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Well, much to my delight waiting for me in my mailbox post long run this morning was my wetsuit!! I was shocked it came so fast, thanks TE! :D
Anywho, I tried it on and everything seems to fit pretty well. (I wore it around the house for 1/2hr. hehe)
But, now it's time to put it away and I'm not sure how! A mesh bag came in the box with it. Does this mean I'm supposed to fit the suit in the mesh bag or is that just some misc. goodie?
How do you store your wetsuit? Hanging or folded?
Yippee for new wetsuits!!!!:D
Our "instructions" for storage on the wetsuit was to lay it flat. Ours are currently lying on the pool table in our game room/laundry room. We got mesh bags, too, but use them only for putting the wetsuit in after a race to transport back home. We hang the suits over the bar in the laundry room until they dry, then they lay down on the pool table until we're ready to take them out again. I know some people store theirs by lightly folding the legs up to the chest, and folding the chest down. When folding it up, make the folds billowy (meaning: don't press it down- keep it fluffy) so you don't crease the neoprene. I have one friend who folds hers over a pillow to keep it from pressing down and creasing.
Mine is hanging in the closet
When I get home from a race which is up to two days after...I put it in the rinse cycle in my front loader washing machine (frontloaders do less damage) on the rinse cycle, if it is really moldy from the trip home I put a tiny bit of detergent in. Then I dry it on the rack, and store it oh so delicately on the floor of some closet, usually on top of, in between, etc, a mountain of shoes...wetsuits are pretty sturdy products.
After 27 years of diving (and wetsuit-owning), I'm somewhat of an expert on this.;)
The best thing to do is get a wide hanger (like the one on the left in the link) so it doesn't stress the shoulders, and hang it up. You don't want to lay it flat with a lot of folds in it, or eventually the neoprene will hold the creases.
To make a homemade wet or drysuit hanger you need a piece of PVC tube/pipe, and about 4' of rope.
Go to the hardware store and get a piece of PVC tube = 3, 4, or 5" in diameter, about 20-24" long. If there are any rough edges, sand them smooth. Put a piece of rope - any kind will do - through the tube and tie it up to make a triangle. The measurements are not critical but if the rope is thin, you might want to double it up. Make a loop at your knot so you can slip it over the hook part of a sturdy hanger, or a hook of some sort.
Now you simply lay the wetsuit over the pvc pipe so it's sort of folded, draped really, over the pipe. That way you don't have any stress points from the hanger on the suit. The larger the diameter of your PVC, the better.
Assuming it will get regular use, or even if it doesn't, periodically (maybe once a month) shift the suit a couple inches on your hanger so you don't get a flat spot in the neoprene.
If your hanging rope is long enough, you could even insert the PVC inside the suit across the shoulders and pull the rope up through the neck opening. This gives a better drying position but once it's dry I put mine over top the PVC so I don't get hanger marks in the shoulders, and so it fits in the closet.
Thanks for all of the tips! You all are wonderful! :D
I think I will try hanging, but keep an eye on it.
Urlea: Glad you asked! I've been leaving mine loosely rolled in the bag after I get it dry. Guess I'll try out a fat hanger. Thanks, all!
I too just bought a new wetsuit today from XTERRA, they had a good sale. Looking forward to getting it and will hang it up properly...
I hang mine on a fat hanger and flip the legs up over the shoulders to reduce the hanging weight. So far, so good.