Plus sized women & dry suit rentals?

[Marie13]

Hello, ladies! I'm brand new to diving. I've gotten interested through a friend who speaks passionately about it, so I decided to check it out.

I'm going to take a Discover Scuba class soon and if all goes well, the OW class. The dive shop I'm going to take my classes through does all OW training in dry suits. Water here in the Chicago area can get COLD! I'd rent a dry suit for dives until I knew I was going to keep diving, as they're a big investment. My friend got his dry suit from this particular shop and raved about their service.

Anyway, I'm a plus sized gal. I wear 20-22 in regular clothes (I usually shop at Talbots where I can get plus AND petite items). I'm 5'5" and weigh about 210 lbs. For you plus sized gals, what has been your experience in getting a decent fit in rental dry suits? The dive shop I'm going through seems to have a large selection for sale, so hopefully they have a good selection of rental sizes.

Yes, I'm going to call the dive shop and ask, but I was interested in others' experiences. Thank you!

 

[Tracy]

Depends on the shop, if they have the fusion line of suits, I have had good luck fitting all shapes of women into them.
In chicago area with good service, I assume you are speaking of Dive Right in Scuba? Nobody else comes to mind in that area.

 

[Marie13]

Yes, I'm referring to Dive Right in Scuba.

 

[KathyIGH]

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of diving. This is Kathy with DUI - Diving Unlimited. We make drysuits for ladies. We are really known for our made to measure drysuits and the ability to design your own drysuit - colors, pockets, etc.,.

By far, the majority of women's drysuits we do make are made to measure. With the drysuit being a one piece garment, and with all our lovely curves women are just more difficult to fit in a standard, off the rack size.

That being said, as a person very new to diving, most likely you do not want to invest in a drysuit right from the start. DUI has new rental centers and you can see the location of these and inventory at DUI DRYSUIT RENTAL CENTERS - be warm while scuba diving. Not sure if this would be an option or not.

If you are interested in looking for a drysuit you might give our Drysuit Outlet a look at cheap drysuits . DUI guarantees the fit of our made-to-measure drysuits. We have new drysuits that were returned because for fit and you might find something here that works.

Hope this was helpful. Do look for a great fit if you decide to purchase a drysuit.

Have FUN!

 

[Marie13]

Hi Kathy, thanks for your reply. I'm going to have to go MTM, I believe. I've got a chest measurement that won't fit the stock sizes of any size chart I've seen. Plus, I love the diagonal front zipper (there's no way I'd be able to zip a shoulder entry suit).

 

[KathyIGH]

Hope this is appropriate to say - good for you on the chest measurement.

I noticed we had a number of women's drysuits in the outlet. At some point, if you are interested, take your measurements and Customer Support can check to see if we have something that would be a good fit for you.

Again welcome to the wonderful world of diving!!!

 

[Marie13]

I had fun playing with your dry suit app last night.

 

[KathyIGH]

Awesome!

 

[Marie13]

Multiple people (all men!) have poo-pooed me when I mentioned I'd be unlikely to get a decent fit in a stock dry suit. I'm visiting friends in Michigan this weekend and got to try on the DUI dry suit belonging to the friend of a friend. It was the largest stock women's size (don't remember what it's called without looking up the size chart). Arms and legs were way too long for me, very tight on the hips and the chest. It has a diagonal front zipper and I didn't zip it up as I was afraid of damaging the zipper, the fit was so tight.

 

[Rapid Star]

Where will you be doing your open water classes? Here in the Chicago area or somewhere out of state?