Proper Wetsuit Fit

At Quintana Roo, we want to make sure you are wearing your new HYDROseries wetsuit properly. If not properly worn, you may experience chaffing and pooling. Here are the necessary steps to take to make sure you get the most and best speeds out of your new wetsuit. 

We have this video to walk you through the correct way to put on your wetsuit.

Below is a detailed outline on how to put on your wetsuit properly:

• Make sure to get the suit as high up on your legs and hips as possible before moving onto your upper body. 

• The video shows turning the suit wrong side out. This technique works well, yet requires some practice. As you’re rolling the leg sleeves up, pause every ±6” and grip the top of the interior fold/roll, and tug upward. This enables a very efficient and correct insertion of the leg.  
• Do the same grip and tug of the interior of the suit as you proceed over the hips and begin up the torso. 
• The key is also learning that you have little fear of tearing the suit by gripping the interior liner material. Many folks try gripping the outside rubber surface of the suit; which easily creates tears and damage.
• When moving to the sleeves, many folks like using a plastic bag (a gallon Ziploc works well) over the hand and forearm. This enables a deeper, more efficient arm entry. When the hand and wrist position is optimum, use the opposite hand to grip and pull the bag off of the bagged hand. It will come off easier than you might imagine.  

• Next, bring the suit up the arm using the interior fold and grip method as needed. Please know that the sleeve material is thinner and more delicate than that in the lower body of the suit. 
• The shoulders should be difficult and require considerable ‘lowering’ of each shoulder to get the torso covered and ready to zip.
• Before zipping, I suggest performing multiple arm rotations, wind mills, and stroke simulations. This is where you’ll begin to gain a feeling of how well you’ve positioned your torso and arms in the suit. As you gain knowledge and experience with this super-elastic suit, you’ll know what adjustments to make. We believe athletes could experience issues after getting the suit on “too far” which typically translates to a high neck position. Please experiment to find the most functional “medium”.
• Zip the suit. This may require a friend’s help, but not always.  
• Most importantly, do not overstretch the rear Velcro closure. Logic tells us to tighten this flap to prevent water entry.  However, the suit design and super-elastic nature of the material work best with a very natural, lower tensioned zipper flap closure.

One of the nice features of this suit is how you can vary the neck height based on the choices and techniques performed above. We find not over stretching the material and creating as much of a second skin works best. Also know that this is not a “dry suit”. The right amount of water in the suit will keep lubricity between the suit and body which yields the least amount of restriction to your stroke.  What we aim to minimize is pooling of water which isn’t preventable if thrusting off of a wall or porpoise’ing through surf.