fitness · Guest Post

Buy the damn wetsuit! (Guest post)

by Alisa Joy McClain

The other day, I was in Value Village and I spotted a pair of neoprene pants in the “leggings” section.  You wouldn’t think neoprene pants would bring on a bunch of anxiety, but they did. 

Here is the conversation in my head:

Voice of reason:  Oh, hey, have you thought about the fact that your wetsuit might not fit anymore because of pandemic coping?

Anxious Alisa:  I DO NOT HEAR ANYTHING.

Voice of reason:  You should buy these pants, just in case.  They look like they’ll fit.

Anxious Alisa:  My old wetsuit HAS to fit, so I don’t need these pants.

Voice of reason:  Um, actually, laws of physics, the wetsuit does not have to fit.  These pants are 15 dollars.

Anxious Alisa:  But, that was the biggest wetsuit they had way back when, and if they don’t fit, I can basically never do scuba again and that would break my heart.  I can’t buy those pants because it will be an acknowledgement that the wetsuit might not fit.  Then, my life will be over.

Voice of reason:  That is ridiculous.  Buy these pants.  Your wetsuit jacket will still fit; it’s always been loose.  You might have a less than ideal suit, but you’ll make it work because you LOVE scuba diving. 

Anxious Alisa:  LA LA LA LA LA LA LA.  I don’t hear anything.

Voice of reason:  We’re buying the fucking pants.

I’ve always been so afraid of not fitting in my wet suit? Like why? You know what, Alisa, you can buy a new wet suit.  Problem solved.  Surely, there is a company out there that has figured out that women of larger sizes also like watersports and don’t want to freeze to death?  I have clothes that fit best at different body sizes.  It doesn’t bother me at all to change which clothes in my wardrobe I wear based on different body sizes.  Why do I not deserve the same in wet suits?

Self love is buying a new wet suit that isn’t going to cut off my circulation.

So, my old wetsuit does not fit, at least not if I want to be able to continue circulating blood through my body.  Yesterday, I was underwater for the first time in 2 years.  I was awkwardly dressed in those gift from heaven neoprene pants, a shirt meant for the ski hill, and my neoprene jacket, but who is judging my fashion underwater?  The fish?  Also, yesterday, I called the company Truli (Truli Wetsuits – Women’s wetsuits for all water sports.), which carries sizes called “defiant” and “fierce” in 21 sizes.  They show pictures of women with round tummies and powerful thunder thighs on their website.  I am currently waiting for them to call me back to help me figure out what size I am.  We’re talking a Canadian-based, woman-operated wetsuit making company that knows that my generous hips do not make me ineligible for staying warm while in the water.  They can take ALL my money.  I promise to report back about buying with the, once I’m in my ADORABLE polka dotted wetsuit from them.  I cannot wait. 

Wetsuit ordering form


Alisa Joy McClain spent the first half of her life thinking she couldn’t do cool exercise-y things because she was fat and is now spending the second half of her life enjoying the body she has and all the cool things she can do with it like rock climbing, cycling, and scuba diving. When not trying to be a fat athlete, she can be found reading books, playing pinball, hanging out with her family and children, and ranting about various social injustices.

gear · inclusiveness · normative bodies · swimming

All people vary in size? Really? Shocking!

No photo description available.
A photo of a women’s size guide on a wetsuit according to which XS is 5-5’2 and 95-110 lbs and XL is 5’9 + and over 155 lbs.

One of the things I love about our Facebook page is when people share things with us. Often it’s links for us to pass along on the page but sometimes it’s readers sharing their own experiences and observations. One reader, Sara Wabi Gould, was shopping for a wetsuit and was amused/horrified at this size chart and the accompanying text, “all people vary in size.”

She sent an image of the tag to us with the comment, “Wetsuit sizing strikes again. “Over 155”???”

According to this chart that variation tops out at 155 lbs. There’s also, according to this chart a strict correlation between weight and height.

Our bloggers had some reactions too:

Cate: “I remember reading once, in the 80s or 90s, some sort of “advice” in a women’s magazine that women who were 5.0 should weigh 100lbs, and for every inch after that you could add 5lbs. At the time, my not-quite-5.2 self weighed about 118lbs, the tiniest I’ve ever been — I think I was a size 4. I now weigh about 140 – 145 (haven’t weighed myself for a while) and I don’t THINK I’ve grown. I’m incredibly fit and strong and happy with my body. But I think I’ve carried that bullshit algorithm in the back of my mind for three and a half decades, with a flicker of shame every time I get on the scale that I am so much heavier than I “should” be. When I let it, that flicker of shame can outstrip the accomplishment of riding my bike 150 km in a day, running 8km comfortably on a hot day, deadlifting 200 lbs or being a super functional, fit, healthy 56 year old. These charts are dangerous bullshit.”

Tracy: “I feel oppressed by diet culture just looking at the chart and the way they assume height and weight correlate in just that way.”

Kim: “I’m 5’8 and just after I did the London to Paris challenge I was at my lightest at 155lb. This was me as endurance cyclist not lifting at the time. So does that mean I need to ride 450km in 24 hours and 14 minutes if I want to deserve a wetsuit? Bahahahaha!!!”

Sam: “Oh, FFS. I’m 5’7 and 155 lbs is a weight I haven’t seen on a scale since my early twenties. So I guess I’m an XL in a suit that’s too long for me. This brings me to one of my pet peeves about XL sizes. Sometimes they’re just a bit larger than L and other times they’re four times the size of L since they’re meant to fit everyone larger than that. It’s like the “one size fits everyone bigger than L.”

Diane: “By this sizing, my daughter (who is petite by almost any standard but very muscular) might need to get a medium as she is on the cusp for weight. What happens if you weigh 117 lb? Or 140? The answer if you weigh over 155 is generally that you learn to swim without a wetsuit. There are some slightly larger models out there, but most larger swimmers I have talked to simply gave up on trying to find one.”

You might want to also read Catherine’s post about choosing a wetsuit.

What would your reaction be to encountering this size tag on an item of clothes/sports gear while shopping?