Stretching a wetsuit? (with pic)

[*Floater*]

My gf just bought a new O'Neill 7mm 7000X J-Type Wetsuit. Once it's on it fits great and she's very happy with it, but getting it on is a problem for her. It took her at least 30min, maybe more, to do it a few nights ago. There are no zippers at the sleaves or pant legs. Now after reading "It's torture, I tell ya..." thread she decided to try out the stretching method that someone mentioned. The pic below says it all.

I'm just wondering if this might be doing more damage than good.... Thoughts, opinions?

Edit: Nevermind, the pic won't upload. Mods, please delete the thread.

[RJP]

Try a mixture of water and baby shampoo slathered on before donning.

[mislav]

Or, unless you dive in cold waters, she might try to don it in the water. I know a guy who regularly gets his wetsuit on in the water. It's a lot easier to do it , but this trick really only works in warmer waters.

[wkyongae@aol.com]

I agree with the baby shampoo and water. She might also try rolling it down then roll it back on. This is how I have to put mine on when it is wet. And I do mean roll it down almost to the ankles. Then just roll it up. Can't help much with the arms mine has zippers that go half way up my arm.

[spectrum]

I'm just wondering if this might be doing more damage than good.... Thoughts, opinions?

Well first define "fits good when she's finally in it"? Full range of motion?
*Hands on opposing shoulder?
*Arms straight up?
*Bend down and touch toes, at least as well as in swimsuit?
*Inhalation is not hindered?
*Exhalation is not assisted?
If any of these are missed, she's in the wrong suit no matter how good it looks on her.

Now lets talk donning technique.....

First, as soon as she breaks a sweat she's going to need some sort of assistance, especially if there any internal rubber seals in this suit. This is best solved with light coat of suit snot. Commonly it's 1/3 cheap hair conditioner and 2 parts water in a pump sprayer. Squit some on the arms especially and rub it for full coverage. This will lubricate the suit but won't create suds.

Dunking the suit works in some situations but if she's diving in a 7mm I suspect there are times where getting into a soaked suit will set her up for evaporative cooling before the game even begins. Also if prepping for a shore dive way from the waters edge it may be a pain to go dunk it.


Personally I haven't had much luck with the pastic bag method but if it works for you, what the heck.

The lower half of the suit must be rolled on. Step into the legs but have them rolled down to the knees. If this is hard use some snot. I do prefer having ankle zippers but prefer not to have wrist zippers. Get the lower leg positoned so that the knee pads are in just the right places. Now roll the suit up the leg, this should be a no fuss operation. A little wiggle should get it up over the buttocks. Make sure it seated up into the crotch before thinking about entering the arms.

Next come the sleeves and given the fit of the wrists and the fact that you need to punch out through the sleeves snot can be a big help here. Apply it from the wrists to the shoulders. The arms should slide right in, otherwise it's probably the wrong suit.

Make sure that it's settles well on her shoulders. When the back zipper is closing you want to have a little bit of pull on the neoprene but the zipper gap should not be much more than 1 inch.

If the suit fits right it should not be a chore to get into it and when removed after the dive there should be slight impressions in the skin where the seals and stitching were. This indicates a light compression and mimimal potential for water and its movement.

If the wrist opening is exceptionally tight something like a tennis ball tucked into the tight spot can promote a little permament stretching.

If she has long hair the suit snot is also great for slicking her hair back so that it will stay out of the way while she dons her hood and mask. Thank my wife for that one.

Remember that this is supposed to be fun and there is no reason why she can't be carrying on a relaxed conversation while donning her neoprene.

Pete

[Quaack]

I just discovered a dive skin makes all the differance.
& to think I owned it months before trying it.

[*Floater*]

Well first define "fits good when she's finally in it"? Full range of motion?
*Hands on opposing shoulder?
*Arms straight up?
*Bend down and touch toes, at least as well as in swimsuit?
*Inhalation is not hindered?
*Exhalation is not assisted?
If any of these are missed, she's in the wrong suit no matter how good it looks on her.

We didn't go through the list (maybe next time she puts it on), but she was able to reach further back than I can in my 7mm and I don't expect any problems reaching my valves (mine is a little too big if anything). She could touch her hands together behind her back (one from below, one from above), but not as well as without the suit. The same is true with me by the way. She squated without any discomfort. She imitated various fin kicks while lying down without discomfort and said the suit felt very stretchy.

She had another 7mm before this one which was okay enough to dive in and easier to get into, but much less comfortable and it restricted her range of motion quite a bit. We are about to take a cave class in Mexico and she was worried that she wouldn't be able to reach her valves in the old suit so that's why she bought the O'Neill and it seems to fit well (once on).

It's a size 4 O'neill which is supposed to fit someone 5'4"-5'6" (163-168cm) and 100-120 lbs (45-54 kg). She's 165cm and 45kg, so there should be room for another inch and 20 more lbs in it (though not around the butt area that's for sure, lol).

Now lets talk donning technique.....

First, as soon as she breaks a sweat she's going to need some sort of assistance, especially if there any internal rubber seals in this suit. This is best solved with light coat of suit snot. Commonly it's 1/3 cheap hair conditioner and 2 parts water in a pump sprayer. Squit some on the arms especially and rub it for full coverage. This will lubricate the suit but won't create suds.

This is next on the list.

Dunking the suit works in some situations but if she's diving in a 7mm I suspect there are times where getting into a soaked suit will set her up for evaporative cooling before the game even begins. Also if prepping for a shore dive way from the waters edge it may be a pain to go dunk it.

We'll be diving in the Cenotes. Not sure how it works there since this will be our first trip there.

Personally I haven't had much luck with the pastic bag method but if it works for you, what the heck.

She uses this already and it helps, but not enough.

The lower half of the suit must be rolled on. Step into the legs but have them rolled down to the knees. If this is hard use some snot. I do prefer having ankle zippers but prefer not to have wrist zippers. Get the lower leg positoned so that the knee pads are in just the right places. Now roll the suit up the leg, this should be a no fuss operation. A little wiggle should get it up over the buttocks. Make sure it seated up into the crotch before thinking about entering the arms.

Next come the sleeves and given the fit of the wrists and the fact that you need to punch out through the sleeves snot can be a big help here. Apply it from the wrists to the shoulders. The arms should slide right in, otherwise it's probably the wrong suit.

She tried one roll up method (reversing the suit), but gave up on it pretty quickly, but maybe it has potential upto the waist area for her (the suit comes with a built-in extra vest, so you have to squeeze in right from the neck and left shoulder area).

The main problem is that after she wiggles in and gets her feet through, or arms through, which is already a big struggle, she wants to pull the wetsuit legs or sleaves further up, but cannot because they've stuck to her skin already and the suits really slippery and tight so it's hard to fold up some of it's leg or arm fabric to get a grip for pulling. Secondary problems are going in through the neck area and then getting the suit past her ***.

Make sure that it's settles well on her shoulders. When the back zipper is closing you want to have a little bit of pull on the neoprene but the zipper gap should not be much more than 1 inch.

The shoulders are made of super stretchy material and that's one area where I think the suit would accomodate some of those extra pounds. It settles well after she pulls the suit legs and sleaves up enough.

If the suit fits right it should not be a chore to get into it and when removed after the dive there should be slight impressions in the skin where the seals and stitching were. This indicates a light compression and mimimal potential for water and its movement.

If the wrist opening is exceptionally tight something like a tennis ball tucked into the tight spot can promote a little permament stretching.

If she has long hair the suit snot is also great for slicking her hair back so that it will stay out of the way while she dons her hood and mask. Thank my wife for that one.

Remember that this is supposed to be fun and there is no reason why she can't be carrying on a relaxed conversation while donning her neoprene.

Pete

I think the suit will be fine once it breaks in, say after 50 dives, but in the meantime she has a problem getting it on. Right now the leg and arm holes are undergoing a version of the tennis ball method and I was just wondering if she might regret that later on. She want to put the legs on top of her boots anyway, so she thinks it won't matter if they get stretched out a little.

[DanBMW]

Try the lubricant... I've used it many times. Just a little soap on the sleeves and arms makes a tremendous difference. Conditioner diluted works well too. Be very careful though that it does not get on the deck, as other might slip on it.

[*Floater*]

Okay, I recently got back from Mexico and suit worked well. It took my girlfriend about 20-30 min to get it on each time with some help from me, but that's not too bad. Zippers would have made things less painful, but getting the thing on was definately easier for her during the last few days. I bet in another 50 dives in it it'll be almost too loose.

The stretching helped when she tried it, but it wasn't practical during the trip because we left the suit to dry at the cave instructor's bodega (that's what he called it) and we didn't have things around for stretching. She also used the plastic bags, but we didn't get to the baby shampoo on that trip. (Maybe next time)

But the suit kept her warm and she was able to reach her valves, etc. without problem. In fact, I'm about to sell all her old wetsuits for her because she'll go with O'Neill from now on.

The correction is that she's actually 47.6 kg (105 lbs) and 166 cm (5'5.4") - which I mention since I'm about to post photos of the things for sale, with her in them, so I wanted to get the size right for potential buyers though I'm not optimistic about finding any.

P.S. SB still won't let me upload the photo that was supposed to accompany this thread originally.

[mdmbike to scuba]

Okay, I recently got back from Mexico and suit worked well. It took my girlfriend about 20-30 min to get it on each time with some help from me, but that's not too bad. Zippers would have made things less painful, but getting the thing on was definately easier for her during the last few days. I bet in another 50 dives in it it'll be almost too loose.

The stretching helped when she tried it, but it wasn't practical during the trip because we left the suit to dry at the cave instructor's bodega (that's what he called it) and we didn't have things around for stretching. She also used the plastic bags, but we didn't get to the baby shampoo on that trip. (Maybe next time)

But the suit kept her warm and she was able to reach her valves, etc. without problem. In fact, I'm about to sell all her old wetsuits for her because she'll go with O'Neill from now on.

The correction is that she's actually 47.6 kg (105 lbs) and 166 cm (5'5.4") - which I mention since I'm about to post photos of the things for sale, with her in them, so I wanted to get the size right for potential buyers though I'm not optimistic about finding any.

P.S. SB still won't let me upload the photo that was supposed to accompany this thread originally.

Boy, what kind of pic was it