Body Glove 2/1mm Fusion Short John Wetsuit

Jerry:

I am a five foot four inch 145 pound 65 year old male. I want to go ocean kayaking in Nova Scotia this July. The water temp should be around 50-60 degrees. I do not want a full wetsuit but perhaps a shorty. What size should I buy, how thick, and what type (ie. sleeveless, sleeved)? Thanks

Bob (Certified Scuba Instructor at Scuba.com) :

The most important measurements any time you purchase a wetsuit or drysuit using the manufacturer's sizing charts will always be your waist and chest/bust measurements. The suit needs to fit your torso correctly in order to do its job properly. Keep in mind there is no such thing as a comfortable wetsuit on the surface. You want it to be snug, but not cut off circulation to your extremities. The more snug it is, the thinner the layer of water your body is heating. If its too loose you will remain warm for awhile, but eventually your body won't be able to keep up with the greater amount of water flowing through the suit and you'll wind up getting cold faster. After that your height is a secondary measurement. The manufacturers realize that generally speaking your boots and gloves can overlap slightly short arms and legs, or the diver can push or roll up longer sleeves and/or arms if need be. Weight is a measurement the diver can usually ignore. It really has little to no bearing what so ever on the sizing and fit of your suit. The manufacturers do not take into account muscle being more dense than fat, so based simply on fitness levels 2 people can be the exact same size but quite different in weight. This measurement should only be used if the person is literally on the fence between 2 sizes in all categories.