How To Ensure a Wetsuit Fits Correctly
Here are our quick fire tips to ensure that your wetsuit fits correctly!
Your Wetsuit should feel snug to your body
One feeling that often gets overlooked is the feeling of it being snug in comparison to it being restrictive.
Time and time again, we see athletes in the water who look like the Tin Man because they have a lack of movement in their wetsuit.
Your wetsuit should allow you to:
Breathe comfortably
Move your arms freely
Squat and bend over without too much restriction
Your wetsuit should fit correctly in certain areas!
In a nutshell…..There shouldn't be any areas on the wetsuit where the neoprene bunches up, is folded over or has too much space inside.
A correctly fitting wetsuit, should not interfere with your flexibility around your shoulder joint, your movements should be free to move
Around your neck - this should be close fitting to your neck, but not choking you. Likewise it shouldn't be too loose as it will QUICKLY flood your wetsuit
Armpits and Groin are a key indicator of where a wetsuit can either fit correctly or not, again the gaps should be minimal, especially around the groin - there should be no bunching up of the wetsuit creating folds.
The wetsuit on your legs should be ABOVE your ankle - we often see people stretching the wetsuit all the way to their feet, this simply does not fit correctly. It is the same with your wrists, the wetsuit should be 2-3 inches above your wrist and not stretched to your hands.
Sizing
Always air on the side of caution with this! Our top tip is NOT to size up.
If you are in between sizes because all brands of wetsuits are different - go smaller!
Your wetsuit will loosen ever so slightly in the water. When they are ‘box fresh’ wetsuits seem fairly rigid, but we promise that they will get easier to fit over time!