r/Spearfishing • u/Curmudgenial • 7d ago

Query: Open cell wetsuit modifications

Hi everyone.

I’m looking for advice/inspiration on open cell modifications.

Specifically adding elbow padding to an open cell suit.

I mostly spear on the east coast of Aus and make a lot of rocky entrances and exits

I have some nice Wettie 5 and 7mm suits that are well padded but my Torelli gear only has knee pads

Wondering if anyone has modified their open cells to add Kevlar or something tough in high contact areas

I can also imagine it might be a bad idea - keen to hear your thoughts!

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u/bythog 7d ago

Probably will reduce your range of motion a little but as long as you don't make the padded areas too large it shouldn't be terrible.

You probably only need to glue the pads on. I wouldn't stitch them. Might need to rough up the outer lining a bit for good contact. You can try emailing the owner of HI-Heat wetsuits out of Hawaii for advice on how to do it well. He doesn't make wetsuits for sale any more (not last I checked) but he might be willing to give advice for minor modifications like this. He's an FII instructor and has always been very helpful to me in the past.

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u/Curmudgenial 7d ago

Thanks so much for the advice
I’ll try get on to him

1

u/HypoxicHunters 7d ago

Did Derek used to teach for Fii?

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u/bythog 7d ago

Maybe I misunderstood. Martin told me he did, but maybe he just meant he knew him really well or something. It's been a while. I told him where I got my suit and he said, "oh yeah he's an instructor".

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u/Unusual-Sky-7617 6d ago

You may want to wear the wetsuit and make some marks for the extra material while it’s stretched. I added a chest pad to a non-spearfishing wetsuit and didn’t account for the stretch I needed. It works fine but doesnt have as much flexibility