Measuring Guidelines

Chest: Take this measurement at the widest point. This is usually at the nipple area. If the person is muscular, take a second measurement at the armpit area, across the upper chest. Use the larger of the two measurements. 
Waist: Measure just above your hip bone where your body bends when bending sideways.
Hips: Take this measurement from the side to ensure the correct placement of the tape. Place the tape around the hips and across the widest point of the buttocks. 
Inside Leg: The “crotch to ankle bone” measurement. Hold the tape in the crotch area, snug up against the body. The measurer then stretches the tape straight down your ankle bone. 

Maintenance and Aftercare:

Your paddling equipment should need very little aftercare. Rinse garments in cold, fresh water after every use. Store paddling gear in a dry, dark, and cool place, away from any strong fumes such as diesel or resins. An ideal storage temperature is 10-20 degrees C. Make sure your gear is fully dried inside out before storing away. Store One Piece Suits with the zip fully closed, folded gently. Avoid piling kit on top of your suit as this can put unnecessary pressure on the zip.

If you leave gear wet in your kit bag for a few days it will go mouldy and lose its performance. If your gear begins to stink, hand wash it with Granger's Performance Wash and hang to drip dry. From time to time reproof the garment’s outer fabric with Granger's Xtreme Repel.

If your garment is fitted with a waterproof zip, service this from time to time as dirt & grit in the teeth will affect the seal. Clean the zip using a stiff brush and fresh water. Re-lube it before every use with specialist zip lube (eg. GearAid Zipper Lube). 

Protect the socks of your suit - do not step on the gravelly carpark surface in your socks with no shoes and ensure your wetshoes do not contain gravel. Any small holes and leaks or can be fixed with GearAid Aquaseal FD.

Latex gaskets will stretch with use. Before using, stretch the seals (particularly the neck) over a suitable sized container. Expect them to be tight to start off with! While you can trim the seals to reduce the choke you should be very careful doing this (last resort!)! Most importantly keep all sunscreen and insect repellants off your gaskets or they will quickly degrade. You should get a couple of years of use from gaskets and they can be replaced (gaskets and tool kits sold separately). We also offer a gasket replacement service (Melbourne customers can borrow a tool kit).

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Why Peak UK do not call this a Dry Suit:

A One Piece Suit is one of the best investments you can make if you want to paddle all year round, or you are mainly out in colder, wetter climates. Whether you are whitewater or sea kayaking, paddleboarding or open canoeing, the security and protection you get from a good quality suit is unrivalled. Before you take the plunge (no pun intended) and spend your hard earned money however, there are a few things you should consider...

Firstly...

We (Peak UK) do not refer to our suits as dry suits, as we feel the term is misleading. They are items of high-performance paddlesport equipment. Even with the whitewater models, which feature double neck and wrist seals, we cannot guarantee that a little water may not find its way in. Plenty of people have stayed totally dry whilst swimming, rolling etc, but it is not something we would tell you to expect, let alone guarantee.

Our touring suits, the Explorer and Adventure, do not have a latex neck and we cannot retrofit them either. They use a neoprene cone seal with tension band. We do not use latex necks on any of our touring outerwear as the emphasis with these products is to give the optimum balance between comfort and protection. Not only can latex necks cause irritation in salt water, but in most touring scenarios you will be glad that your suit offers more breathability than the whitewater models, which focus mostly on preventing ingress. A touring suit will give you superb protection from the elements, and in the event of a capsize will work with your base layers to allow you to carry on with your trip, even if you do get a little water in.

It is worth adding that it is not guaranteed that you will get wet from a single swim / roll, as numerous paddlers have attested to! The main issues come when people are doing repeated rolling and wet exit drills. You should not expect to stay 100% dry in this situation. Ultimately (and obviously this varies between individuals with different tolerances to cold), if you have decent base layers that will keep you warm when wet, then your suit will help to keep body heat in and you should be able to operation in reasonable comfort. Ok, hopefully that has cleared that up. Next up...

Do I need one?

This is a subjective question, and as such it is up to you! If you are a seasoned paddler, then the chances are you already know the answer to this. If you are just starting out, or are looking to get a bit more serious, then here are a few pointers that may help:

• Just starting out: When you first start out in your paddling life, chances are you are more likely to be getting wet, whether that is by accident, or from self rescue / rolling practice. Clearly a suit will offer you the most protection here, and learning all of the above whilst being as warm and dry as possible will help keep your enthusiasm up. Unfortunately, just starting out may also be when you are least likely to shell out several hundred pounds for a piece of kit. The other thing to consider is that if you are trying several disciplines before deciding which one suits you the most, then you may be better looking at separates that enable you to dress most suitably for each environment, until you know for sure. For example, you could buy a touring suit with a semi dry neck and hood, only to find that your heart actually lies on the whitewater, which your suit will not be great for. 
• A bit of everything: If you find your time is split evenly between multiple scenarios, e.g. whitewater, canoe touring and paddleboarding on the sea, then you may be better off looking at separate legwear and jackets. One good set of dry pants will work with jackets for whitewater, touring, or short sleeved cags for warmer weather, giving you loads of versatility and a more cost effective solution than buying a suit for each discipline.