Customer Support Center: Knowledge Base

We have all heard the line: "I just went to put on my wetsuit for the first time this year and it shrunk." Now, the joke is that you may have gained a bit of weight and you are making an excuse that the wetsuit has mysteriously shrunk. Well, best I can figure, the answer here is both.

Now, lets start with the shrink part. Wetsuits are made primarily from Neoprene, a material that comes in many thicknesses, but the main part is that is has air bubbles in it that add insulation to the diver or surfer. Now, most neoprene over time has been proven to loose its stretch or not be as pliable. Thus it can be argued that it did in fact "shrink". Mainly because it doesn't have as much stretch.

As for the other part, we also know that if you gain weight, work out or otherwise change your body by adding inches, then the suit will seem to be shrinking as well. The joke has always been that "my suit shrunk", especially when it comes to not admitting that one's over indulgence during the winter may have actually been the cause.

We also know that many wetsuit manufacturers like Body Glove and Henderson Wetsuits have huge marketing departments that come up with many new ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. Some may add a Titanium lining for extra warmth, or a Platinum glide skin interior for easier donning... "So," you say, "how does this feed into a wetsuit shrinking?"

Have you heard of Hyperstrech or Yamamoto SCS Titanium Super Stretch neoprene? They are all part of the newest kind of "neoprene with memory" so they always come back to the original shape. This makes them much better than the neoprene wetsuits of the past. This also may just make this a myth as those of us who like to say the wetsuit shrinks will have to come up with some other excuse. Darn, I was getting so used to that excuse...