Drysuit tailoring?

[darksidetone]

Is it possible to tailor a drysuit? I had a Neoprene drysuit given to me and the seals are great, but it is a too wide in the arms, and chest. Is it possible or even worth tailoring a neoprene drysuit? If so, does anybody know of any L.A. people that can do it? Thanks for all of your help

 

[Bob3]

Just how much extra room do you have in the critter?
Grab ahold of the middle of the chest & pinch, about how many inches of a handful do you have?
The things don't need to fit as tight as a wetsuit, a little extra room is acceptable.
Arms aren't worth bothering about unless the excess is more than several inches.

 

[darksidetone]

There is several inches in each area! The arms specifically are very larger girth wise, length is perfect!

 

[Bob3]

There is several inches in each area! The arms specifically are very larger girth wise, length is perfect!

OK, give your bicep a pinch. How many inches are there?
How thick is the suit material, and where are you diving it?
Some of that room *might* be taken up by extra undies.

 

[darksidetone]

Atleast 3 extra inches in each arm. I believe it is 6 or 7mm thick. I usually dive off of the Coast of California. The water is pretty warm here, but for multiple day dives, the idea or being dry after a dive is very appealing.

 

[JJ1]

hehe This thread brings back memories - I had a Viking Pro-HD 1500 given to me, however the only problem was the guy who had it before was 6'8 400 lbs...... versus my 5'11 240........I had 10" taken out of the waist, however kept the arms the same because the guy said he couldn't do anything with them do to the tapered sleve....it's a fairly comfortable suit, once I get some squeeze going it doesn't feel too big and I come out as dry as I went in.

 

[Dan Gibson]

Forget having it done locally. The absolute best is Mark at Superior Diving Repair in Brainerd Minnesota. He does just about anything. He used to work for DUI. Very quick any very reasonable on price. He can even do rush orders for a small fee.

http://www.drysuitrepair.com/

Is it possible to tailor a drysuit? I had a Neoprene drysuit given to me and the seals are great, but it is a too wide in the arms, and chest. Is it possible or even worth tailoring a neoprene drysuit? If so, does anybody know of any L.A. people that can do it? Thanks for all of your help

 

[Dryglove]

Forget having it done locally. The absolute best is Mark at Superior Diving Repair in Brainerd Minnesota. He does just about anything. He used to work for DUI. Very quick any very reasonable on price. He can even do rush orders for a small fee.

http://www.drysuitrepair.com/

Ditto on the above. I had him do some work to my drysuit and he did a awesome job....highly recommended

 

[grouchyturtle]

Actually I'm sending my suit to him this week.
Installing new boots (Turbo Soles), moving my exhaust valve, shortening sleeves.

I was going to get the legs shortened too, but after trying the suit on again they seem ok. When lying down in a diving position the legs do tighten up. In fact if I point my toes up I can feel it tighten on my knees. There is a little slack though. I may be able to take 1/2" - 1" off, but I'm afraid it may make the legs too tight. Should I even bother? How tight should the legs really be?

The torso seems like it could be shortened a little though. Is it worth getting this done? It's a Dacor trilam suit? Probably about a $1k - $1200 suit, but I got it for only $400.

Lastly, I was going to install pockets myself, but read somewhere that someone was getting their pockets stitched. Is it worth the extra $$$ to have him install the pockets? Is stitching really necessary? Do they really need to be reinforced that much?

 

[Dryglove]

Lastly, I was going to install pockets myself, but read somewhere that someone was getting their pockets stitched. Is it worth the extra $$$ to have him install the pockets? Is stitching really necessary? Do they really need to be reinforced that much?

I originally glued on my bellow pockets to my drysuit. I had the standard slight peeling in the corners. When i sent my drysuit into superior i had him stitch the pockets for me. If i remember right it was about $20.00 per pocket to be stitched. To me it was worth the extra 40 bucks since my suit was already there.