or will this end up tearing along the cut? I’ve tried Pam spray, anti-chafe stick and other products but its still a pia to get over my ankles in T1. Other suggestions?
Most suits are taped at the seam running up from the ankle so cut away without worry.
Cutting ankles has been done since the beginning of tri suits
I cut to about 2" above the ankles…right about where the calf starts to widen. Taking off the wetsuit went from a ~60+ second ordeal that may or may not have involved rolling around in the dirt on the ground to a ~5 second peel that looks totally pro.
I used scissors to do the cutting and put aquaseal on the seams above the cut to keep the threads from unravelling.
Make sure you put the body glide on the outside of the bottom foot or so of the wetsuit legs since that’s what is going to be touching your skin when you peel. Same thing at the wrists.
Personally, I always tried to peel the top while coming out of the water, and scoop some so that it filled up the legs, then take the wetsuit off right on the beach as opposed to running to the transition area then stripping. The water in the legs helps the suit to come right off and if it leaks out while you are running the suit tends to suck on to your legs.
Yup. Chop chop.
I went nuts and had a dive shop install zippers from the heel to mid-calf.
Call me crazy.
Yes, you can, but I recommend 1/2" or 1" at a time.
Here are the instructions I’ve written for a bunch of wetsuit companies.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TRIMMING WETSUIT LEGS
**Usually you can trim 1-2” from the legs of your suit without problems. However, wetsuit legs are tapered, so the higher up you cut, the larger the opening becomes. Put the suit on, and check to see if the area you will trim is tight or baggy. If it’s baggy before you cut, then it will flap and let water in when you’re swimming. **
Supplies Needed:
**1. **Sharp pair of scissors
**2. **Piece of chalk or a Silver Sharpie marker
**3. **Ruler
4. Clear Nail polish, wetsuit glue or Aquaseal.
** Trimming the legs:**
**1. **Turn the suit inside out.
**2. **Measure ½” up from the bottom of the leg and put a dot.
**3. **Continue measuring and marking all the way around the leg.
**4. **Connect the dots.
**5. **Cut along the line.
**6. ****Try on the suit, if necessary measure and cut another ½.” If you cut above the taped seam, then put a dot of nail polish, glue, or Aquaseal onto the thread to seal it up. **
PS: Stop using Pam on your suit. It’s really hard to clean out of the spongy neoprene and eats away at the glue in the seams.
**KS aka Queen of Neoprene **
YES! Do it.
Just seal the cut at seams
Turn it inside out and look for where the seams are and where reinforcing patches are glued in between seams. Then be smart about it. Don’t cut anywhere that will end up weakening the suit. Edit: if that wasn’t obvious: don’t cut just above a reinforcing patch thus leaving an unreinforced seam in neoprene at the bottom. It will tear wide open.
That said, I don’t think cutting it shorter will help in and of itself. Shorter suit legs by couple of inches aren’t easier to remove. Not unless the issue is the legs tapering off so much at the bottom that it’s too narrow last couple of inches.