Should a wetsuit be a little tight under the armpit?

occrider · Mar 9, 2007

I just bought my first wetsuit, a henderson thermoprene suit and it fits like a glove everywhere except underneath the armpits. It's not that it's restrictive, I can move my arms in every direction. It's just when I have my arms at my side It feels slightly abrasive underneath the armpits where the stiching is. I have it pulled up fully so that it's snug against my crotch and I still have that slight discomfort. Is this normal or do I need to upgrade sizes? ?

JBRES1 · Mar 9, 2007

I wear a rash guard under my wet suit to guard against any rubbing .
What size suit and how large are you ?
Do you have large shoulders that may be pulling on the suit ?
Need more information
Jim Breslin

occrider · Mar 9, 2007

I don't think I have excorbitantly large shoulders or anything. I'm 5'6" around 130 pounds, wear size 30 pants, and wear a size 14.5 button down with 32/33 sleeves. I got an XS which I pretty much fit the henderson size charts to a tee:

http://www.hendersonusa.com/size_charts.html

I'm trying to figure out whether the wet suit is the wrong size or I'm just too sensitive under the arm. To pinpoint the spot of discomfort directly, if you feel in your armpit it's the area of the muscle/ligament that defines the start of your armpit.

H2Andy · Mar 9, 2007

the suit should be tight, but not uncomfortable to the point of making you not want to wear it

the tigther it is, the less water it will let flow in and out against your skin, thus keeping you warmer

JcoldwaterIL · Mar 9, 2007

kinda hard to say from your description, maybe your just not used to having anytyhing rub you on your armpits? the first westuit i wore fit great but was very very large int he armpit area so it took me a while to get used to soemthign that was more form fitting.

occrider · Mar 9, 2007

JcoldwaterIL:
kinda hard to say from your description, maybe your just not used to having anytyhing rub you on your armpits? the first westuit i wore fit great but was very very large int he armpit area so it took me a while to get used to soemthign that was more form fitting.

That's what I'm thinking. It's not restrictive ... just slightly uncomfortable because of the stiching. SOmething I don't think I can get around. Anyway since it's a 5mm suit I think I'd rather it be form fitting and slightly uncomfortable under the arms than loose and cold.

JcoldwaterIL · Mar 10, 2007

hopefully you get accustomed to it and it isn't too much of a problem. I had issues with armpit rubbing and rubbing on the small of my back with my current wetsuit, but after i used it a few times it doesn't even come to mind anymore.

Should a wetsuit be a little tight under the armpit?

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