113 Kg). My weight is mostly torso and my legs though not terribly skinny, are slim with little fat and the kayak pants are tight. And legs just a bit short but I can live with that. They get close to the tops of the booties. If you do two pieces, you can mix the sizes if necessary.
I have no idea were you will find these locally but maybe river rafting and kayaking stores are more prevalent than scuba retailers.

 

[pauliunas]

If you have no luck with a full wetsuit you might have a look at kayak pants and a zippered jacket. I have a pair of 3mm kayak pants that have a draw string and sometimes in Cozumel I use the 3mm Henderson jacket. I am 6'7"/201 cm) but not skinny (~250lbs/~113 Kg). My weight is mostly torso and my legs though not terribly skinny, are slim with little fat and the kayak pants are tight. And legs just a bit short but I can live with that. They get close to the tops of the booties. If you do two pieces, you can mix the sizes if necessary.
I have no idea were you will find these locally but maybe river rafting and kayaking stores are more prevalent than scuba retailers.

That might be a good idea, kayaking is very popular here. I'm not sure if there are any specialized stores just for that, but I might be able to find something in general sport stores.

How is your experience with this setup? I've read that it's generally not a great idea to use wetsuits made for other water sports because they compress under water and lose their thermal insulation. How does it compare to an ill-fitting but proper full size scuba wetsuit in terms of warmth?

 

[JackZwykle]

Weather is horrible? You're in Europe?
WHY are you talking about a wetsuit?
Get a tailor made drysuit, Seaskin are one of those making them to measure and a very decent price, but there are others.

You will be able to dive at home (as I do), a trilaminate suit will travel very well (I travel with crushed neo and no complaints).

A drysuit was the second purchase for me after mask and fins.

 

[pauliunas]

Weather is horrible? You're in Europe?
WHY are you talking about a wetsuit?
Get a tailor made drysuit, Seaskin are one of those making them to measure and a very decent price, but there are others.

You will be able to dive at home (as I do), a trilaminate suit will travel very well (I travel with crushed neo and no complaints).

A drysuit was the second purchase for me after mask and fins.

The horrible weather is one of the reasons I'm not going to dive locally much. The other reason is, there's nothing interesting to see around here. I fell in love with diving because of reefs, all the little critters in there, and big critters like sharks and dolphins. Here we just have maybe 5 dive sites total, with uninteresting average sized gray fish if you're very lucky, and small sunken boats. So I have no reason to invest into anything that would help me dive locally. And buying a drysuit for tropical diving is way too much.

 

[dmaziuk]

The closest to what you want is size "MT" available mostly from "surfing" brands like O'Neill, and it will be 2 sizes too big in the waist.

 

[Still Kicking]

There are a bunch of custom wetsuit manufacturers in Greece. Why not plan a trip there, have a suit made and then do some diving at the same time?

 

[pauliunas]

There are a bunch of custom wetsuit manufacturers in Greece. Why not plan a trip there, have a suit made and then do some diving at the same time?

Oh, I didn't know that. Do you have any specific recommendations?

 

[Celt]

Get a made to measure wetsuit, Elios Sub | The Wetsuit Specialists

 

[pauliunas]

I've been eyeballing Elios for a while, if I can really get a tailor made wetsuit for 200eur like their website says, that would be excellent!