Wetsuit Fitting and Care Guide

We hope that the guide below will help you correctly fit and care for your wetsuit.

Fitting

We have uploaded a practical fitting guide at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sdheNWCkhY

And if you are new to trying on wetsuits this should really help.

We recommend that the suit should fit tightly to the form of your body without feeling as if it is 'sucking the life out of you’ - a loose fitting ‘easy to get on’ suit will only allow water to flush through, making you cold.

Many new users will find the neck of their suit restrictive. Although you will get used to this in time, you can reduce the effect by using a high-necked rash vest. This will give your neck and ‘Adam’s Apple’ a bit more movement.

When checking the fit of your new wetsuit we suggest that you try it on over your underwear. Keeping tee shirts etc on while trying it out will prevent the suit from fitting correctly.

All our suits incorporate some areas of super flexible neoprene and are more easily pulled up by rolling up a small section of the fabric to grab on to.

Trying on your wetsuit:

1. Fit the bottom half of the suit first and work your way up.
2. Get the knees in the correct place before pulling the thigh area and bottom up.
3. When the legs are fitted, the crutch of the suit should be all the way up to the top of the legs. You can then fit the upper body.
4. Put one arm in at a time, again starting at the wrist area and working all the way up to the armpit. Fit the other arm.
5. If you feel the suit pulling across your back, make sure that the arms of the suit are pulled all the way up so that wrist and shoulder portions sit in their rightful place – even small adjustments can make a huge difference in the overall feel of the suit.
6. Zip it up, flip the zip leash over one shoulder and try and pull it straight up above your head, there will be a small Velcro cross piece to secure the position. Wrap the neck piece around to the front of the suit.
7. With Chest Zip wetsuits always put the Right arm in first followed by the Left in a deep ‘swim stroke’ motion. Take the suit off left arm first as this is where the suits have the most spare fabric and stretch.

Wetsuit Care

Always ensure that the Velcro fastenings of your suit are placed on to the correct area when not in use. If you suit comes with spare fabric or covers place these over the 'male' hooked Velcro. Failure to do so may allow the Velcro to damage your suit over time and snag the stitching, lining etc.

In addition to the normal rinsing with cold fresh water we recommend using a specialist rinse (eg Mirazyme) or wetsuit shampoo at the end of every 'season'. Make sure that your suit is thoroughly dry and store it in a wardrobe/similar placed on a round edged jacket hanger.

Keep your suit away from sharp objects, if you intend to use your wetsuit for kitesurfing/coasteering etc consider a more basic suit which will resist abrasion better than a top end surf suit.

Always peel your wetsuit off inside out, pulling at the suit 'the right way around' will stress the suit far more.

Don'ts

Do NOT wash your wetsuit with regular detergents as it will de-grade the seals, and will stay in the suit which may cause skin irritation.

Do NOT pick at loose stitching/problem area etc - if your wetsuit is still under warranty return it for repair.

If your suit has a fault but is out of warranty use a blob of neoprene adhesive (Black Witch etc) to stop the problem spreading.

If the problem is in a high stress area use a fabric based repair kit like our C-Skins repair kit or Iron Mend. If you intend to have your suit professionally repaired Do NOT self-repair as many of the repair glues/fabrics are not easily removable.

https://www.bodylinewetsuits.co.uk/ in Newquay provide a fantastic wetsuit repair service for out of warranty issues.

Any Finally please avoid peeing in your wetsuit unless you absolutely have to!