Wetsuit fit question
1190
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337 days
TriSooner posted 14 weeks ago.
fastdog5 wrote:
I can attest to how this feels: Like you have half a lung and suddenly you can't alternate breathe. It sucks. Go up a size. I doubt a size-up would result in such a loose fit that it would bunch up or flop around in the water.
almost constricting in the chest, which is not a feeling I want to have when I'm swimming . . . Do I go a size up (what is the downside)?
87
Member
444 days
callco posted 14 weeks ago.
I feel your pain here. I went through the same thing. I'm not huge, but I'm broad for a triathlete. The sizing charts point mostly to a medium for me, but I had a hard time with that since I haven't worn a medium anything since Jr. High.
In the end I found a great deal on a Blue Seventy Helix on eBay. Size Medium. So I bought it. It's tight, but I'm fine with it. In fact, it's probably the right fit. I learned to put Body Glide on my shoulders, arms, and lower legs so the suit can settle in and provide more room in the torso. It's a little uncomfortable when dry, but as soon as I get wet it's fine.
There's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. Your results may differ.
229
Member
312 days
xc800runner posted 14 weeks ago.
I'm a medium on most charts, but after talking to a zoot rep in store, I actually sized down to a small to get a tighter fit in my synergy. You're supposed to feel tight, and a bit constricted, just make sure you can take a breath. If you can do it on land, you can do it at sea. Looking at the athletes in those new LZR's in the Olympics should give you a general idea of how accommodating the body will be to compression. Their back muscles may be spilling out the sides, but they're still breaking world records all over the place.
173
Member
297 days
chekmarks posted 14 weeks ago.
mine feels tight when i put it on, but as i get going the water helps it loosen up and after a few minutes everything feels fine. back muscles aren't the only things that seem escape the LZR's (ie katie hoff)
464
Member
143 days
trigirltina2 posted 14 weeks ago.
If you haven't worn your suit prior to the race day in awhile, make sure you get it wet try it on and then race mroning you are warming up prior to the gun. Wet suits mold to your body, but should't feel constricting so much you cannot move..
1008
Member
1193 days
PJT posted 14 weeks ago.
The downsides of going a size up are bunching and letting in too much water, both of which will slow you down a bit (but not as much as going without a wetsuit, IMO).
How a suit feels on dry land and how it feels once it is wet are 2 different things. Even before your first swim you should soak the suit in cold water to allow it to expand a bit, hang dry it for a day, then go swimming. You may be surprised at how well a "tight" suit feels once you are actually swimming.
Of the 2 brands I've used, I'd say DeSoto is way more forgiving size-wise, while Orca is the wetsuit equivalent of a Euro-cut bike jersey.
Here's another one for the pile of recent wetsuit questions: I'm in the market for a full suit & have been trying them on. My height & weight suggest I should be a men's medium for most brands. The issue: I'm not huge, but my shoulders & chest are fairly broad relative to my waist, so most of the suits I've tried on feel very tight, almost constricting in the chest, which is not a feeling I want to have when I'm swimming. Anyone out there with similar fit issues, what can you recommend? Do I go a size up (what is the downside)? Any brands that may be more forgiving? Thanks.