drysuit issues

[eleeski]

My 3 year old Oneill drysuit is leaking straight through the fabric. Any treatment to fix this? The suit looks great and the seals are fine.

Eric

[Dirt]

Make sure there are not some small holes in it. I thought the same thing with mine last year and when I stretched the material and looked at it, I could see small holes. I used neoprene glue/cement to close them and it stopped the water from dripping in. The neck is a different story. It is all stretched out and when I lean back in the water, it dumps in. Good luck

[DW]

Interestnig comment, my O'Neill Full Throttle suit does the same thing. I thought it was one of the leg or wrist seals but have realized it really seems to be at the butt area when I sit in the ready to go position and must stretch the suit in that area and tend to have a damp bathing suit at the end of a run. Wonder if this is a manufacturing problem, suit is about the same age as Eric's and as he commented, looks great and the seals are okay.

[ForrestGump]

Go to a dive shop and get aquaseal for the leak.

[A_B]

I had a suit with similar problem. I reglued every seam amd it still leaked. Now I let my daughter's boyfriend use it as a "wetsuit".

[AggieSkier]

I sent a Sahara drysuit in to O'Neill for repairs 2 seasons ago to repair a leaking seam. I was fortunate to have NOT used Aqua Seal because O'Neill included a note on the repair ticket stating they don't fix any suits that have been treated with Aqua Seal. Aqua Seal is good stuff, I have used it on wetsuits and previous drysuits but don't use it if you might send the suit in to O'Neill.

[eleeski]

Will Oneill fix the suit? The fabric of the suit (a bagsuit) is definitely porous - not seam or seal problems. Do they have a treatment for it? Or is there an aftermarket sealant I can dip it in? @richarddoane I will not coat it in silicone seal like your gloves - I have some vanity. Unless you think that might work...

Eric

[A_B]

There is a black spray sealant that they spray the inside of a leaky Jon boat on tv and it doesn't leak after application. Not sure if there are any colors or if it is flexible or not. You could spray it on the inside?

[ktm300]

I sent a well used drysuit to O'Neill to taper the forearms and legs as I had lost a good bit of weight. The suit was also leaking because of age. They re-worked every seam in it; retaped and glued etc and sent it back to me. Charge? $20.00. Made a loyal customer out of me.

[eleeski]

With enough colors I could do a tiedye pattern on the outside and look really cool!

Would Thompson's water seal work? Cheaper and easier.

Eric

[RichardDoane]

O'Neill just fixed the leg seams in my hybrid suit, they did a great job and it was a warranty deal,

looking forward to April and warmer cold water so that I can use it again. @eleeski - is this an appropriate use for some duct tape to fix your leak ?.

[jedgell]

I had the same issue with my Oneill hybrid drysuit. The top, baggy part became porous. I aqua sealed a ton of it, but it still leaks. If I plug the legs and wrists and fill with air and spray soapy water on it the entire top leaks. The material just failed, still looks new though. My solution was to buy a Staydry from Wileys. Since I had put aqua seal all over it to try and fix it Oneill wouldn't touch it.

[Steven_Haines]

@eleeski, you ski in the desert man! Do you really need it? Just ask yourself, if @richarddoane was there would he use a drysuit?

[RichardDoane]

@steven_haines - Yes !

[Steven_Haines]

@richarddoane, only because you're used to skiing in one all the time due to the pnw climate. It can't be that cold out there yet!

[robscholl-OF]

RD uses his dry suit when it is 90 degrees out.....not a good person to ask......Solve the leak issue get a Eagle drysuit. Lightweight and water tight..............OF

[jipster43]

I followed @richarddoane 's lead and used my dry suit when it was 80* out - the water temp was pretty cold though - I loved it! There's no good reason to be cold. From now on I'll ski in my drysuit until it's heater top weather.

 

For what it's worth my Barefoot International has a 1" X 1" avulsion on one of the leg seals and it still keeps me dry as a bone. I love that thing!

[ski6jones]

@jedgell, how do you like the Wiley Staydry suit?

 

Do you prefer the full baggy to the hybrid style of the Assault?

[RichardDoane]

@ski6jones - I prefer the hybrid until the water gets below 50, then the layering under the baggy is a plus. But you have to wear spray legs for both front & rear to minimize drag. The Assault takes a little getting used to, but once you figure out proper tension and placement of the velcro leg straps. then it's a pretty good thing for 55 - 70 degree water.

[Steven_Haines]

I'm wondering how you're able to get any longevity out of the rubber seals? I have a super nice Barefoot International bag suit that I can't keep seals on for more than one season. I'm guessing it's the dry California climate as I've had the same issue on my Bare Ultra dry also I've given up on the rubber seals and had Bare replace them with the neoprene style. Is there something that can be applied to them to increase the life of them?

[dave_n]

Just pulled my 6 year old Hammond drysuit out of the bag for the first time in 3 years. All the seals had gone like stiff plastic, almost solid, they would have cracked if I'd tried to move them around too much. Looked at the price of new seals, more expensive than a new reasonable drysuit. With nothing to lose I tried them in hot water for 10 minutes. Perfect result. Tried the suit for two sets, good as new.

[jedgell]

@ski6jones - I love the Stay Dry suit, just skied a practice PB in it a couple weeks ago. I never could ski well in the hybrid for whatever reason, made my legs feel stiff. With the baggy style I barely notice it while skiing.

[RichardDoane]

@steven_haines I know people that spray their seals with silicone spray before putting their bag suits away

[Wish]

Dry suite care (baggy) that I use. I have the cheapest Overtons baggy money can buy. Been good for 10+ yrs now. As u can imagine living in FL it gets used very little if ever. For storage I use silicone seal saver (dive shop) on all the rubber seals inside and out. It's the consistancy of Vacoline (patrolium jelly). I lay it on very thick. I then take a plastic jug (slightly smaller then my neck) and place it in the neck seal as if it were my neck. I do the same with small paper cups in the leg and arm seals. Keeps them from clasping which causes creases which can then crack if they dry like that. I use beeze wax on the zipper. Loosely roll the whole thing up and stick in a large "Space Bag" (giant zip lock bag Walmart). Suck out a little air but never enough to squish it...... and done. It's been in it for as much as two yrs. Comes out looking exactly like it did when I put it in. Slimy seals and all. When using the suite I spray seals with McNett UV protectant after every other use. Keeps seals from drying out when it's just hanging and no uv damage when in use. May seam like a lot of monkey business but takes just minutes to store and just seconds to spray after a use. At $150 for new seals, it's well worth it.

[eleeski]

@skibrain When i fly my plane I might sweat like the guy from Airplane. But taking a short morning set should not call for several GALLONS of water inside the suit. I have used a bag suit in the summer (water + air = 190F) and I sweated enough to get fairly wet inside - but never gallons. The suit is porous.

 

I painted the suit with Thompsons water seal. It's taking a while to dry. Meanwhile things warmed up a bit and I really like my superstretch thin wetsuit. Got a few sets in the last few days and maybe I can get by without the drysuit. I'm not @richarddoane - but I don't slalom as well either...

 

If I really need a new drysuit, I'll just get a new one. It's only a few tanks of gas. But maybe the Thompsons water seal will get me through the year. I'll keep you posted when I get around to trying it.

 

Eric

[tjm]

I send my 7 year old O'neill drysuit in every year for repair, and it always comes back like new. O'Neill is a great company. My situation is that after 2 or 3 weeks of use it starts to leak again due to my DonJoy knee brace. I just live with that fact of early spring skiing. However it would be cool if someone figured out a way to make the knee portion of these suits "stretchier" so as to fit over braces. I do not want to go baggy suit.

[ski6jones]

Thanks @jedgell, @richarddoane and all. I bought the Stay Dry from Wileys. It seems well built and not overly heavy. I tried it yesterday and skied the same score as I did earlier in the week wearing my shorty. I also bought a spray leg to wear over the suit on my rear leg to reduce drag. I got about 3 drops of water in the neck seal when I fell head first, otherwise I was bone dry when I got out.

 

I asked Wileys if they recommend any treatment for the seals. They said no treatment necessary. Rational being the sprays just attract other contaminants. Said I should get 4-5 years out of the seals. I did get wax for the zipper.

 

Definitely going to be nice this winter once it gets cold. This week in TX the air was 78 and sunny, water 68 and no wind.

[JC McCavit]

@ eleeski - O'Neil will not fix your bag suit. They don't have a clue. I sent my son's bag suit to O'Neil 3 times, each time I asked for a leak test. They called and said the seals needed replacing. First is was the leg seals. The suit came back and it still leaked. I sent is back and again asked for leak test. This time the arm seals needed replacing. The suit still leaked. Then they said the zipper may be the culprit. Again the suit comes back with a new zipper and it still leaks. Now I have spent more money than a brand new suit. I decided to put clamps on the seals and fill it with air and spray it with soapy water. White foam comes out everywhere except the seals. The material is no longer waterproof. I call O'Neil and explain the situation and they say they can't help because the suit is out of warranty. I am like why did you replace all the seals and the zipper? I will never send a suit to O'Neil for repair again.

 

Let me know if you find something that will make the suit waterproof again. I tried several products without success.

 

[bbirlew]

As with most of you, I've had many wetsuits and dry suits over the years (especially considering I hail from the frozen north where the water is solid for a good chunk of the year)...

The two standouts by far in my opinion:

 

An OS systems bag dry suit that I haven't done a thing to in almost 20 years of use!! This fall the seals finally failed on me! My next suit will have a lot to live up to!

 

A rip curl 5/4mm suit that I use mainly for surfing. The suit started to come apart along a seam, but the tear started into the fabric. About a year out of warranty they replaced the whole suit for me! Really went above and beyond in my opinion, and a great suit all around (for anyone who needs a 5mm wetsuit for waterskiing!!)

Cheers,

Brad