# How long do you stay in fursuit before you take a break?



## pudgeyredfox (Sep 28, 2012)

Im new to fursuiting, having got my fursuit in May and only fursuitted in two places so far, I am wondering how long do people typically stay in fursuit at a time before they go to the headless lounge? I stayed in fursuit for 20 minutes at an anime convention but that was because anime conventions dont have the headless lounges that furry cons do.


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## Brazen (Sep 28, 2012)

Depends on how much of a manly man you are. I'm sure all the 0 fursuiters who work in steel mills and are used to intense heat probably stay in them for longer.


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## Judge Spear (Sep 28, 2012)

Brazen said:


> Depends on how much of a manly man you are. I'm sure all the 0 fursuiters who work in steel mills and are used to intense heat probably stay in them for longer.



I can attest to that.


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## pudgeyredfox (Sep 28, 2012)

XoPachi said:


> I can attest to that.



so how long do you usually fursuit for at a time?


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## Judge Spear (Sep 28, 2012)

pudgeyredfox said:


> so how long do you usually fursuit for at a time?



Oh, that was a joke response to Brazen. No way in Hell I'd dress up in any costume for any occasion. Too hot for that shit...


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## pudgeyredfox (Sep 28, 2012)

XoPachi said:


> Oh, that was a joke response to Brazen. No way in Hell I'd dress up in any costume for any occasion. Too hot for that shit...



not even in Winter hehe?


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## Judge Spear (Sep 28, 2012)

pudgeyredfox said:


> not even in Winter hehe?



Winter is the time when I go swimming at the beach. No time for costumes. :3


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## Batty Krueger (Sep 28, 2012)

I can suit all day.  But I don't cuz I don't want my suit to get all nasty.


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## Kahoku (Sep 28, 2012)

pudgeyredfox said:


> Im new to fursuiting, having got my fursuit in May and only fursuitted in two places so far, I am wondering how long do people typically stay in fursuit at a time before they go to the headless lounge? I stayed in fursuit for 20 minutes at an anime convention but that was because anime conventions dont have the headless lounges that furry cons do.


For me I was 45 mins.

But I was a little warm. I suggest at least 30 min max.


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## Batty Krueger (Sep 28, 2012)

It all about the under armour.  That and my mate/handler has a big bottle of cold water with a long straw, I got all the fursuit fixins.


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## Ozriel (Sep 28, 2012)

1 hour + before I need a to sit down.


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## Batty Krueger (Sep 28, 2012)

I didn't know you suited Ozriel


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## Dokid (Sep 29, 2012)

Neither did I...is there a possible picture?


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## Fay V (Oct 1, 2012)

I am something of a veteran suiter and a marathon suiter. The longest I have been in suit, without taking the head off, was two and a half hours. However, that is with full underarmor on underneath and with a ton of practice. I don't suggest doing that. 

If you are suiting then you should absolutely stop at least once an hour to remove your head and get more water. If you want to be lively and have a good performance, try a break once every half hour to keep the energy up. 

Marathon suiting isn't particularly good for you, so don't feel you have to live up to some high expectation or goal. Pretty much an hour is a good stopping point to at least sit, get air, and get water.


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## Batty Krueger (Oct 1, 2012)

How are you a marathon suiter if you can't go longer than 2 and a half hours.  I know people that can go 6 hours plus without a problem due to proper handlers.  I dunno about your suit but mine has a full open mouth so I can breathe properly and have a straw put in there so I can drink water without having to take my head off.


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## Aldino (Oct 1, 2012)

The one experience I have being in a suit I had to take breaks every 45 minutes or so. However I was forced at one point to stay in the suits for a bit over an hour and since I wasn't wearing proper clothing underneath it was very brutal. 

A comfortable time for me and it seems like most others is around 30-45 minutes especially if it is your first time I'd say less is more. Its not worth staying in the suit if you are going to end up making yourself sick.


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## Fay V (Oct 1, 2012)

d.batty said:


> How are you a marathon suiter if you can't go longer than 2 and a half hours.  I know people that can go 6 hours plus without a problem due to proper handlers.  I dunno about your suit but mine has a full open mouth so I can breathe properly and have a straw put in there so I can drink water without having to take my head off.



I think you misunderstood. The longest I have gone in full suit without taking my head off or getting water was 2 and a half hours.

I routinely go 5+ hours when I go out suiting, in fact I can count on one hand the number of times it has been less than 5 hours. When I am at cons I tend to be in suit except for 30 min for lunch, and a couple hours in the evening or when I am asleep. The longest I have been in suit, consecutively was 12 hours.

It's good that you have a good suit to work with, but to be fair to others when discussing heat, you have a partial. Heat tolerance and management in partials is very different than full suits. If you're going to be suiting one needs to remember that their core temperature will revolve around their core, meaning their chest, heart, and lungs. In partials you have the benefit of breathable clothing that allows this area to get cool air incoming. You also have other high heat area such as the inner thighs and lower back open. 

Faux fur is not, and never will be as breathable as common shirt fabrics, so a full suiter is covering every single major cool down spot on the body, and has hot air trapped around their core. While I'm not surprised a partial suiter can suit all day and just drink water, a full suiter can't and shouldn't. You need to take breaks in order to allow your chest and head to get a lot of air in. 

There is more the heat exhaustion than being dehydrated, heat saps your strength and will make it harder to function. Water helps you deal with it better, but the longer you go the more of an issue it is. If you ever feel you are breathing heavily, or your heart is racing, go take your head off and get air. 

The best policy is to take a break and get water at least every 45 minutes. It's better for your health in general and better for your suiting. When you have to cool down, remember the major heat/cool places for the body: head, hands, feet, heart, back, inner thighs.


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## Ozriel (Oct 1, 2012)

d.batty said:


> I didn't know you suited Ozriel



I also make them. :V


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## Greyscale (Oct 1, 2012)

This past weekend I managed to go for a few hours without taking anything off just walking around the con.
Dancing I had to stop every 30 minutes to an hour to grab water an cool off.
When I get the rest of the body done I know that number will go down.


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## Brazen (Oct 1, 2012)

Dokid said:


> Neither did I...is there a possible picture?



Naked, if possible.


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## Batty Krueger (Oct 1, 2012)

Fay V said:


> I think you misunderstood. The longest I have gone in full suit without taking my head off or getting water was 2 and a half hours.
> 
> I routinely go 5+ hours when I go out suiting, in fact I can count on one hand the number of times it has been less than 5 hours. When I am at cons I tend to be in suit except for 30 min for lunch, and a couple hours in the evening or when I am asleep. The longest I have been in suit, consecutively was 12 hours.
> 
> ...


Oooooh, my bad. :3 
Soon I'm getting a body suit to finish my partial so soon enough I'll be able so see how it is with a full suit.  I'll just have to get more cooling packs from the hospital my friend works at. You know those ones you crush up and shake.


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## Dokid (Oct 1, 2012)

d.batty said:


> Oooooh, my bad. :3
> Soon I'm getting a body suit to finish my partial so soon enough I'll be able so see how it is with a full suit.  I'll just have to get more cooling packs from the hospital my friend works at. You know those ones you crush up and shake.



You're adding a body to your suit? Can't wait to see it! But anyways I've also seen those cooling packs at like walmart in packs of 2-4. They work nicely but honestly they don't work as well a normal cooling gel pack.


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## Batty Krueger (Oct 1, 2012)

Yeah I know, but the gel packs don't stay cold long enough.  My mate/handler already carrys a backpack with water and a bunch I other stuff.  Maybe if I found a small case of somekind that would help keep the gel packs cooler for longer.  
Im still designing my body suit, not sure if I want any specific body markings or not.  All I know it's gunna be cheap cuz my mom is making it, she's really good at that kinda stuff.  Hell, she made my tail X3


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## Earth Rio (Oct 1, 2012)

I've never gone out suiting before, but the most I've managed is about three quarters of an hour (but then again, I was sitting down), in which case I only took my fursuit head off because my eyes were starting to itch.


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## zenos (Oct 23, 2012)

where do you buy good fursuits? =)


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## Marshmallowe (Oct 23, 2012)

Yeah partials will keep you cooler longer, full suits are definitely a lot hotter. Also depends on the make of your suit, is it lined? How thick is the fur? Is the head foam or resin? Is the snout hollow? Do you have fans in your suit? As well as body armor will help a lot. Also depends on how in shape you are and if you are use to suiting. I have been wearing my partial to my little brothers foot ball games to help mascot and I'm there for a good 2 and a half hours, in 90-110 heat in Texas and don't get to tired, could wear it all day if I wanted. But I can drink through a water bottle in my suit and it has a lot of ventilation. Though after de-masking everything is super bright lol


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## Soulcraft (Oct 24, 2012)

The time depends with the kit. If it is hardly uncomfortable need to take a break per 15 minutes.


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## Caedman (Oct 24, 2012)

I wore a suit for four hours at a teddy bear picnic and had a fantastic time.  I took 2 10 minute breaks, but should have taken more. However, near the end I was feeling dizzy and a little Sick to my stomach (dehydrated).  A friend was just walking around with a camelback water source.  I HAVE to get one of those!  My suit is a little loose so I know it would work.  Beats the heck out of water bottles and straws.  

Anyone else use one?


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## jorinda (Oct 25, 2012)

I think it depends mostly on the weather. I once went fursuiting in winter at the coast of the baltic sea - it was  freezing cold and windy. Without suit, I was freezing all the time, in suit it was perfect  
With proper under armour and cool weather, I can stay in fursuit for two hours. I think I could fursuit longer, but I didn't have an opportunity to try it yet.


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## Luckiione (Oct 31, 2012)

I suited for the first time at Furfright this past weekend, and I guess I should have anticipated how just, hot I got, and uncomfortable. I was in suit for about 30 minutes before I had to book it to the headless lounge and rip my head off. And I have a partial. But, with that said, I did a mascot gig back in February that was a full suit, but it was fully equipped with underarmour, breathtable padding, and a large head with plenty of room to get air. I could still only last about 30 minutes in it before I started to feel faint and overheated.

I'm not sure if it's just low tolerance that I'll have to build up, or adjustments I need to make to my partial's head, which is admittedly a bit umcomfortable, but even with breaks the longest I stayed in suit at the con was 3 hours, tops. I'm hoping I can build up my stamina a bit more and last for longer. (also, I've wanted to buy a camelback for a while, but I've never had the money and I couldn't work up an adequate excuse to ask my parents to buy me one. THEY LOOK AMAZINGLY PERFECT FOR SUITERS AND I WANT ONE. BADLY.)


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