2. Pour around half the bottle inside the pants and then pinch the top of the pants shut. Each year, countless freedivers spend their hard-earned money on the wrong type of freediving masks. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. A closed-cell wetsuit is generally not strong enough for freediving and shouldnt be used. However, you need to find a bottle that can hold 1-1.5 L (33.8-50.7 oz) of liquid. JavaScript is disabled. However, with practice, you can easily put on the suit in just a few easy steps: Heres how you can put on a freediving wetsuit in 6 easy steps: 1. A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world. All content on this site is for informational purposes only. As you can see, its relatively simple to put on a freediving wetsuit, but it takes a bit of practice. 6. You can probably dilute it more though. I tend to go with the second method you described: hose inside out, then turn it right side in and hose down again. Always allow your wetsuit to hang dry after rinsing but avoid placing it in direct sunlight. why don't you just use the grocery bag trick? Ive long since moved on from that relationship, but I *do* really miss being walking distance from surf. Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions. i tried it on using a solution of water and old spice body wash mixed in a spray bottle and it worked like a charm. To take note of the finer points of wetsuit cleaning. Suits like Feral, Matuse, etc., made with much higher quality neoprene will last much, much longer, so they dont need to be replaced nearly as often. Itll chase salt and grime out of the trouble spots you missed when rinsing, will help clean the zipper, and washes away the body oils you left on the neoprene. Lubricate your wetsuit top. But don't let it get in your mouth it tastes terrible. You really want to get a product made by a diving company, or preferably the wetsuit company to find something to lube you up without spooking any thing. Products with Mirazyme will work, but so does regular old mouthwash. My ever growing collection of assorted ramblings on scuba topics can be read. In any case, use the cheapest hair conditioner you can find and dilute it 5-1 water to conditioner. Even if the rest of your life is a total mess, your wetsuit can remain a pristine source of pride. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. You must log in or register to reply here. The lining isnt as porous and wont have skin-to-neoprene suction. Boy howdy, does it make a difference when you do. Better than spit. I learned to (sorta) surf while in a relationship with a woman who lived walking distance to the shore in HB. thanks, i actually tried some organic hair conditioner my mom had and it didnt lube it up enough anywhere near like the body wash did, but im assuming i didnt use enough of it. Theyre funkless. Putting on a wetsuit takes practice. Adding more soapy solutions can help alleviate this problem. The only time I do the fill-a-bucket thing is if Im washing it with soap. Your email address will not be published. Log in or Register now! i got my first open cell suit today just like the other guy here. It doesn't burn your eyes and the smell goes away quickly. I do this even if Ive dumped a gallon of water on myself after a surf. This will help it dry thoroughly and quickly. Soap is grade-A doodoo for using as wetsuit lube. But know I cant pull my bands without my suit slipping on my skin any tricks or do I just need to use less. We hope you enjoy your stay! More people learn to surf every year, and around here that means thousands of new wetsuit customers a season. Best Freediving Fins of 2022 (the best kept secret of pro freedivers). Wetsuit care doesnt get much simpler than that. As fresh as the day they came from the surf shop, off-gassing volatile chemical compounds with that wonderful new wetsuit scent. my suits last at least two seasons I have a spare . Promise. Voila! This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Yes, buy the cheapest hair conditioner can you find, remove about half of it, then refill with water. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions. Use a plastic grocery bag on each foot as you slide the suit on. This is a great article. Here is how to keep that neoprene armor so fresh and so clean. Dont worry if you dont get it on ideally the first time. To lubricate the top half of your wetsuit, repeat the pinching process. And if any of this sounds strange, it's because it's complete bullshit I pulled from my ass. If I'm wet or dry it goes on and off easy. To put the wetsuit shirt on, start by moving your hands and arms through the sleeves. Some of the suits simply eroded into nothing, I swear, after leaving them without a rinse in a plastic tub in the trunk of a hot car. You are using an out of date browser. Thats wrong. A closed-cell wetsuit includes an inner liner that is made from nylon, polyester, and other fabrics. Double check fit of the wetsuit. Aquarium anti-chlorine water conditioner for wetsuit? The dry rubber would be ripping at my body hair without any form of lube. or any other suggestions. ill see if the sallys by me still carries it or just try using more conditioner next time. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Pull the wetsuit up to your shoulders and make sure that its snug against your body. Press J to jump to the feed. You put it on your foot or arm and you slide right into your wetsuit! Check out this post which is one of the most popular of all time. After that, raise the suit with your arms above your head. In my 30 years of surfing experience, even lifers often treat their wetsuits like crap. But we make wetsuits out of the stuff anyway. After each use, make sure to thoroughly wash your wetsuit in freshwater as it. From there, slide your head through the head hole and get your shoulders in. First, lets look at the differences between an open cell and a closed cell wetsuit. Nice and easy does it. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The information written on this website is not medical advice, nor has it been endorsed by medical health professional(s). So, after adding a few squirts, shake up the bottle until the water and shampoo are well mixed. No sequence of classes will make a good diver out of you, if you aren't actively diving and practicing in the meantime. Mix in a wetsuit shampoo every once in a while. Just remember to save a bit of soapy solution in the bottle in case you need it later. Its summer, I see cars driving through my neck of Marin County everyday, wetsuits hanging from mirrors, surfboards strapped to the roof. Do you hose it down inside out first then turn it right side in and spray again. The unscented conditioner is a good choice, but the best is diluted baby shampoo. It will cause rashes and all-together mess up your shit. With a regular back-zip suit, I've found the problem areas to be the shouldersand not getting the suit ON but getting it OFF. It's dangerous and annoying. Use hair conditioner, preferably unscented - some guys use scented stuff and it doesn't bother them. You dont want to pull on the wetsuit, as this will be more hassle. In the winter, Id walk from the surf to our hot tub and get in still wearing my wetsuit to take it off there. Never tried it because I managed to get a couple gallons of Cure Care which is now out of business but still shelved by Sally's Beauty Supply in some branches. A wetsuit should fit the curvature of your body, and there should be no lumps. Nothing spoils a surf session faster than pulling on a grimy, sandy disaster of a wetsuit and being blasted with the scent of a funky mold when you drag it over your head. If you make a purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission. Unlike the open-celled wetsuit, water will flow into the wetsuit. The next step is to repeat the process of lubricating the rest of your suit. Couple days later Id lift the tubs lid to find nothing but sand, salt residue, and a powerful stench, wetsuit simply vaporized. We just walked from the sand straight home to the shower. When you're armed with a pair of the best freediving fins to suit your particular Best Freediving Mask 2022(& why buying the wrong mask type hurts). Spoke to how often you surfed, and how you didnt mind pulling clammy rubber over your naked body first thing in the morning. There was a youthful time (shudders) when putting on a well-used, sandy nasty suit was a point of pride. When you dive using a high quality freediving mask, you'll feel the difference. Remember to hold your pants by the top and point the pant legs towards the ground as if you were standing in them, as its the most effective way to apply the soap. In our annual service to you wetsuit owners, we present our (my) guide to keeping your rubber clean, stretchy, and fresh all year long. For the suit, I mean, not your breath. So, slowly pull one leg up until it reaches your back end and then pull up around the hips. Try a little mouthwash to battle foul odors. You will slide in, but you don't want it to move around forever, you want it to get to the right position then stay. Dont yank at any of the flaps around the neck when pulling it off, either. Grab 2 plastic bags from the grocery store. If you are struggling to slide the wetsuit on, its not lubricated enough. Can you share some detail on the best way to rinse your wetsuit? It may not display this or other websites correctly. Wetsuit lubricant is essential for any type of closed celled wetsuit and should not be skipped. After a thorough rinse in the shower they hung on the shower curtain rod to drip dry over the tub. A tablespoon or so mixed in with rinsing water and a good long soak can work wonders. We have lots more on the site to show you. So, when you get home rinse the wetsuit inside and out with fresh, cool water. One-liter soda bottles or milk cartons tend to work well for this. And with some pulling watch it slide on through. Is there such a thing as an enviromentally friendly wetsuit? Put them over what ever extremity you're working in. Additionally, most standard soaps are not biodegradable and are bad for the water quality. Use your hand to guide the soapy solution around the inside to ensure that its fully lubricated. The best lubricants are either a shampoo and water mixture or a name-brand wetsuit lubricant. 5. Links to products may contain affiliate links. Dont stand on it and grind your suit into the oil-soaked pavement with one leg while trying to tear the other leg off. Shake the wetsuit pants around to ensure that the soapy solution gets all over. Required fields are marked *. There are two significant types of wetsuit lubricants store-bought or DIY. If you try to put both on, you will end up getting stuck. But in my experience, those suits dont last any longer than a traditional wetsuit, so they still take up lots of energy in manufacturing, shipping to destination, etc. I lube the arms of my SCUBA wetsuit and the entire inside of my freedive wetsuits. These days my wetsuits last at least two, three years, and I replace them because Ive grown bored with their appearance, or my head is turned by a newfangled doodad of wetsuit tech that I simply must have. Thanks !! Conditioner doesn't do it as well as the shampoo as it doesn't wash off as fast. The baby shampoo solution acts as mask defog! I never considered hair conditioner, but it sounds like a good emergency solution. Ive replaced many suits far quicker than that, though, always because lack of proper care reduced them to cracked, leaking, beef jerky-looking piles of smelly rubber. You've only seen one page. Pinch and seal off the bottom of the shirt and pour in almost all of the remaining solution. Peeing in your suit, sweating in your suit, forgetting to rinse it, all contribute to some serious nastiness from time to time. Take it easy when taking the suit off. There are products made from recycled wetsuit material too. Lubrication is necessary when putting on a wetsuit and when taking a one-off. From there, pinch the neck and armholes and the bottom of the shirt and shake the solution around. I have a five gallon cooler filled with warm water.after taking off my suit i put it in the cooler and push on it inside and outside till the salt is removed the put it in the washer on spin to remove excessive water. Listerine especially. As long as youre consistent with using lubrication and allow it to fully dry between uses, itll be no more difficult than putting on regular clothes. But then I turn it inside out again so the inside dries first. Put on the wetsuit shirt. Like do you put on a bucket with water and dunk it inside and out. Worried about weight & wetsuit choice with Aldora's steel tanks. The rest of this article will explain the above steps in detail, along with some tips to help you put on a freediving wetsuit like a pro. link to Best Freediving Fins of 2022 (the best kept secret of pro freedivers), link to Best Freediving Mask 2022(& why buying the wrong mask type hurts), An open-celled wetsuit is designed for freediving. Stand with your back straight and bring your shoulders down once your head slides into the hood. An open-celled wetsuit is designed for freediving, goes directly on the skin, and doesnt include any inner lining. This commission comes at no extra charge to you. If you dive from a boat, the conditioner on the deck stays slippery for far longer. That was a dumb time. Below, youll find a quick breakdown of various wetsuit lubricants and when they are most suitable: With the soap solution ready, start the application from the bottom of your wetsuit. Just the other day I didn't have enough on my bottom and it was catching on my skin around my back and had to add more so I could adjust it to fit right and not be so constrictive etc. Now, remove your underwear and slip on the pants using your hands as a guide. only for a minute .does not hurt the rubber then hang it in the shade till dry. Before dumping anything on your suit. I love it because my suit slips into position and the air squeezes right out. Below are some essential tips and tricks that can make putting on a freediving wetsuit smooth: Putting on a freediving wetsuit is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I put on an unwashed wetsuit vest once that may have contained jellyfish stinger debris what ever it was, my skin burned when I put it on. Sink the Stink, Rip Curls Piss Off, McNettjust about any neoprene cleaner and conditioner should do the trick. 4. Apply the soapy solution to your wetsuit pants. I do this about once every two months. Luckily, you can either purchase a wetsuit lubricant or create your own with only a few materials. I've been doing it for years when surfing and spearing, even easy to put on a a wetsuit that is wet, Is this with open cell suits? Hilariously, salt and sun are the two things that degrade neoprene faster than just about anything. An open-celled wetsuit is perfect for freediving but does have its difficulties because of the porous fabric. After that, take the soapy solution and apply a bit to the inside of your pants. Washing the suit thoroughly is that important for its life. There are a few tricks to help keep them this way. Usually these Our resources, gear suggestions and diving tips help freedivers globally discover new ways to dive deeper, boost breath-hold times and max under-water bottom time. It will preserve your suit at least a couple years if you maintain this attention to detail. 3. Joining is quick and easy. Baby shampoo is best because its light on the skin and wont irritate your eyes. Several reasons: It doesn't linger in the suit too long. Always use lubricant and dont try and put your wetsuit on without any. Treat those seams with respect, or theyll take revenge on you by letting frigid ocean water spill into the most sensitive parts of your anatomy. Due to this, the suit will be dry on the inside and extremely hard to put on. Whats maybe even better is that my wetsuits dont stink. Freshwater rinse and hang dry after every use. The key to slipping into any wetsuit is to lubricate it well before putting it on. If you notice any wrinkles or feel unusual, then its best to take the wetsuit off and try again. For many reasonscarelessness, sloth, indifference, youthful idiocyits only been in the last ten or so years that Ive bothered to actually care for the blessed things. http://speargearshop.com/accessories.html. This is yet another instance where those lucky few surfers who live on the coast have it easy. Keep pulling the wetsuit top over your body until its on your entire body. Put on the wetsuit pants. I was going to call you out and then I read the last sentence!!!! Fill the bottle up with water and then put in a few squirts of dishwashing soap or shampoo. by Justin Housman | Jul 8, 2022 | Gear | 9 comments. Patagonia and now Billabong make wetsuits from Yulex, a naturally-derived rubber that isnt made from petrochemicals like most neoprene wetsuits. Ive owned, uh, (counts on fingers, scribbles equation on back of an envelope, slides abacus beads back and forth), roughly ten gazillion wetsuits in the 25 years Ive been surfing. Always use your palm and fingers to slide it over your body. What's wrong with plain old water? Putting on an open cell wetsuit can be a bit intimidating the first few times. A capful in a wetsuit tub, some cool water, then mix it around with your hands. I dunk the wetsuit and it goes on easy For more info on wetsuit lube search DeeperBlue.com. For a few years I lived a block from the beach in Morro Bay. Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. A little lube on the tops of my shoulders helps immensely getting the suit off by myself after a dive. Remember to slide your legs in one at a time. A damp suit or sweaty me makes it harder and that's when I do the shoulders and arms with suit snot. When you're paired up with the best freediving fins on the market, the underwater world becomes your playground. The lack of an inner lining means that the rubbery neoprene comes into direct contact with the skin, making the wetsuit stick to the body. But now Im a wetsuit neat freak, consumed with ensuring that after a surf not a grain of sand nor blade of grass be left on my precious neoprene costumes to befoul them and shorten their life. If you surf nearly every day most wetsuits will last, oh, lets say a bit more than a year, if you own only the one suit. I heavily abused that vest for years its still in my closet. It raises the question on what to do with an expired wetsuit. Soak it a bit. I agree conditioner is best, I use scented stuff, I like smelling good when I take my suit off. :D happy diving. Create a wetsuit lubricant. If you have fingernails, trim them and dont pull on the fabric of your wetsuit with nails. Ed. I just started using a homemade lube outta conditioner so I use a lot better then suit juice cause I don't have to order it. Depends on how you identify environmentally friendly. Then you want to hang it up properlydoubled over at the waist, somewhere out of the sun. Each day until its dry, alternate turning the suit inside out and right side in. On that topic - i use toothpaste on my maskis baby shampoo better for defogging? ? Be sure to pinch off at the ankles to prevent the solution from running down the legs and outside. G'day mate, i would definitely recommend just using shampoo or conditioner, you don't get any chaffing after long periods of time and its cheap as chips. However, there may be a bit of confusion as to what type of lubricant you can use. just wondering if old sice body wash is safe to use on my wetsuit or should i go with something like cure care? Your suit will slide on so easily, and you'll smell good too! Funny thing, but it turns out a lot of body soaps/hair products have sulfates that, for whatever reason turn fish away.