Skinny kid conundrum

[Rick56]

Greetings;

I'm trying to find a 3 mil full wetsuit for my 15 yo son. The problem is that he is 5'11" but only weighs 120 lbs. The lack of body fat makes him run cold in the water. I haven't seen any manufacturer's sizing chart that comes very close to his proportions. I'd hate to shell out the money for a custom wetsuit that he'll outgrow soon. Besides lots of cheesebugers, any thoughts on how to keep him warm?

[subsur]

hmmm, i'm also skinny (144 lbs) and 5'7". i can feel your pain. i was able to find a wetsuit (pinnacle small size) but i think it'll be too short for your son. Bare has a wide variety of sizes. Ideally you want one piece suite but if it's not possible without custom fitting, then maybe 2 piece suite (farmer john kinda style). you can buy 2 pieces of different size.

[CompuDude]

I agree, Bare is going to have some of the more customizable options.

Personally, at a slender 6'3", nothing off the rack is going to fit me height-wise without being roomy enough for two of me. I compromised and got the best suit I could find, fit-wise (read: width-wise) and have sleeves that are a little short and legs that are a too little short. Get gauntlet-style gloves to cover the gap on the arms, and the tallest possible booties to cover the gap on the legs. My legs generally are fine on the surface, but once I'm moving underwater a bit, then end up pulling up a little and a sliver of skin shows between the top of my booties and the bottom edge of my wetsuit. Fortunately, for me at least, this area is not overly cold-sensitive (that part of the legs has few nerve endings, and few veins close to the surface), so it's not a problem. The important part is keeping the core warm. Adding a core warmer, which is less sensitive to height differences, will also help your son.

Good luck!

[BobArnold8265]

You best bet is with a hyper stretch type suit. They seem to run a little smaller since they stretch more. The other option is custom. Check on the internet for custom suits. I've seen some that are very reasonable.

[bperrybap]

I'm also thin and have had a very hard time finding
a suit that fits. (6' 150 lbs). Suits tend to be too big
around in the arms or too short in the torso, both of which
cause a bit of flushing.
I have a 3/2 Bare Velocity. Great suit for warmer water
but was looking for a warmer suit (5mm) with a bit better
fit for some cooler water.
So, I too was looking at going to a full custom suit.
Then I tried on the Mares Trilastic Deluxe.
It is the only suit that I've found that fully fits me.
These suits tend to run quite a bit smaller/slimmer than
any of the other suits I've tried, including the Henderson
hyperstretch models. It is the first suit I've tried on
that fits like a second skin.
Its now got about 50 dives/ ~49 hours of BT on it and
it still fits great.
The trilastic line isn't cheap but it is quite a bit less
than going custom.

Another thing to do is wear a hood or beanie to keep warm.
A beanie is much warmer than a bare head and a full hood
is much warmer than wearing beanie.


--- bill