Wetsuit drama.

[Skittl1321]

No useful advice, just words of encouragement: I can't put a 7 mm on without help, so it isn't just you. I'm going to take the advice above, hopefully it will help. Good luck to you next time.

 

[Damselfish]

oh, and since no one has mentioned it yet you should really read this thread, it may make you feel better-
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/140626-close-call-dressing-room.html

 

[bergersau]

A properly fitting 7mm is awkward for everybody at first - you'll get the hang of it. Go to the store and try a couple of different sizes on in the change rooms when you don't have the pressure of a class waiting on you. Maybe take a close friend to help out if you feel the need - buddy system. Note the size that fits best for dive day. Oh take a couple of plastic bags for hands and feet - they really help.

One other option no-one has mentioned is a dry suit.
You live in the UK so it may be a very sensible option for you - though initially more expensive.
They are easier to don and will enable you to dive right through the winter (conditions permitting).
Your store may have some for hire.
They are a bit trickier to learn buoyancy control with than a 7mm. But - if you dive in the UK you'll eventually buy one anyway - or at least envy those who have one.
The increased difficulty mainly comes from managing two air spaces for buoyancy control - the BCD and the drysuit. It's not rocket science though.
Speak to your instructor if you might want to go this way.

 

[jIM STEELE]

when your suit is dry use pouter when wet use hair conditioner watered down about 50 percent

---------- Post added July 7th, 2013 at 11:04 PM ----------

it makes it as slick as cat ****

---------- Post added July 7th, 2013 at 11:06 PM ----------

thats cat scat

 

[DiverAmy]

With my 7 mm, I always use a lycra full suit underneath. This helps, BUT putting on a well fitting 7mm (and it needs to be well fitting to keep you warm) is a giant PITA. I am usually huffing and puffing and will ask someone to go behind me and grab the area at the bottom of the zipper and pull the back up. The legs can be rolled on like stockings. Patience and perseverance are the keys. Once you are in the cold water and warm and snug, you will forget the trauma you went through to get there. Some of us cry when frustrated with a new, seemingly impossible task. I do. Push through it. You CAN accomplish getting your 7mm on, if I can. And, I CAN!

 

[Searcaigh]

As others have mentioned plastic bags do work, if I am shopping for a new suit I always carry plastic bags with me use them on my feet first then on my hands.

Normally I use lycra socks, makes putting on a wet suit / semi-dry suit easy. A one piece lycra suit is also a good idea.

When my daughter used her 5mm the first time it was quite a struggle

 

[kelemvor]

I use a skin under the wetsuit and baby powder both. You might consider trying a two piece suit, they're supposed to be a little easier to deal with.

For what it's worth, I abandoned my first attempt to don a wetsuit as well. Fortunately, it was in the change room of my LDS and not at a dive site. You're not alone, wetsuits are a pain in the butt.

 

[tracydr]

I'm completing my Open Water at the weekend in Snodland, Kent and had to try on some of the diving shop/school's wetsuits today to see which one I would need. It was recommended I take a 7mm.
Unfortunately, I have had very little, if any, experience in putting on/taking off wetsuits. It was also baking hot weather today and I was steaming hot and sweating. Trying to get into this wetsuit with tacky, sweaty limbs was proving to be impossible. I was tugging and yanking at the legs but they just bunched up around my shins and as I struggled to pull the thing on I became hotter and sweatier and progressively more stressed. I was advised to put water into the wetsuit. This did not work. An Instructor passed me some sort of spray to put on your body that's meant to help you put on wetsuits. It did precisely nothing.
Determined to somehow squish myself into the wetsuit I persevered and tugged and tugged until eventually I burst into tears, standing outside the ladies loo in my bra and knickers with several male Instructors/DM's/dive shop assistants etc wandering about with a wetsuit bunched up about my legs. I was at the end of my tether. I was advised to return on Tuesday for another attempt.
This seems like such a trivial issue - "am I really so useless I can't even get into a wetsuit!?!" sort of feeling. My primary concern is that the weather here in Britain is meant to be baking hot for the next few weeks so I will be probably continually hot and sweaty and how on earth am I going to get into this wetsuit on Tuesday, let alone at the dive site in Kent on the weekend.
Does anyone have any advice for getting into wetsuits that just won't budge when you tug them about trying to get them on? Thanks guys

I use a Lycra skin ( swimming suit material) under my wetsuit. It does several things for me. It makes my wetsuit slide right on without effort. It gives me sun protection since I have practically albino skin. It gives me something underneath besides a swimsuit so that I feel comfortable changing anywhere. I where the Lycra skin, which drys very quickly,on the boat, as sun protection, and can put warmer clothes in top as needed.
When I used to dive a 7 ml, I found if it was so tight that I struggled even with a skin underneath, it was too tight. Too tight meant difficulty breathing and a claustrophobic tightness of my arms and legs. Some people will try to get you into an ill-fitting wet suit. If you aren't a normal sized person, you may need a custom fit. Which could be a problem with a rental suit.
I found that trying different brands helped. I like Henderson and Waterproof the best.
Since you're in the UK, have you considered just getting drysuit certification at the same time as OW?

 

[Crass3000]

I would go to the dive store and try on a couple wetsuits to make sure they give you the right size. When I went in to try on my 7MM wetsuit prior to my OW dives a guy just eyeballed me at an XL and I was dumb enough to assume he was right. Fortunately prior to my OW check out dives I went in again to BUY a wetsuit and found that XXL was my size. There was no way XL was going to fit. First thing I would do is make sure they are giving you the right size. From the sound of it the wetsuit may have been a little small. If it were the right size I can't imagine you would not be able to get into it without a little help zipping it in the back (assuming it's a back zip).

Edit: Struggling with a wetsuit in 90F weather can be REALLY tough with no shade. I dread getting a 7MM on in weather that hot.

The trick I have found is to sit down and pull the suit up so your knees are in the correct spot. Then stand up and pull the suit up as tightly as possible in the crotch region. Then pull it the rest of the way up and deal with your arms. Standing up the whole time is next to impossible for me.

 

[N.Grace]

I use a Lycra skin ( swimming suit material) under my wetsuit. It does several things for me. It makes my wetsuit slide right on without effort. It gives me sun protection since I have practically albino skin. It gives me something underneath besides a swimsuit so that I feel comfortable changing anywhere. I where the Lycra skin, which drys very quickly,on the boat, as sun protection, and can put warmer clothes in top as needed.
When I used to dive a 7 ml, I found if it was so tight that I struggled even with a skin underneath, it was too tight. Too tight meant difficulty breathing and a claustrophobic tightness of my arms and legs. Some people will try to get you into an ill-fitting wet suit. If you aren't a normal sized person, you may need a custom fit. Which could be a problem with a rental suit.
I found that trying different brands helped. I like Henderson and Waterproof the best.
Since you're in the UK, have you considered just getting drysuit certification at the same time as OW?

I'm female, 5'9 so quite tall. I was trying on the wetsuit and at one point I managed to shimmy the legs up a bit but it was super low down on the crotch. I asked my Instructor if this was normal and he said it was fine. I don't think he particularly cared about it, if I'm being honest. I made it clear I was having problems and nobody helped me. My Dad is an Advanced Open Water diver and he was super pissed off that I was left in such a state with this 7mm and wasn't given advice as to how to put it on.
I tried the drysuit course but I never finished it. I was given a leaky suit and it made it impossible to do the skills in the pool. I had no idea what was normal and what wasn't but I was pretty sure a drysuit wasn't meant to leak so much. I had litres of water flowing through the neck. It was taking me so long to get the skills right and I could tell everyone just wanted to go home so that made me feel awful about wasting the Instructors' time. I was determined to get it done but in the end I got so frustrated I ended up in tears and just couldn't carry on. When I exited the pool and tipped the drysuit up, what seemed like half the pool splashed out of it and onto the floor. How I even managed to move with that much water inside the suit I don't know. It was also incredibly uncomfortable and pinched and squeezed around my legs until I ended up with these horrible red welts on my calves from where the drysuit material had pinched at my skin. I'd love to get a drysuit certification but that experience has put me off.