A Tip for Putting on a Full Wetsuit

[adurso]

In the old days we wore pantyhose for ease of donning the old wet suits

 

[Adventure-Ocean]

Taking our suites off in the water could look pretty funny sometimes but we'd hold on to the ladder or safety line or something to keep from sinking. The only stubborn spot was my feet. It felt good to cool off and swim around without the suit before getting on the boat. Adventure-Ocean

 

[agilis]

Hi Bill,

You should be aware that using a Lycra skin under your wetsuit will cause a loss in thermal protection of the suit. Adding a neoprene layer will not have this loss in thermal protection.

Many freedivers wear even tighter fitting wetsuits than scuba divers. Many of them use a mixture of baby shampoo and water to soap up the suit. The soap washes away, is safe for the environment, and doesn't hurt your skin. Suits usually slide right on that way. YMMV.

Using a lycra skin under a wetsuit causes no loss in thermal protection. Lycra suits are extremely thin, completely permeable, offering no thermal protection and causing no thermal loss. I can't imagine where this absurd idea came from. It is not unlke asserting that wearing a shirt under a coat reduces the thermal protection of the coat.

 

[Insta-Gator]

I've never used any of these tricks. I think the key is to take your time and not get flustered. I roll the legs down enough, like a pair of tube socks, so that I can just get my foot in. After that it's a matter of unroll and pull. As said earlier, once you get the knee pads in position the rest will pretty much roll into place. Once I get in the water I let some water in so the suit will easily position itself to a comfortable fitting.

Patience is a virtue.

 

[t4e]

Don't just slip the whole suit on.

Don the leg portion. Focus on getting the kneepads at knee level first.

Then, start to pull the suit up. Give yourself a wedgie at the crotch, that way the suit isn't pulling down on your shoulders when you try to don it. After you move around in it a bit, everything will settle out.

this is how we do it too
I guess it helps that we have the Henderson Hyperstretch, its unbelievably manageable and comfy