Tiny Female Seeking Wetsuit Advice

[TinyGypsy]

Hey guys,

I'm a very teeny female diver (5'1", 115 lbs), and I've been looking for a toasty wetsuit/semi-drysuit (yeah, yeah, I know I should get a drysuit, but I'm starting med school in the fall and can't afford such luxuries at this point in my life). I was going to buy the Aqua Lung SolAfx from Leisure Pro, but I dragged my feet and now the smallest size is discontinued, and for whatever reason the suit is $200 more from any other outlet.

Any tips on how to find a good suit? There seem to be tons of semi-dry suits out there for men, but the smallest sizes look too big for me based on the size charts. I get WAY too cold using the plain old rental suits so it's really important to me to find something that's going to have minimal water flushing. I'm sort of overwhelmed by the number of options and by the thought that nothing is ever going to fit me. Tiny ladies like to dive too!!

Appreciate any and all advice you all have for me

[TinyGypsy]

Follow-up question: has anyone tried Aquaflite suits? I've poked around the internet for reviews but haven't found a whole lot. It seems they offer custom fit semi-dry suits (including a hooded jacket + john) for under $400 which seems like steal to me.

[ljjames]

A good wetsuit is going to start inching towards and at time overlap the price of an entry level dry suit. Taking into account comfort level it might be worth taking a look at some of the wee dry suits that are kicking around (periodically some even come up used here..)

[Penopolypants]

You can find used dry suits on craigslist for about what you'd pay for a semi-dry or high quality wetsuit:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/spo/5533865138.html

And often many online retailers will have demos or suits that were never picked up that they are getting rid of for cheap:

http://www.diverightinscuba.com/drysuit ... -3918.html

You may have to check craigslist and other retailers (scubatoys, etc.) religiously until you come across something that works, but you will eventually.

I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but paying $400+ for a semi-dry versus paying that or maybe a bit more for something that you can use year round? As a smaller person you are prone to getting cold way more than most people as you know. And while fit is everything for both wet and dry suits, a slightly loose dry suit will keep you way warmer than a slight loose wet suit if you're so wee that you're having a hard time finding anything at all.

[Peter Guy]

My wife was about your size and I'd be willing to give you her wet suits (although not Puget Sound!) and perhaps we could come to agreement on her Fusion dry suit (that is unless the person who currently has it buys it). In case you need other gear (back plate/wing, regs, back up lights, can light, SMB and on and on) it all has to go.

[Echo]

I feel ya! I'm 5'3" and 104# and finding anything that fit was next to impossible. I forked out a lot of money though to have a custom dry suit from Bare and an Apex back plate and wing set up. Everything i found used was either out of proportion for me or badly taken care of. There's nothing like good fit and comfort when diving. Although I still get cold.

[Tangfish]

I have a Mares drysuit that needs some new wrist and neck seals but otherwise looks to be perfectly fine.

It's your size, from the sounds of it.

If it fits you can have it. Just PM me.

[coulterboy]

Call Sadira at Underwater Sports in Edmonds. She is an instructor and is comparable to your size, perhaps even smaller. Where she gets her wetsuits, semi-drysuits, and drysuits, I don't know. Give her a call.

[TinyGypsy]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'm honestly intimidated by drysuits right now but I'll keep mulling it over. I'm convinced I'll be diving dry eventually but for now my gut tells me that I want to be more comfortable in the water before attempting it. When I first started diving I would get really wigged out and claustrophobic when I felt I wasn't in control (still do sometimes, but I don't lose control much anymore), and I'm worried about that happening in a drysuit. Maybe it's not the most sound logic, but it's what I got

[fmerkel]

I hear you, but, the most important factor in overcoming that kind of anxiety is nice successful dives, and in appropriate measure. If you are diving less than once every 2 months you aren't going to get anywhere. Dive less than that any you will lose skills. You will not overcome that anxiety with occasional widely spaced dives.
If cold is keeping you out of the water.....well, you need to get warm. A wet suit at your size simply will not cut it around here. If med school/studies is eating up your time, you might have to wait until you come out the other side and start over when you have some time and money.

[ljjames]

+100 what fritz said

[Daphnid]

I saw a very very small bare semi dry full suit with shorty and attached hood at Tacoma scuba last weekend. It was on a discount rack I think. I used the exact same suit for my first 60 dives and it was pretty good for a wet suit.

That being said being so small you may never be warm enough in a wet suit. I actually found a dry suit easier to use in the PNW because 14 mm of neoprene gets buoyant fast.


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[finnegankp]

Hey Tiny,

I have a wetsuit that my wife was using for here in the NW that we really aren't using and it's just sitting around. It's nothing special but if you'd want it, I'm happy to gift it to you to use and destroy until you find something better.

[yadayada]

If you insist on wet\semidry, the best one right now is the Pinnacle \ Hollis - when it first came out Hollis underpriced it and it was in backorder for months and months. Now they raised the price and it's easier to find - Pinnacle (which incidentally makes the suit for Hollis) also sells it under its own brand and a little cheaper.

However, I would still recommend to go directly to a drysuit - look on CL and here as women suit come up all the time.