Wetsuit questions. Too tight? Will it stretch?

[SandCrawler]

I'm really glad you brought this up. I've been out of the water for 4 years now (what was I thinking!!) and am finally planning a trip for tomorrow.

Anyway, I grabbed the ol' suits out of the closet to make sure they still fit and man were they tight! I'd like to think the suits have shrunk. I had forgotten what they felt like when I first bought them and your post helped me remember how tight they seemed those many years ago. Hope they loosen up again or I guess I'll be in the market for a new one.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Welcome back The water has been waiting.....

 

[SandCrawler]

Welcome back The water has been waiting.....

Thanks. Tomorrow will be my first day back. I'm already starting to feel better now.

And thanks to ShagMan for helping me come back home!

 

[Missy angle]

Hi, new wetsuit.. Legs, arms, chest seems ok.. Just the neck.. It's really uncomfortable. I feel like I'm going to choke.. Is there a way to stretch it out a little? First dive tomorrow with it on.. And don't want it to ruin my shore dive..

 

[CT Sean]

Hi, new wetsuit.. Legs, arms, chest seems ok.. Just the neck.. It's really uncomfortable. I feel like I'm going to choke.. Is there a way to stretch it out a little? First dive tomorrow with it on.. And don't want it to ruin my shore dive..

You are better off posting a new thread vs. replying to a 6 year old one where people may not notice your question. As most of the posts above say, neoprene doesn't really stretch much - If it's just the neck, assuming it has a traditional velcro closure, can you just close it looser? you can probably trim it also - though that's an "extreme" approach to resolving the issue and will compromise the neck seal. Personally, if I had a suit that didn't fit, I'd exchange it for one that did. If you can't make it fit now it's going to continue to not fit until you replace it (or you get a tear in the neck neoprene)

 

[ittiandro]

My long wet suit is practically new. I only use it few times a year when windsurfing at the end of the summer, because normally I use the short one. .. I tried to put it on yesterday again, after one year. As usual, I have a big problem to zip it up dry. ( the zip is on the back). It gets stuck in the middle. Most of the times I can pull it up, but with considerable effort and I am afraid to break the strap or, worse, to rip the fabric. I even put some syntethic grease on the zip. It helps, but not much, even though the zip runs like a charm when I don't wear the suit. I don’t think the problem is with the size ( LARGE) because once I have it on, it feels O.K. and I can breathe well, even though it is a bit tight. . I have somewhat of a belly but I never have any problems with the short one, probably because I used it a lot and it stretched. I wonder what can be done, short of buying an extra-large, but I am sure it will be a bit loose and feel cold. The suit zips up O.K. when wet, though.

Thanks for the input

Ittiandro

 

[buddhasummer]

Hi, new wetsuit.. Legs, arms, chest seems ok.. Just the neck.. It's really uncomfortable. I feel like I'm going to choke.. Is there a way to stretch it out a little? First dive tomorrow with it on.. And don't want it to ruin my shore dive..

As was posted earlier if it has a velcroe neck closure, many suits do save attached hoods, then do it up looser. Once in the water and wet it will loosen up somewhat. Of course once wet you can't return it. If you can feel throbbing or feel like you're going to pass out then it's definitely too tight as opposed to feeling uncomfortable which "may not" be a problem once diving. If in doubt return it and try another. Did you notice the same feeling in other wetsuits you've previously used? Good luck.

 

[cburgert]

I have a 7mm it's a Scubapro and I can get it on easy enough until it comes to zipping it up. Is there any easy ways of zipping it up? Or is it too small. Also Scubapro wetsuits, at least the one I have zip up diagonally.

 

[Hatul]

I agree with Barracuda that neoprene does not stretch with time, and in fact as it ages it becomes stiffer and even less comfortable if tight. In water it does feel looser because the water acts as a lubricant. I would not buy a wetsuit online.

 

[jay515]

Thanks to the OP for posting this one. Had exactly the same question. Got a wetsuit vest from scuba.com. It "fits" exactly like OP talks about it. Tending now to think maybe it's okay. I notice if you look at Amazon reviews, they always say these products are too tight and that the size charts are wrong.