Wetsuits are an essential for anyone that is going to spend hours in the ocean such as SCUBA divers or surfers. Since water has lower temperature than your body, the longer you spend in the water the colder you are going to start to feel as the water conducts body heat away from your body (check our temperature guide for surfing, diving, and kayak). Wetsuits prevent your skin from being in constant contact with the cold water, keeping your body warm and eliminating the risk of hypothermia. But without the right fit you can still find yourself cold and uncomfortable. If the wetsuit doesn’t fit, if it doesn’t conform to your body properly too much water will get in. That’s where custom wetsuits tailored to your size come in. Here’s what you need to know:
Why Do Custom Wetsuits Tailored To Fit Matter?
The point of a wetsuit is to create a barrier between your body and the surrounding water so that your skin isn’t in contact with cold water. Unfortunately due to the construction methods of neoprene wetsuits, most off-the-rack wetsuits come in a few standard sizes. These may be ok for majority of people, but many of us who are not built the way wetsuit manufacturer predicted these off-the-rack wetsuit won’t fit perfectly leaving certain areas too loose and others too tight.
The problem with this is if a wetsuit is too tight—especially near your shoulders or around your back—it can limit mobility. If it is too large in some areas and loose around your neck or your legs, your wetsuit can flush with water which greatly reduces the effectiveness of your suit. Custom wetsuits are designed to fit your exact measurements, so you get the necessary protection from your wetsuit as well as all of the functionality you need for intense activities.
A custom made wetsuit. Fit guaranteed.
Perfect For Surfing and SCUBA Diving
If you are looking for a surfing wetsuit or dive suit, having a custom suit made instead of something off-the-rack is a great option. If your current wetsuit is too tight around the shoulders or legs, every time you take a stroke there is unnecessary added resistance which is going to tire you out a lot quicker.
Additionally, you are going to be overstretching the neoprene if it’s not loose enough near your joints which will prevent proper insulation.
Perhaps even worse than having areas of your wetsuit that are too tight, areas that are too loose can present very serious issues. If your wetsuit is too loose, the necessary barrier between your body and the surrounding water won’t be there which means you aren’t getting the protection you need. If your wetsuit flushes with water you are going to have difficulty moving and get cold a lot faster, especially if you are doing deep SCUBA dives where the water is extremely cold.
Custom Wetsuits Are Surprisingly Affordable
Most people don’t consider having custom wetsuits made because they assume it’s extremely expensive. With the way wetsuits are designed, cut, and built, they are actually very affordable. During the construction process of custom wetsuits, computer algorithms can take your body measurements and convert those into custom fit pieces for your suit which are then machined and stitched together. Due to this design process, prices never change based on your size whether you are short and stocky, tall and thin, or anything in between.
Where to Order?
From SCUBA Diving to surfing or any other type of activity that will have you in cool water for extended periods of time, you need to have a wetsuit to keep your body protected. Custom wetsuits fit your body perfectly so you get all of the protection you need without sacrificing flexibility, mobility, or functionality. For some people a custom wetsuit can be just an upgrade from the fit of the off-the-rack wetsuit, for other people ordering a custom is the only way. So where to order?
We suggest Wetsuit Wearhouse. With extremely affordable prices and shipping times of just 4 to 6 weeks, they provide custom wetsuits for any shape or size. From tops to shorts to springsuits, vests, and even full wetsuits all you have to do is fill in your measurements and they will take care of the rest.