The new dry suit came in today, dropped worked and had to try it on ASAP. The tags caused the latex neck band to double over, then I noticed a red coloration followed by shortness of breath. I didn’t die just so I could post this and see if the cranky old fart was right about the furor this topic causes at least once a year.
The boa constrictor feeling was more due to it being rolled because flattened out it was mo better, just needs a tad more give so I won’t go radical on it.
I am going to take a few items starting at the circumference of my neck and graduate up a little at a time, leaving it in a few days 
sorry, just had a moment.
His response was he trimmed his. Now on almost every subject, save women, I will listen to him but I’m not taking a pair of scissors near this thing.
I think it will work out fine, I mean, I kinda like this look anyway.
http://burma.phoenixgraphicdesign.ca/images/Inle/PadaungWoman_NeckRings.jpg
I know that feeling.I trimmed.
I came
I stretched (over the prescribed coffee cans)
I trimmed.
Wow Bill
This really is causing a big brewhaha, it’s about as bad as B&B with all the name calling, prejudice, and profanity.
I started with my cereal bowl, next I will go on to my Saturday morning with the cartoons Jethro size cereal bowl. The final sizing will be done with this http://images.shopnbc.com/is/image/ShopNBC/c36214?hei=1500&wid=1500&op_sharpen=1
but a coffee can could work
Bleach Bottle
I’ve had good results stretching my latex neck gasket over a plastic bleach bottle:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bleach-bottle.jpg
The tapered neck allows you to easily slide the collar of the drysuit down over the bottle, gently expanding the gasket without wrestling or straining it. You can even stop halfway to stretch it only a bit. Leave it overnight or a few days to help loosen the gasket.
A light dusting of talcum powder on the bottle helps lubricate the gasket for easier sliding.
Good Luck!
Delphinus
http://www.AquaDynology.com
DevoTex Better than Gore Tex ?
http://www.sohoblues.com/DEVO/previewpages/preview1.jpg
I stole this thought, wish it were mine
How much to trim?
I am willing to try, but don’t how far to go. Do I stop when my face is no longer red, or eyes stop bulging? I am afraid that if I go to “comfortable”
I will be buying a new suit. So what should it feel like when properly done?
I had mine circumcized
Yep!
For me, stretching is a waste of time. I don’t get that at all. Tried it on my first drysuit. Did the whole thing. Worked on it for a couple of weeks and nothing.
I trim mine. On the Kokatat gaskets I am a two ring trim guy. Pull it down under your adams apple, also. You don’t need it pulled up to seal. Don’t use scissors. Use a new razor blade with a margarine tub in the gasket. It is totally no big deal.
Or you can stretch it, I suppose. Depends on what your time is worth.
Wait a bit
If it isn’t impossible to wear, I’d try it out a few times before considering trimming or stretching. There probably is a natural stretching through use and in part you just get used to the feeling.
It is controversial…
But hey, it wouldn’t be P-Net if this issue didn’t come up at least once, every Fall/Winter.
That said, I’m a satisfied stretcher(with a monster sized neckline that I’ve had difficulty finding nice dress shirts to fit comfortably.)
The right sized saucepan, 303 and patience worked for me…And I started with the bulbous purple head and chokeline as well–Now as comfortable as a nicely broken-in baseball glove or sneakers.
Your results may vary.
I Trimmed
and anyone who says it was wrong can go straight to hell.
(insert smiley face here)
Take his advice and trim it
How long do you want to have to screw around with it before you can use it? If you have weeks or months to waste trying to stretch it, be my guest, but if you’re actually more interested in using it, trim the seal and you can be on the water in minutes.
It should be comfortable
You should be able to easily lift the seal off your skin by pinching it with your thumb and forefinger. It does not have to be tight to seal.
If it is close in fit don’t trim it. You
can trim it now and end up replacing it sooner because it WILL stretch out some with use. If it is too tight to paddle with a few times (after one night of stretching) you have no real option but to trim it. If you trim it, trim it so it is snug and in time it will become more comfortable and hopefully last until it blows out before it leaks from a loose fit. Bill
ps. where is your body weight right now, if it is up and you plan on taking a few off this matters, same thing the other way. My neck size changes alot with weight.
Don’t rule out trimming
I have never felt the need to trim my Kokatat suits, their latex is on the thinner side and I have found it acclimates quite easily. (And I have one with a medium and one with a small, both are OK).
However, I have a older Stohlquist Gripp top that just won’t die, and has heavier gaskets. I tried living with it as is for a week in Maine before taking a razor to it, and by this coming season where I’ll have switched into using a two piece system more, I’ll probably trim it again. I find that it is tight enough that I can get a smidge queasy feeling over a long day on the water - it just hits some darned point - a feeling which is otherwise not in my memory. I will someday get truly seasick, but so far nothing bothers me.
I have heard that the cold water divers from the NYC police dept came up here and recommended that the local guys go to looser gaskets and roll them to make them tight. We had a ship capsize in the port and there was some recovery going on, one witner. I’ve tried that when a replacement gasket overshot the mark, and it did work. But I wouldn’t want to get a gasket so big that you had to start there just to stay dry.
I stretched, then trimmed. Now just trim
It would be generous if you called me a pencil-neck so I thought stretching would work. It didn’t - not on the Kokatat XL drysuit, NRS Large, IR Large, or any drytop I have owned.
Trimming is best for most. Stretching
takes patience, and may work too slowly to be practical with today’s thicker gaskets.
Comfort vs. survival
Just using the drysuit will cause the neck gasket to stretch. It will keep stretching until it will no longer seal. If you trim, you increase the chances of it ripping sooner or later.
I go in conditions where I need my suit to work to stay alive. Temporary mild discomfort just is not that big a deal.
I Second That
I trimmed my first neck gasket, but for the second gasket, I just grin (grimace?) and bear it. It does stretch a bit, and the feeling does take some getting used to, but one can get used to almost anything (and I have a full beard). Also, if you trim it, it is almost impossible not to leave a tiny nick on the trim line, and that is where a tear can start and reduce the longevity of the gasket.
My 2¢
Adrian