Putting on your diving suit is often a tricky task for many divers... But mastering this technique is essential in order to not damage your suit and prolong its life. Read on for our tips on how to put on your neoprene suit without a hitch!
When putting on a wetsuit, getting your leg in is by and large the most difficult step. This is because your foot gets stuck as soon as you get your heel through. There is no point in pulling harder, the suit's neoprene is designed to be strong. It is therefore essential to find a trick, such as the plastic bag trick. Yes you heard that right, putting your foot in a plastic bag makes it much easier for you to get into your wetsuit and avoid getting stuck. However, make sure that it doesn't fly away—especially if you are on a boat.
Now that you have managed to get your suit on, you are going to want to adjust it to get rid of any wrinkles or to make it more comfortable. To do so, simply get someone else to blow inside your sleeve so that you can adjust it to the perfect fit. The air entering your suit inflates it, letting you reposition it as it instantly lifts the neoprene off your skin. All you have to do next is put on your mask, fins and boots and jump into the water to explore the deep!
This is another technique that is often used in the world of scuba diving to put on a suit. However, be careful when using soap! Choose hypoallergenic soap for sensitive skin and only use a few drops. Then simply pour some into your suit to lubricate it and make getting into your suit much easier. This method is particularly recommended for winter sessions using hot water to warm you up and minimise the thermal shock.
There are two similar methods that make it easier to get dressed: wetting your suit with seawater or in the shower.
The shower technique is one of the most commonly used during the winter season as soaking the neoprene makes it more comfortable to put on your suit. However, this technique can be somewhat incapacitating if you want to do it at home, as you would then need to get in the car and it can make driving difficult.
Probably one of the least restrictive techniques is simply dunking your suit in the sea at the beach or in a tub full of water. This is a lot less hassle, unless of course it is very cold and the water temperatures are low.
We can suggest one last technique to help you put on your diving suit, which involves using old tights. Tights can make putting on your suit so much easier.
Here is a list of habits to get into that will make getting into your wetsuit that much easier:~
Subea diving product manager - padi rescue diver and level 3 ffessm
I am the product manager for the scuba diving range at Subea. I have been doing this sport for about ten years and I am a PADI Rescue Diver with Deep Diver specialty and PA60 (FFESSM). My goal is to share my passion through my products by making them easier to use for my customers to make scuba diving more accessible for all.