Are average sized women not allowed wetsuits?

[GrumpyDullard]

I’m 50, 5’5” with a 32” waist. I am pretty much the average British woman.

According to various wetsuit retailers’ websites that I have perused, wetsuits are not for me. If I want one that fits my height, I should have a 28” waist. If I want one that fits my waist, I should be 5’9”.

I can’t order a wetsuit for my teenage daughter either, as she’s 5’10” and a size 8 - too tall for her waist and too skinny for her height, apparently.

We want wetsuits for winter dinghy sailing. We’ve never worn them before. I have no idea whether the retailers’ websites are misleading. Surely average sized middle aged women and their tall skinny daughters wear wetsuits. Where do they get them from?

There are no physical wetsuit shops near me (NW England) where I might try one on, but I would consider a day trip to Manchester or Liverpool if I there’s a shop with a good range there.

I'm 5'3" and size 12, waist 30". I bought one recently in a large size. It isn't perfect but it's good enough. I recommend Trespass if you want to try some on - they usually have a fairly decent range. Not bad prices either.

I'm a size 14 - 16 and 5'7" tall. I spend most of my free time exercising so don't have any hard-to-fit areas. A few months ago, I contacted a kayaking company in Scotland about a place on one of their courses. The male owner emailed back that there were no wetsuits in "unusual" sizes and that my hips would be too large to fit in the kayak.

I went with a colleague last week to major branch of Patagonia (the outdoor wear company) to buy him a wetsuit and noticed there wasn't a single one that would fit anyone over size 12.

God this.

I used to do sea swimming. Slowly

But really needed a wetsuit. Unfortunately I was a size 24/26. No wetsuit for me. Ordered one from america, biggest size I could find, still wouldnt fit me

Ive now lost 7 stone and guess what?

I still cant find anything to fit me properly and to make it worse I dont want a full body one, I want a top and bottoms. Impossible.

Wetsuits to fit everyone are out there.
I swim outdoors a lot and there are people of every shape and size....just like RL!

I had this problem about 15 years ago and after LOTS of searching, I found this company who will do a made to measure wetsuit for not much more than a branded one

https://www.warmbac.com/contact.php

I can’t see any mention of made to measure on their website though, so maybe give them a call and see if it’s still a service they do

Can you post a link to somewhere that does them in a size 24/26? I never found one

Im now around an 18 in terms of measurements but a 16 in shop clothing sizes most of the time.

For winter sailing my sister used to use a dry suit they are less clingy than a wet suit and definitely kept her warmer.

That's wild about both those things. I'm now a 16 to 14 but was a 22 and fit in a kayak at that bigger size. So did he inky have super tiny kayaks?!!

Hopefully this guide will be helpful

www.whosthemummy.co.uk/the-best-plus-size-wetsuits-for-women-2020/

Particularly the tip about cutting down arms and legs if you need to size up. Neoprene is non fraying so you don't need to hem or anything just chop off any excess length.

I've got neoprene leggings, plus thermocline t-shirt

Also much easier to get in and out of, compared to the full wetsuit wrestle!

I’m a size 20, a keen scuba diver and I’ve worn plenty of hire suits at dive companies. And I’ve been kayaking too. I think your Scottish instructor was being a real dick there. I had someone do the same to me once (when I was quite a lot smaller actually) and insisted none of the wort suits would fit me. It was excruciatingly embarrassing. He put me in the largest man suit he had, it was hanging off me. Really wish I’d had the confidence to tell him to stick it, but I was young and silly.

They were heavy-duty sea kayaks, so I assume they would have been even wider than the fresh-water kayaks I've used in the past! I used to kayak when I was a size 18 student and never even thought about the fit of the kayak. It was fine.

I wrote back and told him that I was very disappointed in his comments in this day and age. I said pretty much what the OP did, that he was excluding average women. He wrote back with more excuses. One was that larger women don't sign up for kayaking and I told him that of course they don't if he can't provide equipment that'll fit them. The wetsuit sizes are provided directly on his website and any woman is going to look at them and see immediately what the sizes are!

Try phoning Wetsuit Outlet and telling them your measurements. They were very helpful to me a couple of years back.

I've been kayaking twice this year, I'm bigger than you, I fitted in the kayak fine and borrowed a wet suit for my size 16 5'6 body

I have a wet suit from decathlon. My lower legs are kept very warm by the double layer turn ups!

2 Bare Feet go up to 2xl and have a good range of separates. Might be worth a look, especially if you are going to cut them down- they're not at all expensive.

@Antst you absolutely should fit in a sea kayak, I know several men who get in them who will almost certainly be larger than you. Luckily you don't have to fit in his sea kayak because he sounds totally insufferable and imagine enduring a whole course of that!

Wetsuits are a total nightmare so I'd highly recommend checking the made to measure ones. Your daughter might be ok with orca in a man's size.

I have usually ended up buying a shortie so I haven't worried about height.

However, I don't think neoprene frays - so you might be able to just cut down the arms and legs?

I didn't sign up for the course in the end.

The thing is, I'm agree that I probably would fit in any kind of kayak. The man from the company probably has no idea about women's clothing sizes.

That said, large men often do have narrower hips. It is a problem that seats of all sorts (not just in kayaks) are made to fit the average man and therefore don't fit many women.

It's loads better than it used to be.

I was an 18 at 160cm and 90kg when I last bought one, so wetsuit size suggested was men's xl, which was approx. 2ft too long for me.

I discussed it with a shop and they suggested use height not weight, so I did, Men's S and wetsuit fits great.

However, there are much more inclusive suppliers now, so LOMO and a few others. Snugg do made to measure and are lovely to deal with too.

Check out lomo.co.uk haven't purchased but variety of sizes and good reviews

I'm about 5 ft 1, although long in the body, about size 16 waist.
I've got a shorty wetsuit that fits well from Decathlon. Cost about £39. Not the cheapest one they did as that seemed a bit too flimsy.

Appreciate you may not want a shorty one, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it well fitting.

Lomo wetsuits are what you need. They do varying width and height sizes.

They are a Scottish brand and very knowledgeable. If you send them your measurements they will recommend what size will fit you best.

I can ask around if you like (though I see there is lots of advice on this thread).

I'm 5'6 and a size 26 and have a cheap Osprey wetsuit size 3XL.

For colder water diving I have a 5mm Seac-Sub 4xl and an O'Neill long 5xl also 4xl.