Custom wetsuits - China

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PhatD1ver

ScubaBoard Supporter
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
335
Reaction score
149
Location
Shanghai, China
# of dives
200 - 499
I'm in the process of having a custom wetsuit made for me - it's going to be a full body 3mm, and with the hood and make to order fee, the total cost is going to run me $120 US (about 650 RMB Chinese money).... being as I am pretty difficult to fit to standard wetsuits, if this place works out, it will be a big boon for me... if you are interested, here's the link off of Alibaba's Taobao supermarket ¿ÉÁ¿Éí¶¨ÖÆ3MMÁ¬Ìå¿îÒ»¼þʽʪʽÄÐÅ®×°ÃÔ²ÊDZˮÒÂ/DZˮ·þ/±£Å¯ÒÂ-ÌÔ±¦Íø maybe it's nothing, but if you want to give it a whirl, let me know, I can help you with the measurments and coordinating the shipping

(FYI, I get nothing promoting what I see as a pretty good deal for a custom fitted wetsuit, I'm just trying to pass along something I found)
 
Okay, here is an update, I got the wetsuit, and before I mention results, let me note that I would be probably the hardest body shape to custom fit there is (I am obese, I weigh 340# and I have a rather large belly, so my shape doesn't fit the standard models for how they make clothing or in this case wetsuits... )

My secretary did the measurements according to their chart and guidelines... she did mess up one measurement on my mid thigh making it 6cm too small, but it ended up not mattering... my thigh goes from 92cm at the crotch, to 51cm above the knee cap (and there is a huge drop at mid thigh to 72cm)... all that will make sense for why I mention it in a minute.

I donned the suit and my first thought was "damn!! they nailed it!!" the upper body is SPOT ON, the seat was just right as far as tightness, it was big enough for my belly, and the waist was good, and the overall length was pretty decent it seemed... they have special panels on the inside of the elbow and back of knee, the elbows were awesome, the added flexibilty was great. They add special cuffs inside the wrist and ankles to create a better water seal, and zippers in the arm and ankles are standard, no extra cost, as well as rubberized antiskid on the knees.

Overall, the quality was awesome, the seams were flat, they used a sealant between them as they finished them you can tell... and I wore it around long enough that the air temp changed and it held air at the neck just like a drysuit would (so I know I'm not going to have constant flow of water into the suit)...

I'd give them a A- for the overall suit, and I'll order another in a few months for the price I paid...

Now, let me say this... they tried to interpolate the measurements on my legs because of the dimensions not matching a standard pattern. In the end, it resulted in loose legs on the thigh area (front and back) and on the lower legs (my lower legs are very calf heavy going from 48cm to 26cm on the ankle)... this ended up creating extra fabric on the back of the leg that also made the flex panel on the back of the knee was actually at my calf...

We took pictures, and sent them comments, and they are in the process of altering it for me at no additional cost.

I think someone with a little more 'standard' body shape would have no problem getting a good fit if they followed the measuring guidelines and included a couple pictures in some other tight fitting clothing, or another wetsuit with some contrast...

Like I say, I was actually very happy with the overall results, I could have worn it as it was, but why should I since they'll fix it.

That's my report, $120 for a custom wetsuit... something to think about...
 
How did you get it back to them for alterations?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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