By the Chase Leavitt service team · Portland & Ellsworth, ME · Updated November 2026

Why sizing matters more than people think

An immersion suit that doesn’t fit is worse than no suit at all. A loose suit fills with water; the gloves come off; the hood floods; the buoyancy you’re counting on isn’t there. We’ve seen captains hand crew the wrong suit in an emergency — a small fisherman swimming in an XL — and watch the suit nearly drown the person.

The fit is also what gets the suit on you in 60 seconds, which is the Coast Guard standard. A suit that’s a struggle to put on under the best conditions becomes impossible when the boat is heeled over, you’re wet, and you’re scared.

The “Universal Adult” myth

Most commercial suits are sold as “Universal Adult” or “One Size Fits Most.” This is mostly true and partially a lie. Universal adult suits are designed to fit the 50th-percentile adult — call it 5’9″ and 180 pounds. They stretch to fit a 6’4″ 280-pounder, but they swim on a 5’4″ 130-pounder.

If your crew runs small or large, you need at least one suit on board sized correctly. Mustang, Imperial, and Stearns all make XL/XXL and Small variants. We stock them.

Kids on board

Charter boats and any boat that takes passengers under 18 need a child-sized suit for any minor passenger. There are youth and child sizes available; not every brand makes them. Imperial does. Mustang has a youth model. Stearns has a child model. Plan ahead — these don’t show up on the shelf the day you need them.

Donning a suit (timing & technique)

Aim for 60 seconds from “abandon ship” to fully sealed in your suit. The technique matters more than the strength.

1. Sit down. Donning standing up is harder; sitting on a deck or bunk is faster.
2. Step in feet first. Both legs, all the way down.
3. Stand up, pull the suit body up over your hips and torso.
4. Get one arm in. Pull the suit shoulder up.
5. Get the other arm in. The hand the gloves are attached to goes in last on the suit closure.
6. Pull the hood up over your head. Seal the face flap.
7. Zip the front zipper to the top. Lock the zipper pull.
8. Inflate the bladder if equipped.

The first time someone does this, it takes them 90+ seconds. Practice gets it under a minute. Some crews can do it in under 45 seconds with practice. Practice.

Hood seal — the biggest failure point

If the hood doesn’t seal around your face, your face goes in cold water. Cold water in your face triggers the cold-shock response (involuntary gasping, often inhaling water). This is the most lethal failure mode for an immersion suit.

Check the hood at every annual inspection. Look for: foam compression around the face, neoprene cracking, snap or velcro closure integrity. If the hood foam is hard or has lost its compliance, replace the hood. We do this routinely.

Gloves and dexterity

The gloves are the second most-replaced component. They take the most abuse and they’re the part of the suit you have to use to do anything else (climb a ladder, hold onto a line, open a raft canister).

Test glove integrity by putting a hand in and pressing the heel of the glove against a flat surface. If you can feel the surface clearly, the glove neoprene is too thin or compromised. Replace.

Storage matters

The biggest cause of suit failure short of damage is bad storage. Suits stored:

• In a wet bilge — neoprene rots from the inside out
• In direct sunlight — UV degrades the shell
• Folded sharply for years — the fabric weakens at the fold lines
• Hung by the hood — the hood compresses and loses seal

The right place to store an immersion suit: in its bag, dry, hung loose or laid flat, in a wheelhouse cabinet or crew berthing space. Out of the sun. Out of the bilge.

Annual inspection

Required for inspected vessels. Recommended for everyone. We do a full bench inspection that includes shell, hood, zipper, gloves, bladder, lights, whistle, and a don-and-doff trial. See survival suit service for the full process.