Stretching dry suit neck?

[tracydr]

So, I have the world's fattest women's neck. Between all the horse/ upper body work and my fusion/ fracture it's not a normal women's size. My neck seal has been stretched on the big, plastic coffee can for weeks now.
My wrists are also too tight and I've had them on pop cans. Do I need to stretch on something larger or call the manufactuer to get a larger size? This is a Diving Concepts Trilam from California. I need to get this thing to work as we want to go to Catilina for winter break and before that I really want to do some pool and lake dives, not to mention have my cert class!
Also, is plain corn starch ok? I'm allergic to talcum powder. I assume that corn starch baby powder can't be used? Are there any lotions or things commonly used by women that need to be avoided on dive day?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I can relate ... I don't really have a neck ... it's more like a head-to-shoulder interface.

I typically stretch my neck seal out over a cylinder for a few days ... in my case, I use an 8" diameter tank like a LP95.

As for seal lubricant ... I highly recommend Seal Saver ... especially on neck seals. It is often the difference between a comfortable dive and coming out after a couple dives looking like you tried to hang yourself ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

although i can not relate to your issue, i can say from experience, that there are tons of great drysuit techs out there that dont frequent SB but im sure have some quality answers for you ... one for example is frank copring out on long island... he's always more than willing to share his thoughts, ideas, and opinions on such matters and a phone call (i see your a few thousand miles away) may be a positive start...

 

[TSandM]

What kind of seals do you have? Neoprene stretches pretty well, but latex doesn't stretch nearly as well. If you have a latex seal, it may need to be trimmed, rather than stretched.

 

[w ripley]

Also, is plain corn starch ok? I'm allergic to talcum powder. I assume that corn starch baby powder can't be used? Are there any lotions or things commonly used by women that need to be avoided on dive day?

Try K-Y jelly, or a generic brand. Put some on your neck and wrists and then on the inside of your neck and wrist seals. You will be surprised how easily everything goes on. When taking off, put a little on around your wrists firsts.

 

[Dockmaster]

A friend of mine who kayaks suggested using soup cans for the wrists and a cooking pot for the neck seal. His advice was to go with cans and pots that had a diameter slightly larger than my neck and wrists. Leave them in for a week or so and you should be good. He also suggested a coat of 303 Protectant every now and then to prevent cracking. I followed his advice with my kayaking dry top and the seals look like new!

 

[tracydr]

What kind of seals do you have? Neoprene stretches pretty well, but latex doesn't stretch nearly as well. If you have a latex seal, it may need to be trimmed, rather than stretched.

Lynne, they are latex.

 

[tracydr]

Try K-Y jelly, or a generic brand. Put some on your neck and wrists and then on the inside of your neck and wrist seals. You will be surprised how easily everything goes on. When taking off, put a little on around your wrists firsts.

They go on fine but in a couple of minutes I feel as if I'm going to pass out. I've had the neck on a coffee can and wrists on coke cans for a month, which are larger in diameter than my wrists and neck.
I think I better give the manufacturer a call tomorrow.

 

[Doc Harry]

Usually Latex gaskets need to be trimmed to fit if your wrists/neck are large.

I second the recommendation for K-Y jelly for getting into your dry suit.

 

[Sas]

Latex has rings on it you can trim. If you don't have a steady hand get someone else to do it Maybe it is just me but I found it fiddly (I'm clumsy in general).

I was told they stretch 5% over the first little while so don't cut it back too far in case it ends up being too lose.