Ordered me a all neo skirt (Snap dragon ocean trek) from rutabaga nad it arrived today. I have a 29 inch waist and 34 inch hip. The small is said to fit 28-30 inches. It fit very snug with no tshirt on. Problem is I am not sure if it is going to work with my dry suit and insulation. Does it just need some stretching or should I send it back and get a med (30 to 32). Much thanks.
-assad
If you aren’t comfortable
with the new skirt send it back and get the size that will suite your needs.
Try it with the other clothing
then decide. I am right on the cusp of Snapdragon sizing and have the oppposite problem with my Flirt skirt. It is a smidge big in pool clothing, but is right with the drysuit or wetsuit and drytop that I’d actually wear outdoors.
Should Work…
– Last Updated: Mar-01-07 6:13 AM EST –
I have the same waist and generally like a small tunnel. It can feel tight initially when putting it over winter gear but then I forget about it. In the summer, I appreciate having the smaller tunnel when I have less layers and it's still snug.
I have medium tunnels as well. Yes, they feel a bit more comfortable but they also allow much more seepage of water. Given that I am upside down at least a third of the time that I am out there (surfing), the seepage is not acceptable to me. But if you are touring, don't expect to be upside down alot, except when practicing, then you may opt for the easier-to-get on and comfort of a medium tunnel.
sing
Snug
I jokingly refer to my Snapdragon neo skirt as my girdle. I have a 32" waiste and the medium tunnel is very snug on me. In fact, it is a bit difficult to put on, it is uncomfortable for the first five minutes, and it is always a relief to get off. However, it does not leak around my torso and after five minutes I don’t notice that I have it on. I don’t have occation to wear a lot of bulky clothes under it but it works about the same with a light paddle shirt or with a heavy fleece under garment and dry top.
Happy Paddling,
Mark
snug is consertive
– Last Updated: Mar-02-07 10:31 AM EST –
How about painful.
I wear 34 pants. A large Snapdragon is very, very tight. I finally ended up cutting it open and gluing in a 2 inch relief section.
My brother has the same waist. He bought an XXL and if fits nicely.
Maybe they're imported and the size labels are way different in other countries?? It's so far off it's silly.
wet vs. dry
It’s true that if you do year round paddling, you might find you need or want two tunnel sizes to accomodate heavy winter layers vs. summer layers. I even need different outfitting/padding in my boat in the summer vs. winter because I’m so much more bulky with fleece and drysuit in the winter.
BUT, having said that: did you try the skirt on dry? Neo skirts will be tighter if they haven’t been used for awhile (or ever) and are dry. If I haven’t used a particular skirt for awhile, I usually need to wet it before putting it on or it will be too tight (on me or on my cockpit). So you might want to try it again wet before making a final decision.
Last year I was using two boats with different skirts due to different cockpit sizes. I ended up not using one of the skirts for a couple months and when I went to put it on I was like UH OH! it was so tight. But once I wet it and started using it again, it has been fine.
Good luck!
Cheers
Maybe Variable…
I am a true 29 waist and have 4 snapdragons with small tunnels. They all fit me fine. (shrug)
sing