Wetsuits don’t come cheap. So, naturally, you’d want your precious suits to last longer. Taking care while wearing your wetsuit is part of the process to ensure its longevity.
Failure to put on your wetsuit appropriately will certainly lead to huge issues, either in the water or in your bank balance. Moreover, putting on an unfitting wetsuit will limit your range of movement in the water. Thus, you can’t use your arms and legs effectively.
Furthermore, it adversely affects your performance and speed, and you’ll end up using a lot of energy and strength throughout your swim. Besides, failure to take the necessary precautions when wearing a wetsuit may lead to the tear and wear of the neoprene material and cause costly damage.
Fortunately, you’ve arrived at Diver’s Abode, so rest assured that by the end of this article, you’ll be able to put your wetsuit on and off with ease.
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Some Wetsuits are Extremely Tight!
Before getting into detail about the tips and tricks that make the process of wearing a wetsuit a walk in the park, you must remember that some wetsuits are just too tight. Here are some signs showing that a wetsuit is extremely tight:
- The wetsuit limits blood flow and breathing (you feel numbness in certain parts of your body, especially around your wrists and ankles)
- The wetsuit squeezes uncomfortably around the neck
- The wetsuit stretches to the end, and the material still fails to conform to your body
- The wetsuit material is pulled very so tightly over your body that it’s stretched thin in some parts
Simple Steps on How to Put on a Wetsuit
Putting on your wetsuit sounds like something as simple as grabbing the suit and putting it on. But in reality, there’s a tried and tested process to do it seamlessly. Otherwise, there’s a good chance of losing a few of your body hairs due to the sheer friction while putting on your wetsuit.
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Be Cautious to Avoid Snagging the Neoprene Wetsuit Material
When it comes to wearing a wetsuit, it’s important to avoid damaging the neoprene material. It’s essential to put on or take off a wetsuit on a flat and clean surface as a precaution. Remember that you could easily damage the suit if you’re standing on stones, rocks, or any other rough surface.
Be extra cautious if you’ve got jewelry or watches as they easily tear or snag the suit as you put it on. It’s best to use your fingertips when putting the suit on as fingernails could easily nick the material. If anxious about nicking the material, you can either use fingertip pads or put on gloves.
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Start with The Legs
The ideal way to wear a wetsuit is by putting in a single foot at a time. So, put your first foot inside, and then cautiously pull up the suit inch by inch. Remember, don’t be in a hurry and try to pull it up quickly, as you may end up damaging the suit. Therefore, take your time, slowly pull up the suit over your foot, and stop when it gets approximately one inch above the ankle.
Repeat the process on the other foot provided you can fully put your foot on the surface, and there’s no part of the suit between the surface and your heel. If you encounter problems sliding your foot through the wetsuit smoothly, you can wear them with either a pair of socks or even a carrier bag wrapped around your feet.
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Uniformly Pull Up the Wetsuit Over Your Legs
Slowly pull up the suit on both legs, taking turns between the legs at steady intervals, so the wetsuit is climbing your body at a constant level on every side. First, move the wetsuit over the hips. Secondly, move it into the crotch as high as possible. Ensure the wetsuit’s kneepads or knees are seamlessly aligned with your knees.
It’s important to follow this process to the letter to make sure that the suit fits snugly. So, if there are substantial fabric wrinkles, you need to keep pulling them to smoothen them out. One of the common sections where you can get these wrinkles is behind the knees.
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Put Your Arms in the Wetsuit
Once the suit is above the waistline, you can start concentrating on the arms. Remember, you’ve to put on one arm at a time! As you put on the suit around your arms, ensure there’s no material twist along the arms. Put one arm in, and progressively move the sleeve up the arm, one inch at a time. Ensure you cautiously move the sleeve up as you did with the legs.
After safely getting the shoulder into the wetsuit, lift it into the underarm as high as possible. Repeat this process on the other arm. Ensure you’ve got an optimal range of movement and flexibility for both the shoulders and arms since this will be crucial to your performance and movement in the water.
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For A Snug Fit, Pull up Any Extra Neoprene
It’s time to turn your attention to working on any extra neoprene. When it comes to the excess neoprene, just pull it up into the shoulder and chest area. Preferably, it’s essential to ensure the suit is as high as possible, and the shoulders fit comfortably. Afterward, get the wetsuit around the neck and pull it up accordingly.
As mentioned earlier, remember to be cautious with the fingernails since here is where you can easily scratch the material. If there’s any extra neoprene on the body to sort out, just bend over from the middle and then pull up any extra material towards the neck.
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Zipping Up Your Suit
It’s important to get somebody (ideally your dive buddy) else to do the zipper-up, if possible. Well, in addition to putting minimal stress on the zip, it lowers the risk of the zipper snagging on the neoprene. All in all, if there’s no one to help you, grab the cord and use a steady and slow-motion to pull it up. Tugging can easily damage the rubber seams or the material.
Ensure the suit is wholly zipped up to ensure the suit’s neckline is directly pressed on your skin. Also, ensure the flap on the neck lays flat on the body, grab the cord, precisely attach it to the Velcro, and finally close the flap over it.
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Check The Fit
After wearing the suit fully, take your time to verify that everything fits appropriately. Besides the suit giving you a snug fit, you want to feel extremely comfortable in it. So, move around and do a couple of squats to certify there’s no leg movement limitation.
To check the same for your arms, consider mimicking swimming strokes in the air to certify your freedom of movement. Additionally, check for any considerable gaps under the arms.
What Is the Easiest Way to Put on A Wetsuit?
Getting into a wetsuit alone isn’t an easy task, particularly if you’re sweating. That’s why we’re sharing with you 5 proven ways to put on your wetsuit effortlessly.
Lube It Up
One of the best tricks to use when wearing a wetsuit is to use Vaseline to lubricate the movement areas such as calves, wrists, knees, heels, shoulders, neck, and armpits. Lubrication lets you get it on and position it flawlessly easily. Remember, you need to avoid using moisturizing cream to avoid potential damage to the suit.
The Sock Method
You can wear socks, plastic bags, or even old tights to avoid struggles when getting your suit over the feet, arms, or legs. Indeed, this technique is proven to prevent your arms, legs, or feet from getting stuck into the suit.
Soap and Water Does the Trick Too
Perhaps, this is one of the oldest and most popular tricks. The trick needs you to wet the inner parts of the suit with soap and water. Again, the trick encompasses lubricating the suit by pouring a bit of soapy water onto it to allow easy movement onto your body. You can always use warm water.
The Bathing Method
Bathing is also a great trick because there’re no limitations, and it needs no equipment. Well, the technique merely entails wearing the wetsuit in the water. It’s still much more pleasant and useful to incorporate this trick when the water is at the best room temperature.
The only downside is, you have to zip up at the dive shop instead of the dive boat.
Take a Shower
Well, this is a pleasant and efficient trick to use during the winter. The technique involves you getting into the shower and wearing the suit at the same time. Using hot water is much better.
Similar to the bathing method, you need to wear your suit at the dive shop. Not a pleasant choice for those of us who prefer to put on the suit moments before the plunge.
How to Take Off the Wetsuit
Well, you’ve gotten into a wetsuit, enjoyed your dive session, and gotten out, and now the time to take it off has come. That somehow feels even more cumbersome than putting it on.
But there’s no need to worry because we got your back. The high chances are that your suit is wet when it comes to taking it off. This can make the process quite tricky since the suit will somehow be latched onto your skin. All in all, don’t worry; follow the steps outlined below to remove your wetsuit effortlessly.
Step 1: Undoing the Back Zipper
The zipper is typically the starting point. Thus, undo the zipper first, whether it be a back zipper, zip-free, or even a chest zipper. Ideally, grab your zipper’s strap, undo any Velcro covering, and give it a firm, nice pull downward.
Step 2: Pulling the Suit Off the Arms
After pulling down the zipper, you should have the ability to pull out your arms from the sleeves freely. So, pull out one arm of the suit’s sleeve followed by the other.
Step 3: Pulling the Suit Down the Body
Pull the suit towards the waist, practically like you’re peeling off a certain piece of cloth. If you’re taking off the suit in public, be sure to tightly hold the undies as you start pulling it down past your hips.
Step 4: Taking the Suit Off One leg at a Time
Lastly, continue pulling the suit down towards the ankles and then take out one foot at a time. Typically, sitting is allowed as it adds time to your transition.
Being Gentle and Slippery Enough Is the Key
Tune up the slippery slug in you. Proper lubrication is the simple secret to streamlining the process of taking your wetsuit on and off.
Remember, treating your wetsuit with TLC is like giving it a magical youth potion, making it last longer and keeping you warm and cozy underwater.
